Longtime Stadium-deal watcher and critic, realtor Wally Courtney, just sent me this article from Forbes’ Mike Ozanian, which reveals that the possible sale prices for the Angels that owner Arte Moreno publicly walked away from this week were likely as high as THREE BILLION DOLLARS. “There must be more to this story,” laconically observes Wally.
Three billion. That woulda been, by pretty far, the record, the new record for the sale of a baseball team, which till now was $2.42 billion for the Mets in 2020. Arte paid $183.5 MILLION for the team twenty years ago – he could have sold it this year for SIXTEEN TIMES that amount! But suddenly decided this week not to. Why not?
Well, what does Arte say? Speaking for his family (the owners) – either that or using the royal “we” – Arte tells us, “During this process, it became clear that we have unfinished business and feel we can make a positive impact on the future of the team and the fan experience … As discussions advanced and began to crystallize, we realized our hearts remain with the Angels, and we are not ready to part ways with the fans, players and our employees.”
Wow, that is touching. And we should probably just take Arte at his word. Not. Really, he just suddenly realized how verklempt he and his family feel over relinquishing their role in America’s pastime? If Anaheim has learned anything about this billionaire owner this past decade, it’s that he is greedy, that he is scheming, and that all his histrionic announcements are timed to political events.
A decade ago he had 4 out of 5 Anaheim Councilmembers willing – eager – itching for some reason – to hand him the entire 150 acres for $1 a year, to develop and profit off as he saw fit. The whole council, that is, except Mayor Tom Tait. So Arte put all of his resources into defeating Tait and electing obedient Lucille Kring as Mayor in 2014. When Lucille faceplanted, coming in last even behind Lorri Galloway, Arte backed off for a cycle.
Next, we all remember his perfectly-timed announcement a month before the 2018 election – just as it looked like Ashleigh Aitken could beat Arte’s trusty tool Harry Sidhu for Mayor – that he was taking his team and leaving Anaheim. A large segment of Anaheim voters freaked the fuck out, and Sidhu was out with an “only I can keep them here” statement within an hour. THAT worked like a charm, the Shame of Sikhs prevailed by 472 votes, and immediately set to work engineering the notorious Giveaway.
Then last year when the latest sweetheart deal was tanked by federal law enforcement and Sidhu’s extravagant incaution, Arte reacted first by suing US for $5 million, and then, in a fit of tearful pique, telling the world he was done with the Angels, done with US, and was selling the team! But now, before the door had even half a chance to hit him on the way out, we suddenly get this? The sentimental fool had underestimated his strong, unbreakable emotional tie to the team, and was back in for the long haul?
And so of course once again, soon, we’re going to have to be negotiating some sort of Stadium lease or sale with this con artist.
COINCIDENCE?
People, the sort of people who want to appear smarter than anyone else, like to say in a portentous tone: “I don’t believe in coincidences,” or, even more presumptuously, “THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES.” Well, I’ve seen plenty of coincidences in my time. But is THIS one? Arte’s announcement that he’s gonna be staying in Anaheim came 24 hours before the Anaheim Council, already dominated by FOUR Disney-sponsored members, solidified that majority by appointing Daly aide Norma Kurtz, a board member of SOAR, Disney’s lobbyist and money funnel.
Interestingly, the applicant that nearly every public commenter preferred, the one who was nominated by Mayor Aitken and supported by Carlos Leon, but rejected by the four Disney councilmembers, was honest Democrat Annemarie Randle-Trejo, who (by coincidence?) had recorded this song with me when Sidhu’s Stadium Swindle was first rolled out:
NEXUS?
There must be a “NEXUS” between Disney’s interests and the repeated attempts to give Arte Moreno a lopsidedly favorable deal for the Stadium property, but none of us have exactly figured it out. We know a few things – even though the press and public seems to have ignored it, Disney government relations flack Carrie Nocella was one of the THREE named members of the “CABAL” dominating Anaheim at the time. And we know that the Sidhu Stadium Swindle of 2020-21 was shoved through by a 5-2 Disney-funded Council. And that now, having learned nothing, we ONCE AGAIN have a 5-2 Disney-funded Council.
All I can say is that, when we’re told later this year that we need to work out the NEXT deal with Arte Moreno over the Stadium and surrounding property, Anaheim voters and taxpayers better hang onto their wallets with both hands.
But those are just MY disjointed thoughts this chilly Saturday. I want to know what YOU think – why did Arte walk away from $3 BILLION, a $2.8 billion profit? Inquiring minds…
We can only hope the investigators & Judge are following OJB.
I think the nexus is the fact that there are two mega mouths that want to be fed, and those giant maws want the meal to be free. There is very little common interest except vast appetite and the desire to see a council willing to shovel ever more into their two gullets.
I guess that commonality creates a mutual interest in a polluted political regime.
Something’s afoot
Arte feeds Armenians. Go Team Moreno.
https://twitter.com/biglittlebites/status/1618452831954173952?cxt=HHwWgIDU5dKR8_UsAAAA
*The Wonderkind….Arte Moreno! Hey, how long has he owned those Angels…anyway?
