Commentary: An Anaheim vision: The Anaheim Angels in a new stadium, next to a youth sports complex

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Civic pride, sure.But what is it really worth to the city of Anaheim to have its name on the hometown baseball team?Hundreds of millions of dollars, the city has said.

As the Angels’ stadium lease approaches its end, and as Anaheim prepares for negotiations either with Arte Moreno or a potential new owner, it’s worth keeping in mind.So too is a concept floating around City Hall in Anaheim: What if we could put a new stadium and a youth sports complex next to one another?Nothing is imminent, and even a bill winding its way through the state legislature would not necessarily require the Angels to return Anaheim to the team name.Arte Moreno is unlikely to sell the Angels amid steady fan protests, but he can respond by ditching veterans and giving young talent a chance.It’s leverage: If the Angels’ owner wants to build atop the stadium parking lots, the city can pursue an exemption to a state law that currently restricts what can be built there, which could mean more money for the team and its development partners.In exchange for the exemption, the team name would revert to the Anaheim Angels.If that’s the carrot, this is the stick: The city would have to approve the zoning changes that could make the land “two to three times more valuable than it is as a parking lot,” Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said.Said Aitken: “There are no gifts.

For an ownership to truly be a partner to the city in what that property could be, there is going to have to be some realization that Anaheim is not Los Angeles.”The Angels’ stadium lease expires in 2032, and the team can extend it through 2038.A new owner could move the Angels — or at least leverage the threat of a move — but Anaheim offers a 150-acre site with what every owner in pro sports covets: land around the venue to turn the property into a year-round money-making operation.The standard ballpark villages include resta...