New Angels Stadium in Long Beach?

[Ochocinco!]

18 hours ago, W.E. Baxter Author said:

I live in Colorado. I have been to Coors Field a couple of times in Lower Downtown Denver. It's a very beautiful ballpark.

Ive only been to Coors field one time but hanging out in that right field mezzanine was a beautiful experience I wish the Big A had 

[Hubs]

On 3/19/2019 at 11:30 AM, yk9001 said:

That's my thought.  If you want to be Los Angeles, go nuts and actually be Los Angeles.

Problem is that downtown area (say Staples to the old Transamerica building) has grown incredibly in the last 8 years.  Used to be old crappy buildings and janky parking lots.  Now it's condos and high rises.

The Downtown LA area would make a lot of sense. Except the Dodgers are basically in Downtown LA. Growing up, I never realized how close, because we'd get off Stadium Way off the 5, and Downtown was off the 110. But as an adult, you realize how close they are.

The old convention center NFL plan is the best stadium plan I've seen in for LA.

 

 

[Duren, Duren]

I grew up in Montreal and saw the transition from a funky quasi minor league Jarry Park to the monstrous concrete Olympic stadium. Nightmare financial disaster for the city financed stadium that took decades to pay off. And the ambiance was lousy though the baseball was great for some years. There were corrupt political factors too, and it was a more naive era, but I hope that taxpayer money is not part of any new equation..

I live in Vancouver  now, have family in the L.A. Area and vacation in the O.C. a few times a year. I've been to every sports stadium and arena in SoCal, and they all have their charms and idiosyncrasies along with flaws. As a visitor, the logistics of travel and infrastructure issues are not major issues. But I have met with some unexpected problems along the way. Many to do with parking. Angel games seem relatively more straightforward. 

Last summer I was staying at Huntington Beach during the surf championships and did some exploring around Long Beach. Lots of contrasts, though the nice areas were impressive. 

But long term stability is important too. The Angels have been a bit schizophrenic with their name and logo changes. All the iconic sports franchises maintain the essence of their brand as much as possible. Moving a considerable distance from their roots might be inevitable in some situations but shouldn't be embraced.

As a former fan of a relocated franchise, my loyalty died with the move. Franchise history never means the same. 

I would hope the Angels stay somewhere in the OC, with Long Beach maybe a viable compromise. Maintaining geographical continuity should be a major long term consideration. 

 

[yk9001]

16 minutes ago, Duren, Duren said:

The Angels have been a bit schizophrenic with their name and logo changes.

This is a real problem for this franchise.  And it continues to this day.

[T.G.]

8 minutes ago, yk9001 said:

This is a real problem for this franchise.  And it continues to this day.

[W.E. Baxter Author]

On 3/21/2019 at 3:31 PM, Duren, Duren said:

But long term stability is important too. The Angels have been a bit schizophrenic with their name and logo changes.

 Maintaining geographical continuity should be a major long term consideration. 

Gene Autry seemed to have had the most geographical continuity and by far the best marketing strategy. Arte Moreno said that Disney put The Angels into a box when they called them the Anaheim Angels and the team needs to be marketed outside the box, and he is correct. The problem is with Los Angeles, the team is now marketed outside the box, but not inside the box because The OC celebrates its own identity (Like Oakland does up in the San Francisco Bay Area) and does not identify with L.A. Gene Autry showed everyone how a team is marketed IN and OUTSIDE the box (as well as the owners of the Warriors Basketball Team).

 

I live in Colorado Springs Colorado (below); which heads up a Metropolitan Area which is nicknamed the "Pikes Peak Region." Even though the cities and towns (i.e Manitou Springs, Falcon, Cripple Creek) are technically suburbs of Colorado Springs, if you go around saying that, you will get run out of town on a rail. My city had a AAA Minor League Baseball Team for years called the "Colorado Springs Sky Sox." This year, The Sky Sox moved to San Antonio. Single A Team has moved here to Colorado Springs in its place. First the plan was to continue with Colorado Springs Sky Sox. However, they decided to change the geographical moniker and the team name and so the team playing at Security Service Field is called the "Rocky Mountain Vibes." Rocky Mountain is a name all the cities and towns in the Pikes Peak Region can identitfy with.

On 3/21/2019 at 3:31 PM, Duren, Duren said:

 

 

[Blarg]

You are so wrong. Autry considered the Angels a small market team and hobbled his franchise by not getting the correct advertising dollars due in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan market. He was a nice guy but didn't see the bigger picture. 

[W.E. Baxter Author]

On 2/26/2019 at 8:24 AM, Slegnaac said:

Traveling from the South Bay to Long Beach on mass transit wouldn't be any worse than sitting on the 405 south parking lot on a Friday night.

 

On 2/26/2019 at 12:59 AM, mancini79 said:

Absolutley. Probably one of the best views in a stadium I've seen.

Good view of Downtown Pittsburgh Skyline. In the Long Beach location wouldn't you have a good view of the downtown skyline as well?

[MacNasty]

Here's an interesting before & after for San Diego and Petco Park (link).  Not sure of the exact years the photos were taken, however before that revitalization the downtown was terrible and now its a gaslamp district that is one of the finest downtowns you'll see.  Stadium project is a windfall for the right area.