This edition of the Stadium Tour will take you on a tour of the Angels Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Angels.
Pitch overview
Home team: Los Angeles Angels
Located in: Anaheim
Everyone: Arte Moreno
Regular spectator capacity: 45517
Course surface: natural turf
Stadium structure: no roof
Course dimensions: Left outfield 347 ft (105.8 m) / Left outfield 390 ft (118.9 m) / Centre 396 ft (120.7 m) / Right midfield 370 ft (112.8 m) / Right outfield 350 ft (106.7 m)
Construction history: Construction began on August 31, 1964, and opened on April 19, 1966
Construction cost: $24 million (2020 inflation 149 million)
Renovation costs: $118 million (2020 inflation 178 million)
Angels Stadium is the fourth oldest active field in major leagues, after The Red Sox' Fenway Field, Cubs' Wrigley Field and Dodgers' Dodger Field. And as the name suggests, it's the home of the Los Angeles Angels. In fact, the stadium was built specifically for the Angels game.
In 1962-1965, the Angels and dodgers used the same course; the inconvenience caused the Angels the idea of building a new one, so in 1964, southeast of Anaheim, the team built the Angels Stadium, which was first invested in 1966. It is worth mentioning that this stadium is the shortest in the American League, and it is also tied for the third shortest in the entire major league with the Padres' Becker Field, after Oracle Field and DodgeRs.
Later, rosenbroom, the former owner of the Los Angeles Rams, also took a fancy to the stadium, because their original stadium could accommodate 100,000 people, and the audience was not satisfied, which made the TV broadcast look very bleak. Wouldn't it be better to change to a smaller course? So they moved to the Angel Stadium in 1980-1994, but the expansion after the renovation did not allow rams fans to buy tickets to watch the ball, because their strength did not significantly improve, and at the same time, it also affected the experience of angel fans, so after 1994, the rams moved away from the stadium.
In 1996, Disney became the team's new owner, and the first thing they did was to change the stadium back to a baseball-specific stadium! The stands were moved back to their original positions, and the large-screen display board and scoreboard were replaced, and fireworks spraying devices were added. Keep in mind that fireworks could only be fired from parking lots after the Angels blasted home runs or won games, but now they are more advanced. But repeated changes have also made the size of the stadium slightly asymmetrical, and until now, the shape of the outfield to the right outfield is not an arc, but more like a polyline.
However, the most famous thing about this stadium is not the stadium itself, but a "scoreboard"! When the stadium was first built, in order to highlight the characteristics of the home team, the team designed a huge A-shaped scoreboard with its own logo, which was the same as their logo.
The "Big A" that was once used as a scoreboard Image source: MLB Cathedrals Twitter
However, after the stadium was expanded, the A-shaped scoreboard was too obstructive, so it was moved to the side of the highway and changed from a scoreboard to a billboard! However, it was this change that impressed the fans with the logo, and whenever they drove by here, they would see a huge A-shaped sign in the distance, and the audience knew that they were at the home of the Angels. Gradually, fans took this big brand the nickname of the image - Big A!
Today, Big A's influence has far outpaced Angel Stadium, and it has become a landmark in Southern California! In 1997, Disney considered moving the Big A back to its original scoreboard position, but it was not implemented. When the naming rights of the stadium and the change of ownership of the team have led to frequent changes in the name of the stadium, people do not seem to care, because in the eyes of many people, the stadium is called a name - Big A.
The shape of the stadium is very retro, and there are two huge angelic caps at the entrance, which are very conspicuous. The stadium has been refurbished with 5,075 card seats and 78 luxurious private rooms, making the experience of watching the ball quite comfortable. However, due to the age of construction and renovation, the stadium is relatively old-fashioned, green seats, traditional grandstand settings, all reveal the essence of the stadium, and the location next to the highway also makes the audience feel quite spacious when looking out in the field. However, in order to keep up with the pace of the times and find ways to give the audience a more comfortable viewing experience, angel stadiums have made considerable efforts in terms of live display.
In 2018, the team partnered with Darko to deliver a total of more than 23,000 square feet of displays. The right field display area reached 9500 square feet, which is the third largest display in the entire major league. However, such a huge display does not make the audience look like a mosaic, on the contrary, it allows the audience in every corner of the arena to see a clear video image.
图源：Orange County Register
In 2019, the Angels agreed to stay at anaheim at least until 2050, allowing Angels fans to still be here for nearly 30 years. The vintage flavor combined with the modern technical experience gives the stadium a new look. Now that the stadium has been confirmed to host baseball and softball games for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, audiences around the world can enjoy the charm of the stadium while enjoying the Olympic games. Of course, if you have the ability to get to the scene, don't forget to take a photo with the famous Big A!
When it comes to the iconic buildings/decorations of the stadium, what else comes to mind? Come and share in the comments section!