City of Anaheim v. Angels Baseball LP facts for kids
City of Anaheim v. Angels Baseball LP was a legal case about the name of a baseball team. The city of Anaheim, California sued the owners of the Los Angeles Angels baseball team. The city wanted the team's name to stay Anaheim Angels. But the team changed its name to Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The city said this broke their agreement for using the city-owned Angel Stadium of Anaheim. The city lost the case. Both a jury and a higher court decided the team could use the new name.
The Angels team started in 1961 as the Los Angeles Angels. In 1965, they moved to Anaheim and changed their name to California Angels. In 1996, the Angels and Anaheim city made a new agreement. The city would pay to fix up the stadium. In return, the team's name had to include "Anaheim." So, the next year, the team became the Anaheim Angels.
In 2003, a new owner named Arte Moreno bought the team. Less than two years later, the team announced a new name: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They wanted to show the team was from the whole Southern California area, not just Orange County, California. The "of Anaheim" part was added to follow the 1996 agreement. Anaheim city officials were very upset. They said the name change broke the agreement. Many fans in Orange County also disliked the change. They felt Orange County was different from Los Angeles.
The city tried to stop the name change right away, but they failed. The Angels started playing under the new name for the 2007 Major League Baseball season.
Contents
The Angels Name Change Lawsuit
How the Team's Name Changed Over Time
The Angels baseball team began in 1961 as the Los Angeles Angels. The team was owned by actor Gene Autry. They played their first season in Los Angeles. The next year, they moved to Dodger Stadium, sharing it with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 1964, Gene Autry made a deal with the city of Anaheim, California for a new stadium. The team changed its name to California Angels in 1965. They moved to the city-owned Angel Stadium of Anaheim in 1966. They used this name for over 30 years.
The Anaheim Name Agreement
In 1996, The Walt Disney Company bought part of the Angels team. The next year, the team changed its name to Anaheim Angels. This happened because of a deal between the city and the team. The city agreed to fix up Anaheim Stadium. A key part of the deal was that the team's name had to include "Anaheim." There was already another team in Anaheim with the city's name: the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (a hockey team). Disney bought the rest of the team in 1999.
New Owner, New Name Idea
In 2003, Disney sold the team to Arte Moreno. He was a successful businessman from Arizona. He promised to keep the team in Anaheim. But starting in 2004, the word "Anaheim" began to disappear from team uniforms and merchandise. It was replaced with "Angels" or "Angels Baseball."
On January 3, 2005, the Angels announced their new official name: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
The team said they were originally created to represent the larger Los Angeles area. This area includes Los Angeles, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Orange counties.
The new owner, Arte Moreno, believed the new name would help the team reach more fans. He wanted to market the team to all of Southern California, not just Orange County. This would let them reach a much bigger audience. The "of Anaheim" part was added to follow the stadium lease agreement. This agreement said the team's name must "include the name Anaheim." But the team expected people and the media to just call them the "Los Angeles Angels."
At the same time, the Angels started a big advertising campaign in Los Angeles. They put up billboards that said "City of ANGELS." The Los Angeles Dodgers, another baseball team, fought back. They put up their own billboards saying "LA Baseball." They even put Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles on special items for fans.
The Lawsuit Begins
Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle and other city officials said the name change broke the spirit of their agreement. They argued that the city would not have agreed to the new stadium lease without the "Anaheim" name. The new lease meant the city paid for stadium repairs but got less money from the team. Anaheim sued the team in court. They wanted money and for the team to go back to being the Anaheim Angels. City politicians even stopped using their special seats at the stadium. They gave the tickets to charities instead. The trial started in January 2006.
Many other city leaders also opposed the name change. Mayors from every city in Orange County and the mayor of Los Angeles signed a petition against it. The city councils of Anaheim, Irvine, and Los Angeles officially said they were against the name change. The city of Los Angeles said it only recognized teams with "Los Angeles" in their name if they played within Los Angeles city limits. Even Disney, the former owner, supported Anaheim in the lawsuit.
The city also tried to get a court order to stop the name change right away. But the judge said no. The city appealed this decision to a higher court. The higher court asked the city and the team to try to settle the case before the trial. But they didn't. In June 2005, the higher court also said no to the city's request to stop the name change.
The case went to a jury trial in January 2006. On February 9, 2006, the jury decided in favor of the team. They said the name Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim followed the agreement. This meant the city would not get any money. On March 2, 2006, the judge officially said the city could not force the team to change its name back.
The Appeal Process
On February 26, 2007, the city of Anaheim appealed the jury's decision. They wanted to show more evidence that was not heard in the first trial. They also wanted the team to pay their court costs, which were about $7 million. On December 20, 2008, a state appeals court said no to the city's appeal. They would not change the jury's decision or make the team pay the city's court costs. On January 13, 2009, Anaheim's city council decided not to appeal any further. This ended the legal fight.
What Happened After the Lawsuit
Even though the team won the lawsuit, they mostly use their full name only on official papers. They still try to market themselves without directly saying "Los Angeles" or "Anaheim." Neither city name appears on their uniforms or most team items. Instead, they use "Angels" or "Angels Baseball." Major League Baseball and the national news quickly started calling them the "Los Angeles Angels." The team was right; people dropped the "of Anaheim" part. In fact, before the 2016 Major League Baseball season, the team officially removed "of Anaheim" from their name.
Even with the long legal battle, fans stopped protesting the new name long before the court cases ended.
The name argument and the city's lawsuit did not stop fans from loving the team. Angel Stadium had over 3.3 million fans each season from 2004 to 2008. The controversy also did not hurt the team's performance. They won their division four times during this period. This was the most successful time in the team's history. The team's owner was still seen as a good leader in the league. The Angels were chosen to host the 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The baseball commissioner called the Angels a "model team."
In 2007, the Angels' name change even inspired a minor league baseball team, the Long Beach Armada. They jokingly changed their name to the Long Beach Armada of Los Angeles of California of the United States of North America Including Barrow, Alaska.
The "Truth in Sports Advertising Act"
On February 22, 2005, a California state politician named Tom Umberg tried to pass a new law. It was called the "Truth in Sports Advertising Act." If it became law, the Angels would have to say on all tickets and ads that their home was Anaheim, not Los Angeles. This would only change if Anaheim or Orange County said it was okay. On May 16, 2005, the bill passed in the California Assembly. It was then sent to the California State Senate.
However, the hearings for the bill were canceled. On July 11, 2005, the hearing was put off forever. This meant the bill was stopped and did not become a law.
Images for kids
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Angel Stadium of Anaheim. City of Anaheim v. Angels Baseball LP was a legal case over the terms of the team's lease of the city-owned stadium.
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Arte Moreno (right) poses for a picture with an Angels fan.
