Angels are rated most fan-friendly
Other Southland teams on an ESPN survey of the four major North American
sports leagues include the Dodgers at No. 50 and the Lakers at No. 51. The
Clippers are last at No. 122.
By Bill Shaikin
From the Los Angeles Times
July 1, 2009

The Lakers just won the NBA championship, and Southern California celebrated
with them, with hundreds of thousands of fans attracted to a parade down
Figueroa Street and a rally at the Coliseum.

There are 122 teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball. And
Southern California is home to the team that best repays its fans "for all
the emotion, money and time fans invest," according to an ESPN study to be
unveiled today.

That team is not the Lakers. That team is the Angels.

The Angels have ranked as the most fan-friendly baseball team for six
consecutive years in the annual ESPN study, but this is the first time the
Angels have ranked No. 1 among all the teams in the four major North American
sports leagues.

The Lakers ranked No. 51. The Clippers ranked last, at No. 122.

When Arte Moreno bought the Angels in 2003, he bet he could transform an
intermittently successful team marketed to Orange County into a perennial
powerhouse by expanding its reach to Los Angeles and beyond, in the process
generating enough revenue to keep the player payroll up and ticket costs down.

Moreno negotiated a $500-million television contract with Fox, bought his own
radio station and changed the call letters to KLAA, and prevailed in a
four-year court fight that secured his right to call the team by the Los
Angeles name.

In their first 43 seasons, the Angels never had three consecutive winning
seasons, with a record attendance of 3.06 million in the year after winning
the World Series. In five full years under Moreno, the Angels have won the
American League West four times and drawn at least 3.34 million every year.

The Angels have fielded one of the top six player payrolls in baseball every
year under Moreno. The cost for a family of four to attend a game at Angel
Stadium has ranked among the bottom six every year since 2005, according to
Team Marketing Report. The Angels offer a cap for $7 and charge $8 for
parking.

The ESPN study used a combination of fan surveys and quantitative research to
rate teams in eight categories: affordability, coaches, players, owners, fan
relations, stadium experience, championships, and "bang for the buck" in
converting revenues into victories.

"This honor means a great deal to our organization because it was voted on by
the fans," Moreno said in a statement to ESPN.

"I am extremely proud of our staff for working day in and day out to provide
what we call the 'baseball experience.' Their focus is always on our fans,
which would include providing courteous service, affordable pricing, and a
clean environment. And, of course, the baseball people work hard to put a
winning team on the field!"

The Dodgers ranked No. 50, one spot ahead of the Lakers. The Dodgers and
Lakers ranked highly for coaches and stadium experience -- and the Lakers for
championships and owners -- but the Dodgers ranked below average in
affordability and fan experience.

The Lakers' standing reflects in large measure their rank as one of the 10
least affordable teams in pro sports. The average price for a family of four,
including tickets, parking and concessions, according to Team Marketing
Report: $141.18 for the Angels, $221.64 for the Dodgers, $479.48 for the
Lakers.

The Clippers ranked last for coaches and players, next-to-last for fan
relations and in the bottom 10 for owners, championships and "bang for the
buck."