Angels reportedly in talks with Long Beach about new stadium

The Los Angeles Angels of Long Beach?

The Major League Baseball team is reportedly considering a move back to Los Angeles County after more than 50 years in Anaheim.

As first reported by the Long Beach Post, the Angels are in preliminary talks with the city of Long Beach about construction of a new stadium close to the city’s convention center. A deal the Angels have with the city of Anaheim to remain in the 1966-built Angel Stadium expires at the end of next year.

“We have approached the Angels to express our interest and discuss the possibilities of this opportunity,” Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said in an emailed statement. “This is very preliminary and discussions are ongoing.”

Angels executives have made it clear in recent years that the team is considering relocating from its longtime home, and Long Beach isn’t the only city trying to lure the team away from Anaheim. In 2014, the Angels began negotiating with the city of Tustin about a potential stadium at a former Marine Corps air station there.

In Long Beach, the team is reportedly eyeing a 13-acre parking lot close to the city’s waterfront. That site is also slated for use during the 2028 Olympics, when temporary water polo and BMX arenas are slated to rise as part of a larger competition zone in the city’s downtown area.

By Miune / Shutterstock

The Angels have played in Anaheim since the mid-1960s, but the team began its life as a Major League Baseball franchise in Los Angeles, hosting games at now-demolished Wrigley Field and later Dodger Stadium.

The city of Long Beach also pursued the team in the early 1960s, but owner Gene Autry eventually settled on Anaheim.

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