The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play their home games at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. This venue started construction in 1964, planned as a replacement to the previous home, Dodger Stadium. After a year and a half, their new home was ready, opening on April 19th 1966. The ballpark was updated between 1997 and 1999, which helped to prepare it as a baseball-only venue. When Angel Stadium was first completed, the total cost of construction was $24 million, while the cost for renovations totaled $118 million.
Located close to the Santa Ana River in the southeast portion of Anaheim, Angel Stadium is the fourth oldest in Major League baseball, only four years younger than their previous Dodger Stadium digs. The field dimensions were originally designed according to a research study that considered the air density during different times of the day, changing the distance to the walls slightly to balance pitching and hitting according to average climate conditions.
Part of the renovations changed the right field corner drastically, raising the wall from 8 to 19 feet and adding a big scoreboard for out of town games. They also added new bullpens and water geysers that gush over a manicured mountain side that consists of real trees and fake rocks – referred to as California Spectacular.
Los Angeles Angels Stadium
Interestingly, the initial efforts of attempting to make the stadium “fair” for pitchers and batters have lead to a dead ball stadium, which falls to the bottom of MLB park factor statistics. In 2015, Angel Stadium ranks among the most difficult ball parks to score runs in. It’s also near the bottom in terms of hits, doubles and triples and in the bottom third in terms of home run production. However, batters walk more often on this field than in other stadiums.
The Angels were a terrific home team in 2014, earning a 52-29 mark. In 2015, they’ve continued their superb play at home, which kept them in the wildcard hunt despite a subpar road record.
One of the most distinctive features of this ballpark is a giant halo that weighs around 210 tons and stands 230 feet tall, lighting up whenever the Angels win a game, whether at home or on the road. The longest game ever held at Angels Stadium took place on August 9th, 2014, when the Red Sox visited for a 19 inning game that finally ended when Albert Pujols hit a tater to end the marathon after six and a half hours of baseball.
Stadium Vitals
Date Opened: April 10th, 1966
Construction Cost: $24 million
Architect: Noble W. Herzberg and Associates
Ballpark Type: Retro Classic
Capacity Attendance: 45,957
Playing Surface: Tifway 419 Bermuda Grass
Previous Los Angeles Angels Stadiums
Dodger Stadium; Wrigley Field in Los Angeles
Other Major Events
Los Angeles Rams
Angel Stadium used to be home to the Los Angeles Rams, before the team moved to St. Louis. Part of the agreement between Disney and the city involved renovating the stadium to eliminate any hint of the Rams ever playing at this facility.
Hollywood Set
More than a few Hollywood films have been set at Angels Stadium, including acting as a body double for Candlestick Park in the Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes thriller, The Fan. Other big time movies filmed here include Angelis in the Outfield, The Naked Gun, Deuce Bigalow and Air Bud.