Los Angeles had the Dodgers but Major League Baseball thought the region could support another team. Enter the singing cowboy, Gene Autry. In addition to being a singer and and actor, Mr. Autry was a pretty astute businessman. He had bought a radio station - KMPC - and a TV station - KTLA - and was looking for some exclusive content that would generate big ratings. The timing worked right for an expansion team in the region.
While the Angels...taking its name from the city of angels, Los Angeles...at first shared the stadium with the Dodgers (who made them call the stadium "Chavez Ravine" when they played there), it was soon determined that they would need their own place to call home.
A bit south of L.A. in Orange County, the city of Anaheim was poised to bloom after Walt Disney opened his theme park there. The city paid for, and still owns, the stadium with the Angels as their major tennant since opening day in 1966.
The team has always been looked on as an underdog, playing second fiddle to the boys in blue up the freeway. After a few looks at the playoffs, the team...under former Dodger catcher Mike Scioscia...finally made it all the way to win the World Series in 2002 against a Barry Bonds-infused San Francisco Giants.
Many superstars and hall of famers have passed through the clubhouse including Nolan Ryan, Bobby Grich, Francisco Rodriguez, and Reggie Jackson but none claimed the Angels after they left. That changed this year when former outfielder Vladimir Guerrero entered the hall of fame as an Angel, the first player ever to do so.
Currently one of the best players in baseball, Mike Trout, prowls center field for the team and Japanese pitching and hitting phenom Shohei Ohtani provides spark on both sides of the equation.
The team never never won for Autry. The chant was always "win one for the cowboy," who was a beloved owner. He died in 1998 and his widow, Jackie, sold her shares of the team to the Disney Corporation, who renovated the stadium into today's version after being damaged in the Northridge earthquake of 1994.
The Disney era ended in in 2003 when Arizona billboard magnate, Artie Moreno bought the team. He is still the owner today.
Here are the stats:
Opened: 1966
Surface: Tifway 419 Bermuda Grass
Construction cost: $24 million
Capacity: 45,477
Field dimensions: Left field - 347 ft; Left center - 390 ft; center field - 396 ft; right center - 370 ft; right field - 350 ft.
Home teams: Los Angeles Angels (AKA California Angels, Anaheim Angels, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) 1966 to present. Los Angeles Rams 1980 - 1994
Games Attended: 100+
Although it was completely renovated around the beginning of the ADA era, Angel Stadium has not been a wheelchair friendly stadium under the watch of the current ownership. Most accessible seats are at the top of the Field Terrace section, which sit under a large overhang that blocks the view of the scoreboard. There are accessible seats at the top of the right field grandstand, which sit in the hot full sun during daylight hours, and at the top of the shorter left field bleachers. The left field seats behind the bullpen are the best, moderately priced seats for wheelchairs in the park.
There are a number of accessible seats in the very expensive Diamond Club, behind home plate, and two spots on the club level where there is one wheelchair seat and one companion seat.
Due to litigation, the team has set up a program for discounted seating for wheelchair users in the Diamond Club to make up for lack of seating in the club level. The discounted Diamond Club Tickets can be purchased on-line through the Angels Ticket Office by emailing a request to diamondclubaccess@angels.com and providing verification of the need for the use of a wheelchair.
Ushers here do a good job of keeping standing fans out of the way of wheelchair users.
(Full disclosure: we, and others, opened litigation against the team for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act with their wheelchair seating policies. That process has been completed and the team is now in full compliance with the law.)
Ticketing is much easier than it used to be, now go to angelsbaseball.com, click on 'Tickets,' 'Single Game Tickets,' choose the date you want, then click 'real time ADA seating.'
Public transit to the game consists of Orange County transit buses, Metrolink Commuter and AMTRAK trains which disgourge passengers at the ARTIC station on the other side of the 57 freeway from the stadium. It's a bit of a walk from there.
If you're driving, traffic can be daunting but we've found it's easier to deal with on the third base side of the stadium, entering and exiting from State College Boulevard.
The food is not, nor has it ever been spectacular. It's serviceable and while owner Moreno made a name for himself by slightly lowering beer prices after he took control, they have now creeped back up to normal ballgame prices.
We usually buy our own food on the way to the game and bring it in.
Our favorite is Portillo's in nearby Buena Park.
The concourse is open with TV monitors to follow the action. Lines are manageable and move quick. Fellow fans are friendly even if you're rooting for the opposition.
Overall, the stadium is showing it's age and the current management team has not really shown much of an interest in catering to those in need of accessibility over the years. They could also show more effort in fielding a winning team rather on resting on some tired laurels they've accumulated over time.
As it's our home team and we're destined to be their fans, we'd really like to see this one improve and climb our list.
Darryl Musick
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