keep the angels_logoThis went out from the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce deal:

Keep the Angels in Anaheim!

We need your attendance at a special Rally to Keep the Angels on Tuesday at 4:30 PM in front of Anaheim City Hall!

 As you know, the Angels’ lease at Anaheim Stadium is up in the next few years, and the City and Angels Baseball are in negotiations to extend the lease. The Council has adopted a broad framework around which the City will negotiate with the Angels to extend the lease. Under that framework:

  • The Angels will extend the lease to 2057, keeping the Angels in Anaheim for almost 50 years.
  • The Angels will assume the obligation to pay for $150 million in needed upgrades to the Stadium, saving the taxpayers from having to pay.
  • The Angels will partner with the City to develop a dining/entertainment/retail district next to the stadium similar to what we see around other major league stadiums. This development will bring thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars of economic activity in Anaheim.

The City Council adopted this framework on a 4-1 vote with Council Members Gail Eastman, Kris Murray, Lucille Kring, and Jordan Brandman supporting the proposal and Mayor Tom Tait opposing it. 

We have helped launch a new coalition, Keep the Angels, and will be fighting to support the framework adopted by the Council which we believe will keep the Angels in town and promote even more economic opportunity in our City. You can find out more about this coalition by visiting their website at www.KeepTheAngels.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KeeptheAngels.

The Council will be discussing the Angels deal again at their Council Meeting on Tuesday, and we have scheduled a Rally to Keep the Angels before the City Council meeting to make it clear that we want to Keep the Angels in Anaheim. 

The Angels have been a valuable partner in Anaheim for over 40 years. They have supported billions of dollars of commerce in Anaheim over the years, and perhaps even more importantly, brought joy and a sense of community to our city for all these years. They have also supported many, many charities in Anaheim in their time here. 

Please join us and others from across our community at our Rally to Keep the Angels in Anaheim on Tuesday, at 4:30 PM at City Hall!

There is quite a bit of misinformation being disseminated by the usual suspects – and it is disappointing that Mayor Tait is de facto undermining the city negotiators. I would respectfully suggest that those who claim “the Angels aren’t going anywhere” don’t know what they are talking about, and they are equally ill-informed when they characterize the potential leasing of the adjoining city-owned property to Arte Moreno as a “give-away.”

Liking the “Keep the Angels” Facebook page and taking Voice of OC coverage and the clams of Cynthia Ward and her crew with a huge grain of salt are the beginnings of wisdom on this issue.