For the Angels, Sunday is the final day of the worst season in franchise history. There is a depressing emptiness around the stadium.
On the field, the Angels now possess the longest streak of futility of any major league team: 10 years without a playoff appearance. His roster is filled out by men his manager describes as “not major league baseball players.” Their minor league system is depressing.
They have grudgingly acknowledged the desperate need to rebuild without fully committing to doing so. This team is not one player or one year away from being competitive.
Off the field, the 130 acres surrounding Angel Stadium are barren and soulless. Fans still do what they did six decades ago: drive up, watch the game and drive home.
Across Katella Avenue, Orange County's other major league team is on the rise. The Ducks agreed to a rebuild and Hockey News says they have the NHL's brightest collection of young talent. Off the ice, the Ducks are surrounding the Honda Center with the type of stadium the Angels once hoped to build around Angel Stadium.
“Where do you go when you want to have fun?” Ducks owner Henry Samueli said at a launch event Wednesday. “That's what we're trying to build here.”
The Angels' plan was derailed when the city of Anaheim canceled its stadium deal amid a federal corruption investigation into the mayor. However, even if the deal had gone ahead, nothing would need to be built around the stadium for 15 years.
Off the ice, the Ducks are surrounding the Honda Center with the type of stadium the Angels once hoped to build around Angel Stadium.
(OC Environment)
Samueli's $4 billion development, called OC Vibe, is already under construction. Bill Foltz, CEO of OC Vibe, said inspirations for the project included the Battery, the village surrounding the Atlanta Braves stadium, and Texas Live, the entertainment center adjacent to the Texas Rangers stadium.
For the first time, fans will be able to arrive early at the Honda Center, enjoy dinner at a restaurant or drinks at a bar and walk just a few steps to the game.
“We always thought we were a 'two-stop' place, meaning a lot of people would go somewhere else for dinner and then come to the show or game,” Foltz said.
“It's really creating, for the first time, a place to go 'for once.'
OC Vibe is scheduled to open in 2026. Foltz said he hopes Angels fans will make the short walk from Angel Stadium to eat, drink, shop and play at OC Vibe before or after the game. The Ducks will thank baseball fans for spending money that can be used to improve the fan experience, that is, for hockey fans.
This is all unapologetically and enthusiastically Orange County. The Ducks now wear orange uniforms, feature the return of the beloved Angry Duck, and define their territory as “Orange Country.”
“We are obviously in love with Orange County,” Samueli said, speaking on behalf of himself and his wife, Susan. “This is our permanent home. “We will never move.”
The 28 restaurants around the Honda Center will include a branch of A Restaurant, a Newport Beach restaurant that opened in 1926. The four concert spaces will include a revival of the Golden Bear, a legendary Huntington Beach club that closed in 1986 after host artists such as Jerry García, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Buffett.
OC Vibe will include a revival of the Golden Bear, the Huntington Beach club that closed in 1986.
(OC Environment)
Samueli's company also received approval last week from the city of Anaheim to run the Grove, the theater at the edge of the Angel Stadium parking lot. Under the agreement, the city gets three-quarters of operating profits.
The Ducks, then, are in good shape. Los Angeles? The development intended to generate revenue to renovate its aging stadium and anchor the team in Anaheim never materialized. The Angels' stadium lease expires in five years.
For now, the city is largely at the mercy of the Angels. The city has backed out of two deals with the Angels in a decade; the team has no obligation to try to negotiate another one.
The team has the option to extend the lease, under which the Angels pay no rent, through 2038. The city can cash in if the Angels eventually build something in the stadium parking lot, but the lease allows the team control development. of the lot.
“The door is always open for negotiations on a great deal that makes sense for Anaheim taxpayers,” said Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken. “I hope that happens one day.”
If Angels owner Arte Moreno decided to sell his team, Samueli would be the most logical buyer. He's embedded in the community, an experienced sports owner whose team won a championship, and is uniquely positioned to complement his OC Vibe development with something different within the Angel Stadium parking lot. A quarter-century ago, Samueli and several associates considered installing an indoor surf and snowboard venue in the Angels' parking lot.
If Moreno were to put the Angels up for sale anytime soon, and several people with knowledge of the situation said there's no indication he would do so, would Samueli consider buying the team?
“At this point, I'm totally consumed with the Ducks,” Samueli said. “That's nothing we're thinking about.”
In August 2022, Moreno hired a sports franchise broker and said he would explore selling the Angels. Six months later, Moreno reversed course and took the team off the market.
Samueli said he did not make an offer for the team at the time and did not imagine doing so if Moreno decided to sell now.
“Managing a sports team takes a lot of work,” Samueli said. “If you want to participate, it is difficult to do more than one. I am deeply involved.
“I wouldn't even have time to go to the games, much less manage the team.”
This is how sports go in Orange Country. For the Ducks, the new season is here. For the Angels, once again, the postseason is not it.
