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ANAHEIM, Calif. (July 15, 2024) — Anaheim and Angels Baseball ownership have settled a claim over the city’s 2022 ending of a proposed sale of the Angel Stadium of Anaheim site.
The claim by the team’s ownership sought $5 million plus legal fees and is being settled for a credit of $2.75 million with no cash paid by the city.
The settlement also clears the way for Anaheim to build a fire station on the stadium site with the support of the team’s ownership.
“This is a fair settlement for our city,” Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said. “It allows both sides to move forward without needless expense and distraction. Clearing the path for a fire station is a priority for Anaheim. A new station will serve the growing number of people who visit and call the Platinum Triangle home and will allow us to bring expanded emergency services to the area without added delay or cost.”
Canceled stadium site sale
In 2020, Anaheim approved a $320 million sale of the 151-acre stadium site to SRB Management LLC, a company made up of the Moreno family.
Anaheim’s City Council ended the sale in 2022 after the resignation of a former mayor amid allegations of conflict of interest.
The sale agreement included a provision for SRB to seek $5 million in transaction costs plus legal fees if the city didn’t go through with a sale.
The settlement ends SRB’s claim, which was submitted to the city in June 2022. The city took no action on the claim, leaving SRB until May 2024 to pursue any litigation, with both sides agreeing to an extension in effort to reach a settlement.
Talks about resolving the claim played out in the past few months.
No new talks about an extended lease, stadium site sale or other long-term issues were part of the settlement with no long-term talks underway now.
Credit on shared revenue
The settlement includes a $2.75 million credit against a portion of future stadium revenue shared with the city.
Anaheim shares revenue from baseball ticket sales, parking and other stadium events with money going to the city’s Convention, Sports & Entertainment department.
If more than 2.6 million tickets are sold in a season, the city sees $2 from every ticket sold after that.
With parking, Anaheim shares 25 percent of additional parking revenue beyond $8.1 million in a season.
For special events, such as Supercross and Monster Jam, the city shares 25 percent of
revenue of more than $4 million.
With the settlement, Angels Baseball will keep any revenue beyond the targets until the $2.75 million credit is reached, starting in July.
It is estimated the credit will be reached in two to three years.
For the 12 months through June 2024, Anaheim saw $1.4 million in revenue from tickets, parking and events.
The $1.4 million in stadium revenue resulted in $635,632 to the city after an annual capital reserve fund expense payment required under the lease.
Fire station
The settlement clears the way for the city to build a fire station along State College Boulevard to serve the stadium, other businesses, apartments and ongoing growth in the area known as the Platinum Triangle.
The fire station will be built on 1.4 acres of city land that is covered by the Angels’ lease for the stadium site.
In 2022, the team’s ownership raised concerns about building a station on the site, with the city pausing construction plans while the claim played out.
With the settlement, which can be read here, the team agrees to support and work with the city on the building of the fire station.
Anaheim expects to finalize design for the station, known as fire station 12, in the next few weeks.
The fire station is made up of a main 10,240-square-foot building and a second 2,125-square-foot building.
In coming months, Anaheim will seek bids to build the station and expects to award a construction contract in late 2024.
Fire station 12 is set to start construction in 2025 and potentially open in 2026 or 2027.
The new station will cut medical and fire response times in the area by half or more.
The nearest stations today are at State College Boulevard and Ball Road, about 2 miles away, and in The Anaheim Resort, also about 2 miles away.
The Platinum Triangle is home to Angel Stadium, Honda Center, City National Grove of Anaheim, ARTIC and apartments, offices and businesses.
Since the 2000s, the Platinum Triangle has been transforming from a once industrial area to an urban village built around sports, entertainment and transit.
Work on OCVibe, a $4 billion project around Honda Center, is in early construction with development of hotels, music venues, restaurants, shopping, homes, office and open space coming in the next few years.
“As Anaheim grows, we need to grow,” Anaheim Fire & Rescue Chief Pat Russell said. “In the years ahead, we will see even more entertainment, businesses and homes in the Platinum Triangle. Station 12 will reduce response times and improve the level of service we provide to the Platinum Triangle area and the entire Anaheim community.”
