The city of Long Beach publicly stated Monday night that it has approached the Los Angeles Angels to express interest and discuss the opportunity of moving the Major League Baseball team out of Orange County and into downtown Long Beach.
Long Beach is putting forth an effort to create a downtown waterfront development plan and exploring the feasibility of a downtown sports venue on the Convention Center parking lot, according to a city of Long Beach news release attributing quotes to Mayor Robert Garcia.
The statement went to say that the city of Long Beach has reached out to the Angels regarding the opportunity but categorized the status as "preliminary" and said discussions were ongoing.
Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu offerred the following comment in response to the story:
"It's no surprise other cities would try to lure the Angels to leave — having a Major League Baseball franchise is a big benefit to any city. We are confident that the best place for the Angels is and always will be Anaheim, and the one-year extension we granted gives us the time to work out the details and craft an agreement that benefits our residents and the city."
The Angels currently have a contract to stay at Angel Stadium in Anaheim through 2020. The Angels have played in Anaheim at Angel Stadium since 1966.
The Angels could not immediately be reached for comment.
