The State of California has declared that the City of Anaheim’s sale of the Angels Stadium property with 150 acres was illegal.
“The City Violated the Surplus Land Act by Failing to Declare the Property as ‘Surplus Land’ or ‘Exempt Surplus Land,’” according to a letter from the California State Department of Housing and Community Development. The stadium and the land was to be sold to SRB Management, a development company created by Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno.
In short, the state determined that city officials failed to provide “any documentation … demonstrating that the City has declared the Property as either ‘surplus land’ or ‘exempt surplus land’ before selling to SRB Management, LLC which planned to extensively develop the site.
Critics complained about the fire sale price the city sold the stadium to SRB. The City is likely to appeal this decision but this decision opens the door for three options:
The City sells the property to another company at a much higher price (operators are standing by). The City somehow makes needed adjustments to the deal for the sale to go through or wins an appeal so SRB gets the property and still develops it. Or, the Angels pack up and leave for another location (the proposed site of the joint Chargers-Raiders stadium in Carson might still be a possibility as some of the required environmental work has been done before the Raiders opted for LasVegas and the Chargers headed to SoFi).
Democratic candidate for Anaheim mayor Ashleigh Aitken posted this statement on the decision by the State:
While the stadium site property is appraised at a higher value than $150 million, a property or a product is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. The door is now open for other organizations to make an offer.