Anaheim: Home Of The Happiest Place On Earth (Angel Stadium)

Will Arte Moreno have Anaheim’s back if the city loses too much money from the name change? Yeah, it may seem like a long shot that this will happen, but in reality Anaheim relies on the advertisement of the city’s name going around the nation. Think about it; every baseball game has a scoreboard of all the games in the MLB, sports channels show the scores, websites highlight the teams, and all these sports teams see their names posted in tons of different places daily.

So Los Angeles is getting tons of advertisement everyday in several different sports. Dodgers, Kings, Lakers, Clippers, Galaxy, Sparks, and Bruins are teams of LA getting constant promotion for the city. Isn’t that enough? The Anaheim Ducks don’t seem to be hurting too bad, even before they recently won the Stanley Cup.

Arte believes that putting Los Angeles before the team’s name will gather more revenue, simply because it caters to a wider audience. If Angels had the old team name of Anaheim again, no one would be confused about the location. People around our nation know where Anaheim is. It’s one of the biggest tourism spots in the nation. Anaheim has worked hard to bring people to its city to visit Disneyland. They have worked hard to make their stadiums huge tourist spots as well. I know it sounds repetitive, but it’s just a shame that a little name change could make a huge difference for the city, and Arte Moreno will not even grant them that.

This is not just my view on why it should be changed. The city of Anaheim has confronted these issues before, which is part of the reason why they sued Arte Moreno; and unfortunately lost. For me… this is pride I’m concerned about.

Popularity

Have you ever wondered what makes a sports team known? Is it the location? The players? The stadium? Or the team’s track record? I strongly believe a team’s popularity is defined by their wins and loses.

Take a look at the New York Yankees. They have the most World Series wins in the MLB. They also have an incredible fan base that spreads across the United States. You can find their merchandise in any sporting goods store in America. People like them because they are fun to watch because they WIN! Of course there is always going to be the die-hard fans that will support them whether they win or lose, but my point is if a team is successful the fans will follow. There is a second New York baseball team, the Mets. How often do you hear about them? Definitely not as much as the Yankees. If fans were basing their dedication to a team solely on the location, then where are all Mets fans? Lets not beat around the bush here, the Mets are not as good as a baseball team as the Yankees; therefore their fan base is not as strong.

I base the new interest in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (ugh) on the fact that they are proving to be a competitor in the MLB. They won the World Series in 2002 and have continued to make it into the play offs year after year. They are competing in a manner that makes them a respected baseball team. So adding Los Angeles to the name will not make them more favorable to baseball fans. Fans will follow the teams that they find fun and interesting to watch. Nobody likes losing!

So going back to my whole mission of changing the name back to the Anaheim Angels; it shows that the location doesn’t really matter inevitably. It’s about the way the team plays. The reason I am so concerned and want the name changed back is because I have pride in Orange County and I want to see it be represented properly. So long has Orange County been sitting in the shadow of LA. It’s time to make a statement in the OC!

LA ANGEL$

Arte Moreno is a man trying to take care of his investment. What goes down on the field… not so much his problem. In an interview before this season started, Moreno talks of his latest bold moves for the club. From what he has been doing, it appears that he is pinching pennies. Several staff members have been laid off and the Angels have lost some of their top players. Arte says that it isn’t a problem, and the club has earned plenty of money last season. Could be true seeing that playoffs generate a lot of revenue. Moreno spends about 44% of the organization’s money on marketing. Even the measly 18% he’s spending on the team is lacking good decisions.

Some of these decisions include last season when the Angels dropped some good players. John Lackey and Vladimir Guerrero, no longer with the team, were two players that were All-Stars for the Angels in past season. Vlad even won the home run derby a couple of seasons ago. Chone Figgins the team’s top lead-off man left as well.

After these players leave, your supposed to replace them with equal counterparts. They may have gotten a couple good players in return, but Moreno spent a lot of the money that was reserved for signing new players on renewing old players contracts instead. Some of that extra money went into the marketing portion of the club. It’s almost to the point where Arte is really just in it to make a buck. The Angels do have a good team right now, and they are still favored to win the AL west, but we are out some talent we could definitely use.

In the Arte Moreno interview he says “It’s never been about the money. It’s about what Mike and the coaches say, about what Tony and the scouts say.” This is in regards to picking players. This guy definitely does care about the money. The extra money he could save. The stadium had several new renovations this season in preparation for the All-Star game. So what’s all this talk about how it’s not about the money. He does not care what the coaches say unless it involves bringing in more revenue.

The whole Los Angeles name change hasn’t been proved to have made a difference, despite what he says. In the same interview he finishes by saying this: “I bought a business, and I’m investing money into it. If I believe it’s the proper investment, I’m going to make it. If I’m not going to get a return, I’m not going to make it.” Okay Arte, so if it turns out changing the name to Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim doesn’t increase the sales and widen the market, you BETTER change it back. You said it…

The Los Angeles Rams (of Anaheim)

If Los Angeles is such a good selling point and makes for a stronger, more broad media, then why did the Los Angeles Rams fail in Anaheim?

