Putting civic pride above business, Orange County Supervisor Lou Correa is questioning whether the Orange County Transportation Authority should accept advertising from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Correa, who also sits on the transportation authority’s 17-member board, said “OCTA needs to decide if it wishes to accept any name other than the Anaheim Angels on Orange County buses.”
Arte Moreno, owner of the Angels, changed the baseball team’s name at the start of the year, hoping to appeal to a wider regional audience and boost TV revenue. The city of Anaheim is fighting the name change in court.
OCTA’s board is set to consider the advertising issue at its March 28 meeting.
Cutting off the Angels would come at a price: The team is a sizable advertiser on buses during the baseball season. Angels ads appear on the sides and rear of OCTA buses.
An OCTA spokesman declined to say how much the Angels spend on bus ads. In 2003, the team had about 75 ads and 80 last year. No deal has been worked out yet for this year, he said.
The team is a moderate to above average advertiser, the spokesman said.
Viacom Inc.s outdoor advertising arm handles contracts for OCTA. The authority expects $9.4 million in ad revenue this year.
“Orange County has always promoted its Anaheim Angels, but Arte Moreno apparently isn’t interested in promoting Anaheim or Orange County,” Correa said.
OCTA runs more than 800 buses and carries 210,000 riders daily.
Correa, a former assemblyman who was elected to the board of supervisors last year, lives in Anaheim.
