Angels’ stadium drama continues with news of audit that could nullify current lease

Things are never easy for the Los Angeles Angels, especially when it comes to owner Arte Moreno and his business dealings. Not only has Moreno's decision-making hurt the Angels' product on the field more than a few times, but his failed attempt to buy Angel Stadium from the city of Anaheim is a tale filled with broken promises and corruption. It was only recently that that chapter was supposedly closed when Anaheim agreed to pay the Angels a settlement after they backed out of a sale.

If that was the end of it, the stadium deal falling through would just be an interesting footnote as it was clear Anaheim's ex-mayor did some pretty shady stuff along the way (and the Anaheim city council and the team couldn't get on the same page after the fact).

However, it was recently reported that the Angels' lease of the stadium is now in question after it was revealed that a state auditor is going to investigate the deal after a request from local legislators.

Angels' future stadium deal in limbo after state audit revelation

First things first: the likelihood that the Angels will be without a stadium to play in as a result of this investigation is exceedingly small. Even if Moreno is found to have hidden revenue and not be in compliance to a massive degree, it is honestly more likely that Moreno could get sanctioned by MLB and the team will have to pay up and just negotiate a new deal before that would happen.

However, this is a genuine concern for the Angels. The allegations are that there is some reason to believe that the Angels have withheld revenue due to the city of Anaheim and haven't maintained the stadium to the level contractually required. Those are not small misunderstandings, and given how the stadium deal went down in addition to Moreno's reputation, it isn't crazy to think that some other factors are at play. If the auditor finds some malpractice, the team's current stadium lease could be invalidated, which would create a real mess depending on the details and severity.

The Angels have already responded to the news with a team spokesperson. “Angels Baseball is in full compliance with the stadium lease, and under current ownership, we have spent approximately seven times more than what the lease requires in capital improvements and maintenance.” Clearly someone isn't telling the truth and it may be a while before the auditor sorts things out.

All of this is just another sad reason why Angels fans are irate that MLB hasn't stepped in to deal with Moreno's regime. The front office is clearly trying to make things work and has found some success this season, but it feels more and more like Moreno's way of operating is going to be an anchor the Angels will be dragging behind them until the team finally is under new ownership.

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