Angels' Arte Moreno Has No Plans To Revive Talks With Anaheim About Angel Stadium

Imagine Angel Stadium surrounded not by parking lots, but a mix of green space and glittery high-rise skyscrapers. Imagine the plot of land between Orangewood Drive and the 57 Freeway transforming the American League’s second-oldest ballpark into a modern baseball village.

At least it looked good on paper.

In a rare interview Wednesday with the Southern California News Group, Angels owner Arte Moreno said he isn’t discussing any plans to develop the Angel Stadium site with the City of Anaheim, which owns the land.

Writes Jeff Fletcher:

In 2022, the Angels had a plan to purchase the ballpark from the city in exchange for the right to develop the surrounding area. The agreement fell through when Anaheim mayor Harry Sidhu became embroiled in a corruption scandal.

Now, Moreno said there are no current talks about reviving that deal, with no expectation that it would be revisited.

“Right now I’d say no,” Moreno said. “I don’t like the word never. Right now I don’t believe (Anaheim officials) have an appetite for it.”

The parking lots will remain for now — and so will Moreno. The longtime owner explored a sale last year and even received multiple bids. However, he told SCNG in the same interview that he currently has no plans to sell despite a significant transition on the field over the last year.

Off the field, Moreno’s vision for transforming the land surrounding the Angels’ ballpark came close enough to fruition to yield glossy renderings. 

Then last year, Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu resigned amid a corruption scandal for which he was ultimately investigated by the FBI.

The fallout from the scandal might have been enough to suppress Moreno’s appetite for working with the city. However, current mayor Ashleigh Aitken hasn't ruled out working with the Angels on future development plans. 

Via Sam Blum of The Athletic:

We're open to looking at the future of baseball and welcome a fresh start in crafting a proposal that is good for Anaheim and our residents. I'm all ears. We know what works, and we've seen what didn't. We welcome a fair proposal. As a city, we're committed to building on decades of baseball in Anaheim for generations to come.

— Anaheim mayor Ashleigh Aitken, via Sam Blum