The City Council also announced that it is continuing to explore all of its legal options with regard to past conduct of team ownership in discontinuing and de-emphasizing use of the Anaheim Angels name. At last week's City Council meeting, the Anaheim City Council authorized City staff to use all necessary means against the team to ensure they honor its legal obligations as set forth in the lease.

Today, letters are being sent to the Anaheim Angels and Major League Baseball asking for their clarification on whether the proposed name change has been provisionally approved and seeking assurances that the name would not be changed. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig was present at the 1996 Anaheim City Council meeting to lend his support to the 33-year lease between the City and the Angels which included a $30 million payment from the City to aid in construction costs.

"A deal is a deal. We continue to be strongly united on insisting that the Anaheim Angels comply with the terms of their lease," said Mayor Curt Pringle. "We are disappointed that these steps must be taken to protect Anaheim residents and businesses who contributed money to ensure the Anaheim Angels had a first-class facility to call home. Furthermore, we join the thousands of Angels' fans who have inundated City Hall and the media with their overwhelming displeasure to this proposed action. We hope that the Angels or Major League Baseball will end this speculative inquiry about the name change immediately."

According to the Stadium Lease Agreement between the Angels and the City, Section 11(f), entitled "Team Name," states that "Tenant will change the name of the Team to include the name 'Anaheim' therein, such change to be effective no later than the commencement of the 1997 season."

The Anaheim Angels and the City of Anaheim's 33-year lease agreement for Angel Stadium of Anaheim lasts until 2029. There is a one-time out clause that can be exercised before the 2017 season if the Angels are willing to pay a substantial penalty to the City.

In 2002, the Anaheim Angels won their first, and to date, only MLB World Series championship, wearing "Anaheim" jerseys in ballparks across the nation, including playoff successes in New York, Minneapolis and San Francisco.

In 2004, as the Anaheim Angels, the team out-drew all but two Major League Baseball franchises this season, the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Anaheim Angels set an all-time (43 year) regular season attendance record with 3,375,677 people and helped MLB set an all-time attendance record as well.

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ABOUT ANAHEIM - The City of Anaheim, founded in 1857, is one of the nation's premier municipalities and is California's 10th most populous city. Anaheim covers 50 square miles with more than 345,500 residents and more than 3,200 City employees. The municipal corporation's annual budget is $1.4 billion. Anaheim supports a thriving business community with companies such as Carl Karcher Enterprises, Inc., L-3 Communications, Pacific Sunwear, and Disneyland Resort. Successful sports franchises call Anaheim home, including Angels Baseball, Anaheim Ducks, the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal winning U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team, and the 2008 Olympic Silver Medal winning U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team. Anaheim also boasts world-class meeting and entertainment venues with the Anaheim Convention Center, the largest on the west coast, Honda Center, The Grove of Anaheim, The Shops at Anaheim GardenWalk, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Annually, Anaheim welcomes millions of visitors to the city, truly making it where the world comes to live, work and play. For more information, please visit www.anaheim.net.