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As the Los Angeles Angels again start this spring full of hope, it’s looking to regain its glory as one of Major League Baseball’s top teams, not just in victories but also in attendance.
Fans have been noticeably absent in recent seasons, with about 2.6 million last year, nearly a 1 million drop compared to 2005 and 2006.
The Angels ranked third in overall fan attendance in 2004, trailing only the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers that season – Arte Moreno’s second as team owner. Moreno’s Angels finished 13th in overall fan attendance in each of the last three seasons – placing them at the middle of the pack, leaguewide (see chart).
The end of the 2020 pandemic hasn’t helped either. Last year’s team attracted 15% fewer fans than the 2019 season, when the team’s headliners included Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Shohei Ohtani.
The Angels last made the playoffs in 2014, when Trout won his second Most Valuable Player award and played alongside Pujols. Anaheim’s baseball team won 98 games against 64 losses that season.
The Angels were 703-815 since then, with only one winning season: an 85-77 record in 2015.
A Multi-Billion-Dollar Franchise
Despite a losing record, the team’s valuation continues to skyrocket, more than doubling to $2.75 billion, compared with $1.3 billion in 2014, according to the Forbes ranking released before this season began. The current valuation ranked the team 10th overall, trailing teams like the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox.
The valuation is clearly a successful steal for Moreno, who bought the team for $183.5 million in 2003. To borrow from famed investor and baseball fan Peter Lynch, that’s a 23 bagger.
Angels’ annual revenue, according to Forbes, more than tripled from $118 million in 2002, when the team won its first and only World Series, to $388 million in 2023, Ohtani’s final year in Anaheim. Forbes added that the Angels’ revenue for 2024 was $410 million, with player expenses at $221 million, gate receipts at $120 million and operating income at $40 million last year.
Moreno isn’t shy when it comes to spending – seven players will split nearly $150 million for this season, with Anthony Rendon leading the way at $38.6 million, followed by Trout at $37.1 million and Yusei Kikuchi at $21.23 million. Moreno has predicted that the Angels would lose at least $50 million by the end of the 2025 season.
The question is whether Moreno can find the right mix of players to draw a million more fans back to the Big A, restoring the team to its glory days when fans believed the team might repeat its miraculous World Series championship season.
As of press time, the team had a win-loss record of 8-4.