The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are in prime position to rule Southern California’s baseball landscape.
That’s a first for the 50-year-old franchise, which has grabbed a string of eye-popping headlines the last few weeks.
The stars have never aligned so neatly for the Angels, with the wave of momentum coming as the Los Angeles Dod-gers continue to limp their way through a bankruptcy that gets more ink than the team’s performance.
Add a new deal that includes a big increase in cable TV revenue, and the Angels look poised to take on the Dodgers for regional supremacy.
You won’t hear any of that from team executives, who downplay the regional rivalry.
“We don’t compete against the Dodgers in our minds,” said Angels’ Chairman Dennis Kuhl.
That’s a common refrain in Southern California, where sports teams compete with everything from the Comedy Store in Los Angeles to Disneyland in Anaheim for attention and discretionary dollars.
The Angels made big strides against other entertainment options when they signed star first baseman Albert Pujols to a 10-year deal worth more than $250 million. Angels owner Arte Moreno followed that blockbuster move by landing starting pitcher and Orange County native C.J. Wilson to a five-year deal for more than $70 million.
The two deals hit the news minutes apart earlier this month, cementing one of the most memorable days in Angels’ history.
Moreno and his team have taken criticism from fans and pundits in recent years for missing out on high-priced free agents. But the owner introduced a new era in the team’s history with a few broad strokes of the pen.
“When you look at the caliber of a player like Albert Pujols you have to look at it differently than any other player we’ve been after,” said Kuhl, who’s been with the team for eight years. “Albert is in a class of his own. You look at the attitude and work ethic. That only comes along once in awhile.”
Fox Sports
The new star power followed a broadcast deal reached with Fox Sports that stands to put the team in rare company in professional sports. The deal, which is expected to be announced in coming weeks, is somewhere in the neighborhood of 17 years and worth $2 billion to $2.5 billion, according to sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations.
The new contract will replace a 10-year deal for $500 million that expired in 2010. Moreno opted for a one-year renewal, making the team a free agent in terms of broadcast rights when the 2011 season ended.
The new, long-term contract will boost broadcast revenue by at least $70 million a year, more than enough to pay for the recent spending spree (see Editor’s Note, page 39).
Opposites
The Angels and Dodgers are going in opposite directions and fans have taken note.
Attendance at Angels Stadium last season topped 3.1 million people as the Angels contended for the American League West title for most of the year, but ultimately lost to division rival Texas Rangers.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers saw attendance drop nearly 18% in a year plagued by bad play on the field, high-profile divorce proceedings for owners Frank and Jamie McCourt, allegations of financial impropriety by league commissioner Bud Selig, a lingering bankruptcy, fan boycotts and an opening day incident that left a San Francisco Giants fan in a coma for months.
2011 was the first year attendance at Dodgers Stadium dipped below 3 million people in a decade. The Angels have drawn more than 3 million fans for nine straight years.
Next
What’s the next move for the Angels as they look to capitalize on this new found opportunity?
The big signings and pending broadcast deal “gives us an opportunity to extend our brand,” Kuhl said.
Executives are working with Fox on an advertising campaign and marketing strategy that’s expected to roll out in the coming weeks.
“It will be about the team,” Kuhl said. “[But] when you have that star power you want to make sure you use it the right way.”
History
The Angels are in position to gain ground throughout Southern California, according to Tom Shepard, chief marketing officer for 21 Sports & Entertainment Marketing Group Inc. in San Francisco.
Shepard, who has run campaigns for the Olympics and World Cup, cautioned that the Dodgers have built brand equity over decades in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, with stars such as Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Fernando Valenzuela still closely identified with the team.
“It doesn’t happen overnight,” he said. “It’s all about catching people at their most passionate but they do have the opportunity to be a brand that crosses ethnic boundaries and countries.”
Pujols is a native of the Dominican Republic, and he fielded some questions from reporters in Spanish during the press conference this month. That was early on a Saturday morning, and thousands of fans showed up to welcome their newest stars.
“It is the most excitement I’ve seen going into the season,” Kuhl said.
Not that he’s competing with the Dodgers.