The Rams started out in Los Angeles and when their time was up at the Los Angeles Coliseum they moved to Anaheim around the mid 1970’s. They shared a stadium with at the time, the California Angels. The Rams kept their name as the Los Angeles Rams. (Wonder if this is where Arte Moreno got this amazing idea!?!) The Rams only survived in Anaheim for 15 years. The “fabulous” tag of Los Angeles failed them. The name alone was not enough to keep the team afloat. Los Angeles has been and still is a very well-known city. So why didn’t the Rams last longer in LA?

Apparently there was no interest in the team. The larger media did not save the team, nor did it attract more fans. In 1998, the Los Angeles Times had a poll measuring local attitudes toward pro football. It showed that 59% of Southern Californians did not consider having a pro football team in Los Angeles important. Only 9% of the respondents called themselves to be a “strong fan” of the Raiders and 69% said they were “not a fan.” The Rams’ on the other-hand didn’t do as well. Only 6% called themselves a “strong fan” and 77% said they were “not a fan.”

So I ask you, will including Los Angeles in the team name really make a difference compared to Anaheim?

Who is Arte Moreno?

Meet the man behind it all, Arte Moreno. I do not mean any harm to him, just for him to understand my point of view and act upon it!

Moreno purchased the Angels in 2003 right after they won the World Series in 2002. My opinion, a wise business maneuver. He became the first man of hispanic decent to own a major sports team. Arte has had a lot of experience in the business world long before he purchased the Angels.

When he graduated from University of Arizona, he got a job at the Eller Outdoor advertising company. Gaining experience and traveling around for seven years, Arte moved on to a billboard company called Outdoor Systems. He soon rose to the presidential position and became chief executive officer. This is where he made his mark as a true business man. In just 10 years he took his companies $500,000 and made it into $90 million. He eventually sold the company for $8 billion.

Moreno always had a love for America’s favorite past time, and his first step involved purchasing part of a minor league team. He wanted to move on to a MLB team. His initial team of choice to purchase was the Arizona Diamondbacks. After not being able to get them, he settled for the little town of Anaheim.

So now I ask: Is Arte only in this for the business aspect of this team? Or is this team a part of his passion for baseball?

I believe that even if this started as a business move, it was a smart move. Maybe the Angels weren’t his team of choice, but I am sure he has some love for the team. Now it just comes down to why he makes moves like changing the team name. It makes me wonder where his heart really is.

Drop LA

A little while back when this whole LA Angels thing started, some diehard fans were outraged. David Skonezny who is director of Venture Marketing Solutions Ltd. made some 500 shirts and 2000 stickers that said “We are not LA” with a broken “A” with a halo around it. He took them to an Orange County marketplace and they sold out in a week. After this, Skonezny and his brother started a website called DropLA.com which let fans show their objection to the new name. They had shirts and stickers for sale and little write ups similar to these.

Skonezny didn’t want any trouble with Arte Moreno or any of the Angels organization. He was still a huge fan at heart; just a little upset with the lack of progression in putting Orange County on the map. He’s also not opposed to the organization just, “in opposition to an ill-conceived marketing direction that they’ve taken.” Skonezny was afraid his website might be forced to shut down. This would be due to the fact that Arte Moreno would easily be able to cause them to cease and desist.

Now if you try to go to DropLA.com you won’t find any t-shirts or stickers. This is because it is no longer a website, which leads me to believe that there might have been some drama with the Angels organization and Skonezny’s blasphemy. If you go to games you still might see some fans wearing the shirts they obtained while the website still existed.

As for Arte’s view on things… He needs to realize that Orange County is a known destination. Media has portrayed Orange County as a luxurious place. Television shows like “The O.C.”, “Laguna Beach”, and “The Real Housewives of Orange County” make the area look very progressive. The world knows where Orange County is, so leave it be and do us a favor Arte… Drop the LA.

Turf War; the Dodgers Involvement.

As I am sitting at my house watching the Dodger vs. Angel game I can’t help but wonder the Dodgers opinion on the Angels name change.  (Pay no attention to the score of the game, by the 5th inning they’re tied at 2.  Go Angels! )

I have read blogs and statements from countless Dodger fans who are extremely unhappy about the Angels taking part of Los Angeles.  They refer the Dodgers as the original LA team, the only LA team and countless other LA references.  Statements also are referring LA as blue and not red.  Overall a large amount of dissatisfaction.  So who is happy with this name change?  Most people in Orange County are unhappy and now people in LA are unhappy.  Great job Arte Moreno, you sure know how to inspire people!

