ANAHEIM (CNS) - The Los Angeles Angels have struck a tentative deal with Anaheim that would keep the team playing in the city through at least 2050, the city announced today.
“After years of uncertainty, we have a path forward for baseball in Anaheim,” Mayor Harry Sidhu said in a statement released by the city. “This proposal reflects what we've heard from our community by keeping the Angels in Anaheim, bringing money for our neighborhoods and the prospect of more affordable housing, parks and jobs for Anaheim.”
Under the proposal, the Major League Baseball team would purchase Angel Stadium and the 153 acres of land on which it sits with its surrounding parking lots for $325 million. The team would also commit to playing in Anaheim through 2050, with options that could extend the deal through 2065.
The team would then have the option of either renovating the stadium or building a new one -- without any financial commitment from the city.
The land around the stadium -- currently a sea of parking -- “could see apartments, condominiums, hotels and entertainment uses in the next 30 years as part of Anaheim's planning for the area known as the Platinum Triangle,” according to the city. That development is estimated to potentially generate at least $7 million a year in revenue for the city through hotel, property and sales taxes.
City officials said any residential development on the property could also include “affordable housing and park and public spaces beyond what is required or typically seen.”
The Anaheim City Council is expected to consider an agreement for the sale of the stadium and the land at a special meeting on Dec. 20. Other development agreements are expected to go before the council in the spring.
The team's future in Anaheim had been in question. The City Council in January approved a lease extension for the team through Jan. 15, 2020, providing time for negotiations on an extended agreement.
At the same time, however, the team was being wooed by the city of Long Beach, which floated the possibility of building a stadium for the team on a downtown waterfront lot.
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