[bigboydan]

Jurors reject Anaheim's claim in Angels name change dispute

By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer
February 9, 2006

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- A jury ruled Thursday that the Angels did not breach a contract with the city of Anaheim when the baseball team changed its name.

Jurors rejected the city of Anaheim's argument that the baseball team violated a stadium lease and cost the city where it plays at least $100 million in revenue by changing the name last year from Anaheim Angels to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The jury, which deliberated for a little more than four hours, also found the team did not violate a state law requiring good faith and fair dealing.

"I was trying to create something positive and more inclusive ... which we believed was our legal right to do," Angels owner Arte Moreno said. "Long term, we're going to have a healthier franchise that can compete."

Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle was disappointed, adding the case was about more than just a name change. It was "to make sure the identity of our community, both in Orange County and in the city of Anaheim, was preserved," Pringle said.

The city sued the Angels for breach of contract in January last year, shortly after Moreno changed the name.

City officials said the change cost Anaheim at least $100 million in lost tourism, publicity and so-called "impressions" -- buzz the city gets each time its name appears in the national media in conjunction with a major league baseball team.

City officials also claimed The Walt Disney Co., which sold the franchise to Moreno in 2003, agreed to call the team the Anaheim Angels and signed a 1996 stadium lease agreement committing to that.

Although the lease language said only the name shall "include" the word Anaheim, the city said Disney promised to call the team the Anaheim Angels in exchange for concessions, including stadium repairs and the use of the stadium itself.

Moreno maintained that changing the name did not violate the contract because he kept Anaheim in it. He said he wanted to use Los Angeles to capitalize on the second-largest media market in the nation, adding the new name would attract more publicity, broadcasting contracts and sponsors.

Pringle said the city, which spent $2 million on legal fees, had not decided whether to appeal. The matter could be discussed at next week's City Council meeting.

The judge in the case could still decide to issue an injunction changing the team's name back to the Anaheim Angels. A hearing to discuss that possibility was scheduled for March 2.

Testimony during the monthlong trial included statements from former Disney executives and city officials who negotiated the 1996 stadium lease, sports marketing experts who testified as to the value of the team name for Anaheim, and Moreno, who took the stand on three different days.

The Angels began play in 1961 as the Los Angeles Angels, becoming the California Angels when the team moved from Los Angeles to Anaheim in 1966. The name was changed to the Anaheim Angels in 1997 after Disney bought the team from founding owner Gene Autry.

[Illusion]

f\*\*k them!!! They might as well call them the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim represting California which is in the United States of America in North America located in the Western Hemisphere. What a fvcking joke.

[onlooker]

f\*\*k them!!! They might as well call them the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim represting California which is in the United States of America in North America located in the Western Hemisphere. What a fvcking joke.

Tell them how you really feel ILL, dont hold back bud.

[Illusion]

I was being nice. they could always add on earth in the Milky Way, lol.

[bigboydan]

anything for a buck nowadays with the tv contract marketing.