Angel owners to get $2.75 million after failed stadium sale and public corruption scandal

Anaheim city leaders have agreed to a $2.75 million settlement with the owners of the Angels over the failed sale of the stadium after the FBI intervened as part of a public corruption investigation.

The money will come via the city's forfeiture of all revenue generated from baseball ticket sales, parking and other events at the Angels stadium over the next two to three years. This is the latest development in the 2022 Anaheim corruption scandal that erupted when federal investigators alleged influence peddling in local politics.

What this means for the city’s taxpayers

The revenue the city is forfeiting is money that is typically used for administration costs and salaries of the Convention, Sports & Entertainment department.

“We actually don't depend on this money,” said Anaheim spokesperson Mike Lyster.

Because the revenue is dependent on a certain threshold of ticket sales, Lysters said “some years we get it and some years we don't get it.”

The bulk of that department’s costs are covered by leases at the convention center.

The settlement also clears the way for Anaheim to build a fire station in the Platinum Triangle area where the stadium and the Honda Center are both located.

The fire station was to be built on city land currently leased by the Angels’ team owners. In 2022, the owners threatened to sue if city officials pursued plans to build the fire station, saying it would violate the lease agreement. That opposition was dropped as part of the settlement.

The fire station is expected to reduce medical and emergency response times since the nearest fire stations are around two miles away.

How we got here

In 2020, city leaders approved a $320 million sale of the stadium to the owners of the Angels.

But in 2022, the stadium sale fell through when federal investigators revealed that then-Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu shared “city-specific information” to the Angels owners that they could then use against the city in negotiations for the sale. Sidhu later resigned under pressure and has since pleaded guilty to federal obstruction of justice, wire fraud and making false statements to federal agencies.

Anaheim canceled the stadium sale the day the FBI revelations came out. In turn, SRB Management, the company negotiating on behalf of the Angels, filed a claim against the city seeking more than $5 million in legal fees.

• Go deeper : Read about the city's 353-page report about Anahaim influence-peddling