In a sense, the Angels have already crossed the Rubicon: call yourselves Los Angeles, and it follows that you should reside in Los Angeles. Now, reports Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times, the Angels, Los Angelenos in name and spirit, might be planning an actual physical move to the Dodgers' turf city.
The team has an escape clause in its Angel Stadium lease that allows it to get out after the 2016 season. With the Dodgers' angling to refurbish Dodger Stadium rather than build a new park, that means there's an opportunity for the Angels to undertake a downtown Los Angeles venue. Presumably to this end, Angels owner Arte Moreno and chairman Dennis Kuhl met earier this month with "the local expert at building and financing sports facilities." And as Shaikin notes:
The Dodgers could not challenge an Angels move to Los Angeles, at least not in the way the San Francisco Giants are blocking the A's from moving to San Jose.While the Angels are flush with revenues these days, attendance is declining, even after the offseason spending spree. Perhaps Moreno sees this as an opportunity to expand the fan base and take his rebranding of the franchise to the highest level.
The Giants have exclusive territorial rights to San Jose. The Dodgers and Angels share an identical territory, including Los Angeles.
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