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City-commissioned appraisal of Angel Stadium to be released

Los Angeles Angels of AnaheimAn Anaheim-commissioned appraisal of the land surrounding Angel Stadium will eventually be released to the public, as the city continues to negotiate with Angels owner Arte Moreno about a new lease and development plans.

The issue: the worth of the land as part of the financial equation for the lease. The appraisal covers the worth of the land if the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim continue playing at Angel Stadium and development the surrounding land, as well as the worth of the land as basically an open tract of land available for development, assuming the Angels move elsewhere.

But the appraisal won’t come until May 6, and it’s very possible by then the city will have wrapped up a new lease with the Angels, whose current Angel Stadium lease ends in 2019. Moreno and other Angels officials have reportedly had some conversations with other municipalities about a new ballpark, but getting a new ballpark (or any other sports facility) built in California is extremely challenging these days. The proposal from Moreno calls for the team to develop the land surrounding the ballpark and leasing it for $1; the money generated from the development would fund up to $350 million in improvements to Angel Stadium.

From the Orange County Register:

Preliminary estimates have ranged from a city staff-reported $30 million to $380 million that Mayor Tom Tait has said he saw on a city document. The appraisal will be posted on the city’s website on May 2, said City Attorney Michael Houston.

“This is the people’s stadium, and they have the right to know what it’s worth,” said Tait, who called for the appraisal in September, shortly after the City Council agreed to re-examine the current stadium lease.

Public-records laws allow government agencies, like the city of Anaheim, to keep property appraisals under wraps until after a deal is completed, said Terry Francke, general counsel for Californians Aware, a government watchdog group in Sacramento.

If the city is looking at a May 6 release of the appraisal, it’s a good bet both sides feel confident a deal is at hand.

RELATED STORIES: No public money for new Angels ballpark: Tustin mayor; Moreno: Angels committed to Anaheim, but checking out alternatives; Angels lease negotiations hinge on value of land surrounding ballparkAngels casually threaten move during lease negotiations

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