Alicia Mink wanted to see her Angels play Monday. She never had been to Petco Park.
“Super nice,” she said. “Love the stadium.”
Petco Park is the best ballpark in Southern California, by far — integrated into a vibrant neighborhood; spacious and modern; packed with delectable food and drink options; a community gathering spot rather than a venue that sits largely idle every winter and every other week during the summer.
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Angel Stadium is none of those things. The city of Anaheim would like to change that.
Fans arrive to Petco Park before an opening-day game between the Braves and the Padres om March 27 in San Diego. (Gregory Bull / Associated Press)
On Tuesday, the Anaheim City Council is scheduled to discuss the city’s strategic plan. Included among the 21 objectives during the coming year: “Address the future of Angel Stadium and the surrounding property.”
The Angels’ stadium lease allows Angels owner Arte Moreno to control development on most of the property through 2038, although the city retains the right to build on roughly a third of the parking lot. Moreno has not publicly committed to negotiate with the city for a potential stadium deal.
The city’s priorities include getting out of the business of owning a stadium, securing the Angels in Anaheim for decades to come, generating tax revenue from a ballpark village atop the parking lot, and adding sorely needed housing within any development.
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What about the fans’ priorities?
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On Monday, I spoke with more than a dozen of the Angels fans at Petco Park. There were plenty of them within the sellout crowd, so loud when they cheered Zach Neto’s home run that Padres fans felt compelled to drown them out.
If Angel Stadium were renovated, the Angels fans I polled almost unanimously suggested two top priorities to borrow from Petco Park. The first: the space and spirit of Gallagher Square, the park behind center field.
When the Padres are not playing, it’s a popular concert venue, as well as a public park with a playground, dog run and paddleball courts. When the Padres are playing, there’s a Wiffle ball diamond for kids, surrounded by giant bats and baseballs to climb, a slide, and hills to roll down. For adults, there’s a wide promenade, concession stands, and the game on a really big screen.
A general view of Gallagher Square at Petco Park before a game between the Giants and Padres on March 31, 2024, in San Diego. (Brandon Sloter / Getty Images)
“I like the vibe of it,” Cathi Phillips said.
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The second top priority: the top-tier food and drinks, particularly from prominent local restaurants and craft breweries. Two fans I spoke with each volunteered the name of his favorite San Diego restaurant brand here: Hodad’s (burgers) for one, Seaside Market (tri-tip) for the other.
“There’s a variety of drinks and food we are missing immensely at Angel Stadium,” Adam Alexander said.
Also notable: Petco Park opens to the neighborhood, with downtown views. A ballpark village in Anaheim could provide similar views, but for now Angel Stadium looks out onto the 57 Freeway.
Petco Park opened in 2004. Angel Stadium opened in 1966 and underwent its last major renovation in 1997.
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For now, the city of Anaheim is completing a property assessment to determine how many hundreds of millions might be needed to keep the stadium safe and sound for the coming decades.
Read more: Shaikin: What’s the future for aging Angel Stadium? It feels like an increasingly uncertain one
The amenities might be secondary, except that the revenue from them could help pay for the renovations. And, with two stadium deals collapsing in the last decade, there may not be a third.
If not, the reaction would be mixed among the fans I polled Monday. One called Angel Stadium “archaic.” Another disagreed, but only gently: “It’s not the Oakland Coliseum.”
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The stadium remains comfortable and functional. At the very least, Jaime Diaz said, the access is good.
“Can’t go wrong with the parking,” he said. “Easy to get in and out.”
And, for longtime fans, an old stadium is still their stadium.
“We have a fondness for it because we grew up there,” Rebecca Fuerst said. “It feels like home.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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