Angels make subtle change suggesting Stan Kroenke has no plans to leave Anaheim

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim was the name of the franchise from 2005 through 2015, and apparently since April of 2026. While not shown on the Angels team website, which still reads "Official Los Angeles Angels Website", some internet sleuthing shows MLB's official team portion of the website changed from Los Angeles Angels to Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim back in late April. The team's mailing address was also changed to reflect the name.

Since the announcement of the sale of the franchise to Stan Kroenke and Kroenke Sports Entertainment a few weeks ago, speculation has been running rampant about a potential new stadium. The question was, if they built a new stadium, would that new stadium be in Anaheim, or would Kroenke be moving the team elsewhere in the greater Los Angeles area?

As Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times wrote on September 3rd, "Anaheim owns Angel Stadium and 130 acres of mostly idle parking lots that Kroenke could transform into a new ballpark and tax-generating shops, housing and hotels." But he also wrote, "Kroenke had put himself in a 'brilliant' spot: 'Option to do small intimate ballpark at [Rams' Stadium] Sofi is really huge leverage.'"

Stan Kroenke has the means to leave Anaheim, but that doesn't mean he wants to

Once the sale becomes final, Kroenke will be the wealthiest owner in all of baseball. Kroenke Sports Entertainment used no public funding when building the Rams' new home in Inglewood, California. That should indicate that if he wants out of Anaheim, he will have little problems doing so.

The change in name indicates that it may not be the case, though. As Shaikin wrote in his piece, "The Angel Stadium lease that Kroenke inherits requires the team name to 'include the name Anaheim therein.'" He also added that returning Anaheim to the name would create goodwill with the city. The city of Anaheim owns the stadium, and there are still six seasons remaining on the current lease. After almost ten years without Anaheim in the name, they finally switched back.

The franchise was able to work without Anaheim in the name for ten years. They had no real reason to switch back to having it in there, except to make the city itself happy. Why would they want to make the city happy? Because, maybe, they want to stay exactly where they are.

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