AM790 conservative talk radio host and OC Register opinion columnist penned a column for the editorial pages today calling on the Anaheim City Council to approve a deal with the Angels along the lines of the negotiation framework approved last September. Here’s an excerpt from his column:
Fast forward to today, the stadium is 18 years older and is estimated to need up to $150 million in additional capital improvements. The Angels and Anaheim have been negotiating a new lease for three years. During this time frame, under the current mayor and city council, the city has had four different city managers. So far the city has spent more than $325,000 on various studies and appraisals.
As part of this process we’ve learned that the Angels have pledged to assume 100 percent of the responsibility for needed capital improvements in exchange for the ball club garnering the rights to develop a portion of the parking lot for commercial purposes. But the city would potentially be giving up ticket revenue and parking revenue, among other considerations.
In my opinion, even with trade-offs, this is a huge win for taxpayers. The honest truth is the city doesn’t have $150 million laying around to fix the stadium on its own. But if this proposal is adopted, the stadium gets fixed and the city doesn’t have to touch a dime from the general fund. Plus, if the development turns out to be a bust, taxpayers won’t take a bath because all of the risk would be assumed by the Angels.
It’s a good column that puts the issue in perspective, and you can read the whole thing here.
Elect John Phillips mayor.