Arte Moreno has owned the Los Angeles Angels since 2003. Moreno announced Tuesday that he is in the process of a possible sale of the team. Less than three months after Anaheim’s city council ruled against a deal that would have seen Moreno’s management group purchase Angel Stadium and the property surrounding it. He purchased the Angels from Disney for $180 million just months after the franchise’s only World Series championship.
Angels beat reporter Sam Blum tweeted out Moreno’s statement.
Angels announce that Arte Moreno is exploring a sale of the team. pic.twitter.com/IUOtxYJnQE
— Sam Blum (@SamBlum3) August 23, 2022
After the 76-year-old purchased the team, he was determined to spend money on high-profile players. One of those high-profile players was Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, who put up excellent numbers with the Halos. But, that’s not all, as Moreno became a regular attendee of the team’s home games, sometimes leaving his owner’s box to interact with fans around the ballpark. In Moreno’s first year of ownership, the Angels drew over three million fans, 750,000 more than the previous season.
However, his decision to change the team’s name from the Anaheim Angels to the Los Angeles Angels drew significant backlash. Arte Moreno oversaw the change to increase the Angels’ revenue by marketing to the Los Angeles area instead of keeping the team’s identity to the city of Anaheim and Orange County. The move ultimately led to Anaheim city officials suing the team.
Besides the team name fiasco, Moreno’s first years as the owner were successful. From 2007 to 2009, the Angels put up three consecutive winning seasons, a first for the franchise. Los Angeles won the AL West division title six times in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2014. Under Moreno’s ownership, the Halos have been on a top-10 payroll despite their struggles over the years. Even with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani on the roster, the Angels haven’t done enough to field a competitive team.
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