ANAHEIM, Calif. — The sale of Angel Stadium is dead, and the team’s landlord, the city, also plans to look into changing their lease agreement.
On Tuesday, in front of a packed council chamber, the Anaheim City Council unanimously voted to void the $320 million approved sale of Angel Stadium and its surrounding parking lots to Angels owner Arte Moreno’s development firm, SRB Management.
The city’s decision, led by Councilman Jose Moreno (no relation to owner Arte), is the first step to fixing the alleged wrongdoings of former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu, who was caught in an FBI corruption probe relating to the deal.
It also sets up a legal showdown with Arte Moreno, with one councilman expecting the resolution of the litigation to take years.
After more than three hours of public comment and on the heels of Sidhu’s resignation, members of the city council believe they have enough evidence from the current FBI investigation and legal arguments for revoking the land deal with SRB.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Councilman Jose Moreno said.
A council majority led by Sidhu originally approved the sale of the stadium and land deal to SRB in December 2019. The council was set to finalize the agreement in June.
“The stadium proposal was evaluated and approved on its merits,” Mayor Pro Tem Trevor O’Neil said. “However, knowing that there may have been an element of corruption that brought the final product to us, we cannot move forward in good conscience.”
O’Neil is again handling the duties of mayor after Sidhu officially stepped down from his post earlier that day.
The vote comes a little more than a week after an FBI affidavit implicated Sidhu and those close to him in what some described as a “pay to play” scheme relating to the approved sale of the 150-acre Angel Stadium site and surrounding parking lots — the city’s largest owned property.
An FBI investigator claims Sidhu, who was elected in 2018, shared confidential information relating to the stadium and land’s appraisal months to Moreno’s team before the city’s official negotiations began and rushed the deal’s approval in 2019.
In exchange, the FBI claims, Sidhu later planned to ask an Angels representative for a $1 million political contribution toward his November reelection campaign.
The FBI also nabbed Sidhu on other charges — from committing fraud for purchasing and registering a yellow helicopter with an Arizona address in an attempt not to pay California sales taxes to obstruction of justice for coaching a cooperating witness what to say to an Orange County grand jury probe into the deal.
The FBI also claims Sidhu was part of a much larger “cabal,” a group of influential power brokers from large companies and special interest groups that supposedly ran Anaheim behind the scenes.
On Monday, Sidhu's attorney, Paul S. Meyer, denied Sidhu did anything wrong, and his client only resigned to keep from being a distraction.
“The resignation of Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu was a necessary but not sufficient step,” Councilman Moreno said. “We must turn our focus to address a much larger systemic issue. The corrosive effects of money that for too long has pervaded our city’s elections … and shielded donors from scrutiny.
“It took an FBI investigation to uncover years of illegal backroom discussions and promises,” he added. “It is the worst kept secret in Anaheim that the millions of dollars that flow from the Disneyland Resort to Orange County Biz PAC from the Orange County Business Council, OC Tax from the chamber of commerce, all of which are largely funded by Disney and heavy contributions from Arte Moreno’s baseball has created a pandemic of corruption.”
After trying to find an amicable resolution between the city and SRB, an attorney representing Moreno sent a letter to the city last week urging the council to push the deal forward. Once the deal was sealed, SRB planned to build housing, hotels, shops and restaurants, and maybe even a new stadium on the site.
Tuesday’s council vote directs the city attorney to send a letter to SRB to void the deal. Additionally, the city will look into changing the lease terms.
Councilman Moreno claims Sidhu tricked the then-city council members into believing they were renewing the Angels lease, which was set to expire in 2019, for one year. Instead, the newly negotiated lease has the Angels playing at Angel Stadium through 2029, with three three-year extensions through 2038.
Councilman Moreno said the land sale and lease could be voidable if Sidhu is found guilty of the FBI’s charges.
Councilman Avelino Valencia said the city plans to play hardball with the Angels if they continue to pursue the deal. The city pays the Angels $700,000 a year for stadium upkeep and makes no money from the current lease. A city official said the city “breaks even” with the Angels share.
“The Anaheim resident didn’t get a good deal — on this remarkable piece of land,” Councilman Jose Diaz said.
“This deal can’t move forward,” Valencia said. “We need to play offense and ensure a better deal for the taxpayers of Anaheim.”
Councilman Stephen Faessel, who was also implicated in the FBI probe but admitted no wrongdoing, said if the city plans to sell the stadium to the Angels, the council needs to change over. New council members need to be brought in, he said.
“This needs a fresh start with fresh faces,” he said.
Many residents, some of whom long suspected wrongdoing by council members, had enough.
“The Angel Stadium deal needs to end today,” Jeanine Robbins said. “Cheaters, liars and thieves — that’s what you are.”