City of Anaheim officials have released a sales pact to sell off the 153-acre Angel Stadium site and the land around it, but questions remain on what the final price tag is after a series of community benefits – such as labor agreements, affordable housing and parks, are included in the final deal.
Official documents – which are expected to be approved by city council members at the Dec. 20 public hearing – establish a starting point for a sales price, now at $325 million – while also noting that a final price tag will come after negotiations this Spring on a development agreement that will cost-off a host of community give backs.
There’s also questions about who the buyers are, besides Angels’ owner Arte Moreno.
The city will sell the 153-acre property to SRB Management, which was formed Nov. 20 in Delaware, according to online filings.
Moreno is part of that firm, but city officials said they don’t know who the other partners are and an Angels spokeswoman said they won’t release that information.
The documents don’t specifically address how the $325 million price tag could get lowered, but the sales agreement states the final price could be adjusted by “potential credits as agreed to in writing by Seller and Buyer.”
Those credits will be determined by a specific agreement known as the Disposition and Development Agreement.
Community benefits like parks and affordable housing are expected to be negotiated in that agreement, which could lower the price. There’s also a community workforce agreement expected to be negotiated.
But those agreements won’t be voted on until some time next Spring, according to an overview of the land sale released last Wednesday.
Anaheim looks unwilling to give any tax rebates, at least initially, according to the agreement.
“Buyer (SRB Management) agrees that during the term of this Agreement and after the Closing Date, Buyer will receive no reimbursement for property, sales or transit occupancy taxes received by Seller (Anaheim) unless otherwise agreed to by Seller,” reads the proposed sale agreement.
An updated appraisal released last Wednesday valued the stadium land between $300 million and $320 million.
The last stadium appraisal, during the previous round of negotiations, valued the land between $225 million and $325 million.
The land sale summary report also gives some revenue projections from expected developments after the land is sold.
After Moreno’s company develops all the land, it could generate $20 million in taxes annually for Anaheim, according to city projections. Construction isn’t slated to start until at least 2025, after Moreno and Anaheim approve a master site plan and environmental reviews are completed.
Over the past 10 months, numerous economists have told Voice of OC that economic benefits reports and projections are often times skewed in favor of hosting professional sports at municipal stadiums.
The newly released sale summary doesn’t have the full economic report, but a 2014 economic study painted a different picture.
That report showed the stadium produced $200 million in economic benefits within city limits.
Over the past 10 years, most economists have agreed economic projection studies on stadiums and surrounding land are often inflated and don’t take into account spending shifting from one side of the city to another.
Spencer Custodio is a Voice of OC staff reporter. You can reach him at scustodio@voiceofoc.org. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerCustodio.