Column: The Ducks are the model OC sports franchise. Could their owner save the Angels?

For the Angels, Sunday is the final day of the worst season in franchise history. There is a sad emptiness around the ballpark.

On the field, the Angels now own the longest hitting streak of any major league team: 10 years without a playoff appearance. Their roster is filled with men described by their manager as “not great baseball players.” Their minor league system is terrible.

They have begrudgingly acknowledged the great need to rebuild without fully committing to doing so. This team is not one player or one year away from competing.

Outside of the stadium, the 130 acres surrounding Angel Stadium remain barren and soulless. Fans still do what they did six decades ago: come in, watch the game, drive home.

On the other side of Katella Avenue, another Orange County big league team is growing. The Ducks have embraced a rebuild, and Hockey News says they have the brightest collection of young talent in the NHL. Off the ice, the Ducks around the Honda Center have the kind of ballpark village the Angels once hoped to build around Angel Stadium.

“Where do you go if you want to have fun?” Duck owner Henry Samueli said at the launch event on Wednesday. “That’s what we’re trying to build here.”

The Angels’ plan was ruined when the city of Anaheim killed the stadium deal, amid a corruption investigation involving the mayor. However, even if the deal had gone ahead, nothing had to be built around the stadium for 15 years.

Samuel’s $4-billion development, called OC Vibe, is already under construction. Bill Foltz, chief executive of OC Vibe, said inspiration for the project included the Battery, a town surrounding the Atlanta Braves ballpark, and Texas Live, an entertainment center near the Texas Rangers ballpark.

For the first time, fans will be able to come to the Honda Center early, enjoy dinner at the restaurant or drinks at the bar, and walk a few steps to the game.

“We’ve always thought of ourselves as a ‘two-stop’ place, meaning a lot of people will have dinner somewhere else and then come to a show or a game,” Foltz said.

“It is, for the first time, a ‘one stop’ place to go.”

OC Vibe is scheduled to open in 2026. Foltz said he expects Angels fans to make the short trip from Angel Stadium to eat, drink, shop and play at OC Vibe before or after the game. The Ducks will thank baseball fans for spending money that could be used to make the fan experience better — for hockey fans, that is.

This is all unapologetically and passionately Orange County. The Ducks are now wearing orange uniforms, marking the return of the beloved angry duck, and taking their place as “Orange Country.”

“Obviously, we love Orange County,” said Samweli, speaking for himself and his wife, Susan. “This is our permanent home. We will never move.”

The 28 restaurants surrounding the Honda Center will include a branch of A Restaurant, a Newport Beach restaurant that opened in 1926. The four concert venues will include the revival of the Golden Bear, the legendary Huntington Beach club that closed in 1986 after hosting acts including Jerry. Garcia, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Buffett.

OC Vibe will feature the revival of the Golden Bear, a Huntington Beach club that closed in 1986.

(O.C. Vibe)

Samweli’s company also received approval last week from the city of Anaheim to operate the Grove, a theater on the edge of the Angel Stadium parking lot. Under the agreement, the city receives three-quarters of the operating profit.

The ducks are in good shape. Angels? Developments intended to generate funds to renovate their old stadium and strengthen the team in Anaheim did not materialize. The Angels’ stadium lease expires in five years.

For now, the city is mostly at the mercy of the Angels. City backed out of two deals with the Angels in a decade; a party has no obligation to attempt to negotiate with the other.

The team has the right to extend the lease, in which the Angels do not pay rent, until the end of 2038. The city can shell out money if the Angels eventually build something on the parking lot, but the agreement allows the team to control the development. of the pile.

“The door is always open to negotiations for a greater benefit that makes sense for Anaheim taxpayers,” said Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken. “I look forward to doing that one day.”

If Angels owner Arte Moreno decides to sell his team, Samweli would be the most logical buyer. He entered the community, an experienced sports owner whose team won a championship, and was positioned differently to complement his development of the OC Vibe with something different inside the Angel Stadium parking lot. A quarter century ago, Samweli and several colleagues considered putting an indoor surfing and snowboarding area in the Angels parking lot.

If Moreno were to sell the Angels in the near future – and many people with knowledge of the situation say there is no indication he would – would Samuel consider buying the team?

“Right now, I’m completely fed up with the Ducks,” said Samweli. “That’s not something we think about.”

In August 2022, Moreno hired a sports broker and said he would look into selling the Angels. Six months later, Moreno reversed course and took the team off the market.

Samuyeli said he did not apply to the club at the time and did not consider bidding on the club if Moreno decided to sell now.

“Managing a sports team is a lot of work,” said Samweli. “If you want to be involved, it’s hard to do more than one. I am deeply involved.

“I wouldn’t have time to go to games, let alone manage the team.”

So are sports in Orange Country. For the Ducks, a new season has arrived. For the Angels, however, the postseason is gone.