Tom Boyd, a sports marketing professor at Cal State Fullerton, has an opinion of his own on the name change of the Angels.  Boyd said he doesn’t believe the Angels’ strategy is to attempt to steal Dodgers fans. Instead, it’s about becoming a larger-market team in order to reach parity with the Dodgers by charging more for contracts and broadcasting.  He goes on to state that the last time he was at Dodger Stadium he paid around $63 for four hot dogs, two fries, and four beers.  Is that what we have to look forward to in Anaheim because of the tag Los Angeles?  Are ticket prices going to sky-rocket for local Orange County people because the marketing people for Angels are getting greedy and see more money to be made?  Although more revenue for the team is a positive thing, its negative when it is at the cost of the die-hard fans.  I have always been fond of the fact that if I want to go to a game at Angel Stadium I can by a cheap $12 ticket four hours before the game.  I hope that this wont change.

It really saddens me to comprehend that the Angels who have always had such a local, Orange County feel are doing everything they can to step away from that and be recognizable with Los Angeles.  Keep LA for the Dodgers, this Angel fan wants nothing to do with it.

The Anaheim Ducks

Not everybody in Anaheim feels that a name change is needed to support their team.  The Anaheim Ducks are a very successful hockey team and they rests solely on the name of Anaheim.  They have a very strong fan base and are a very respected team.  In 2007 the team won the Stanley Cup.  They received a lot of publicity and further branded their team name.  There is probably an Anaheim Duck fan in Tennessee and it is not because they are from Anaheim, it’s because they like the players, what the team stands for, what they represent, and how they play.

Being a resident of Anaheim, I often pass by the Honda Center before a Duck game.  The amount of people who flock to the event with their Duck jerseys on is amazing.  Anaheim has brought the fans to the game, and they deserve to be properly represented.  Anaheim has put the Ducks and the Angels on the map in professional sports.  Why not embrace your hometown?  Why must Arte Moreno feel the need to through the name Los Angeles in the middle of the team’s name?  What added value is going to benefit the team, and at what cost?

The Ducks have proven that Anaheim is a substantial/ desirable location to harbor a professional sporting location.  Now when will Arte Moreno figure it out?

Anaheim’s attempt to save the Angels.

When the name changed to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the City of Anaheim was extremely upset and thought that it broke the contract the city had with the baseball team.  The stadium is owned by the City of Anaheim, and has a contract with the team until 2029.   Click here to read the letter that the City of Anaheim wrote to all of its business owners and residents of Anaheim about the cities standpoint on the situation.

The City of Anaheim conducted a lawsuit against the baseball team to defend the contract.  Along with that they also got every mayor in Orange County, and the mayor of Los Angeles to sign a petition opposing the name change.  The case went on trial on January 9, 2005 and on February 9, 2005 the court ruled that the baseball team was in contract with the name change.  Appeals were made by the City of Anaheim but it did not prevail in the fight against the baseball team.

“Angel fans have a palpable pride, and perceive a prejudice against their community in the name change,” wrote Andrew Guilford, who serves as co-counsel for the city in the case along with Mike Rubin. “This case has attracted a lot of attention because people care deeply about this issue.  But, ultimately, this case is about contract law, and about the power and responsibility of courts to protect the unique rights of parties.”

This quote sums up how I personally feel about the name change.  The City of Anaheim did everything they could to try and save the team’s name but there was nothing they could do once the court ruled against them.  As a resident of Anaheim I feel as though this city is enough to market the team.  The name “Los Angeles” is not needed to make it have a higher selling point. Yes, Los Angeles is more well known than Anaheim, but many big name companies, and other professional sports teams have done very well resting on the name Anaheim alone.  Does Disney and the Anaheim Ducks come to mind?

Have some pride.

Is it possible to be in two geographic locations at once? No, but if  you are at the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim stadium you can be!  Sounds pretty ridiculous right?  These two locations, Anaheim and Los Angeles, are approximately 40 miles apart from each other, and in two different counties; but they are put together to represent one baseball team.

Why would someone do that?  Simple, to generate more revenue.  This makes me feel that Arte Moreno, team owner, does not care about his team, only the money it makes.

Last year I moved out of my parents house to go to school at Chapman University located in Orange, Calif.  Rather than live right by the campus so I could walk to class, I thought it would be more enjoyable for me to take the 5 minute drive to school so I could live right by Angel stadium.  I am able to walk to games, enjoy the atmosphere, get free parking, and occasionally deal with all the Angel fans blocking State College Blvd.  All in all I am completely happy with my decision of  where I live.  Being an Anaheim resident I have a sense of pride for my hometown team.  Although, I do not feel that my hometown is properly represented.

I want the name Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to be changed back to its name, Anaheim Angels. I also want Arte Moreno to realize that Anaheim has made a name for itself.  It is the home of Disneyland, and also a part of Orange County.  There is money to be made in Anaheim.  Keeping the name will make many of the fans happy to cheer on their local, hometown team.