Disney bought it completely in what 1995? Arte bought the Angels from Disney in part in 2003. So it has been 20 years of Arte Moreno and Disney running the show in Anaheim.
Hey, Anaheim could have done much worse. What if a George Steinbrenner would have bought the Angels? Or a Donald Trump? Or a Marge Schott? We always thought that the best owner of the Angels should have been:Mr. October – Reggie Jackson. But then that would have taken a bunch of money from some serious partners that he may have not been able to control. Arte is the right guy for the Angels. He works the City of Anaheim like a Swiss Watch and gets along with Disney. What more do you Colonists want? Egg in your beer?
LOL. Apparently the star Angels’ player now is Shohei Ohtani, and from what I gather from THIS article, he was hanging on with the team hoping for a new owner. And the fact Arte is NOT selling the team is gonna make him more likely to leave for another team.
https://www.si.com/mlb/angels/news/angels-news-shohei-ohtani-far-less-likely-to-remain-in-anaheim-after-arte-moreno-decision-js77?
Doesn’t that kinda put a damper on Arte’s newfound resolution to lead a winning team?
He was leaving anyway. For wherever they flashed the most dough in front of him.
The Commissioner of Baseball has plenary control over the game. Rob Manfred could bounce Arte out on his ass anytime the other owners agreed to recognize him as a threat to the game, which he has literally been giving a bad name.
To answer your initial question, Vern, he’s saying no to $3BB because he things it can lead him to getting more than that. He clearly has a malignancy of a avarice gland.
*Otani is Japanese……in case you didn’t notice? They have loyalty and honor as their hallmarks. When they leave a team, they do so with the full acceptance of the team they are leaving.
Ever think about giving up on stereotypes?
Well, you know how old white men are. Whoops!
*Yeah, so true…..however as Pappy always said: “It takes one to know one!” or “The Apple never falls far from the tree!”…..but maybe that was Grandma – that said that? You do have to consider that she also said: “The Red Birds don’t mate with the Black birds!” – but that was in 1947, before Truman desegregated the US Army! Grandpa of course, who played for Connie Mack and the Philadelphia Athletics back in 1910 was also against Jackie Robinson becoming part of Major League Baseball. Then there was Andrew Jackson that said: “The only good Indian – is a dead Indian!” Thank goodness times change!
.
*Could it be time for another “Comment Like the Winships Open Thread?”
https://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2012/11/comment-like-the-winships-weekend-open-thread/
This most recent one was Baseball (comment) Hall of Fame material!
Sweet Jesus, enuff.
*OK…..you want to Demonize Arte….that is fine. However, it is not as bad as the Demonizing of the Chinese and the illicit Balloon Science Tree Work. Helium Balloons
cause the voice to chirp, sometimes change into a tiny tot flashback. The concept is
simple….the vocal cords are elongated or shrink. Meanwhile, the change is only temporary and goes away within seconds. Picking on the Chinese for Balloon Science Gathering is akin to saying the Tariffs work after three hundred years of bad history. Just one thought balloon however: Remember the High Velocity Missiles and Rockets that the Chinese have developed? They could have done the same thing with one of those and no one could have shot it down. Hilarious. Almost like asking Arte Moreno to sell the Angels to Elon Musk for 10 Billion dollars?
When I wrote this piece, full of questions, our troll (probably just one using different names) posted on all the blogs laughing that “Vern and friends are giving Arte Moreno business advice.” Of course that’s as stupid as anything our troll says, anyone could see we were just trying to figure out what Arte is up to.
But this morning THIS cracked me up – I guess the vast majority of the Angels’ fan base can’t stand Arte and are mad that he decided not to sell the team:
Angels News: Majority of Fans ‘Very Displeased’ Arte Moreno Didn’t Sell Team
Angels owner Arte Moreno did the impossible: He got 91% of Halos fans to agree on something — that he should have sold the team….
How do you feel about Arte Moreno deciding not to sell the Angels?
The results probably won’t surprise you, but the magnitude might.
This is probably the least surprising, but most shocking answer we’ll see here. About 75 percent of respondents are “very displeased” that Moreno didn’t sell the team. Another 16.5 percent are somewhat displeased. Only 66 total votes out of 1,947 said they were either very pleased (22) or somewhat pleased (34). This isn’t too hard to dissect. The Angels have an extremely unpopular owner who acts as though he’s totally unaccountable to the fans. He got everyone’s hopes up by saying he would sell, then crushed those dreams by taking the team off the market without explanation.
More here:
https://www.si.com/mlb/angels/news/angels-news-majority-of-fans-very-displeased-arte-moreno-didnt-sell-team-js77
Honestly, Vern, what the “fan base” cares about is neither here nor there.
If the Angels were winning pennants they would show up en masse to scream that Arte needs everything for free.
Have you read Ortega y Gassett’s “The Revolt of the Masses? The themes are played out in all the instances where fan bases get a voice.