Angels owner Arte Moreno is frustrated with the lack of progress between the club and the city of Anaheim over negotiations on a new lease for Angel Stadium.
The club has been working under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the city since September and Moreno told the Register the sides “are not even close. We are basically going backward.”
The Angels have played at Angel Stadium since 1966. It underwent a facelift during the 1990s, but Moreno said those improvements were mostly cosmetic, and the ballpark needs about $125 million worth of improvements to the structure.
The team and city have been unable to agree on how those improvements will be financed.
“I’m really frustrated,” said Moreno, who had not spoken publicly about the lease negotiations before Friday.
The Angels’ current lease expires in 2029, but there is a clause that allows the team to leave as soon as 2019. Although the Angels have not publicly admitted to looking elsewhere, Moreno suggested they have to some degree.
“We have always, from lets call it 40,000 feet, kept an eye on what’s happening out there,” Moreno said. “Obviously somewhere along the line were going to have to make a decision.”
When asked what he would tell Angels fans who don’t want the team to leave Anaheim, Moreno said: “It’s pretty hard for me to tell them to be patient, when I’m impatient about it.”
