Edison Stadium

Angel Stadium is a baseball facility located in Anaheim , California . The stadium houses the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the team that has simultaneously featured an all star line-up and is now among the AL 's influential teams. Previously it was known as Anaheim Stadium and later Edison International Field. In 1967 and 1989, the ballpark played host to Major League Baseball's All-Star Game. It hosted the 2002 World Series, which the Angels won in an impressive way over the San Francisco Giants One reason why the fans love watching games at the Angels Stadium because of its fabulous setting. The stadium has been housing the Angels since their move from Los Angeles . In 1960, the team was founded by Gene Autry. The Angels in their inaugural season played at Wrigley Field located in Los Angeles . One year later, the Angels moved to Dodger Stadium and played there until 1965.

But the Angels needed a ballpark of their own, which they could call a part of their legacy. With the need for their own stadium, it was announced that a new ballpark would be built in Anaheim , and be called Anaheim Stadium. The ground breaking ceremonies of the new ballpark took place on August 31, 1964 . Built at the cost of $24-million on 140 acres, the stadium opened on April 19, 1966 . The three leveled stadium had 43,204 seats. Meanwhile, the Angels had become the California Angels in 1965. The home opening game attracted a crowd of 31,660. The California Angels, moved into their new home after playing for four seasons at Chavez Ravine Stadium of the Dodgers. The stadium's playing territory was overly-précised to maintain a fair balance between pitcher, hitter and average weather conditions. The Angels fiddled with those dimensions umpteen times to improve that balance, but none of the feature mattered to their Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan who hit 2 of his career no-hitters in the Angels Stadium. In the late 1970s, Los Angeles Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom signed a deal, which asserted that the Rams of NFL would move to an expanded Anaheim Stadium from Los Angeles . To make it a multi-purpose facility, the stadium was renovated and the seating capacity was increased to 65,158. The stadium was enclosed, which completely blocked the view of the local mountains and State Highway 57. The 23-story, 240-ton Big A scoreboard that stood behind the fence in leftfield was moved 1300 feet to the parking lot and a scoreboard was installed on the facade of the outfield roof. The expansion was completed for the 1980 NFL season.

The Rams played their home games in Anaheim Stadium from until 1994 and the following season moved to St. Louis . The largest crowd the stadium has recorded in the history of Anaheim Angels is 64,406 when the Angels bested the Milwaukee by 8-3 in Game 1 of the 1982 ALCS. On April 3, 1996 , the City of Anaheim and The Walt Disney Company, the new owner of the team agreed to house the Angels in Anaheim until 2031, with an exception of 2018 when they can leave the stadium. As part of the deal, the next renovation began on Oct. 1, 1996 . The 30-year old structure returned to its original feature of being the only baseball-only facility. The Angels invested $88 million and the city $30 million to an extensive three-year renovation. The new Angel Stadium has now a seating capacity of approximately 45,050 for the Anaheim Angels. It has terraced bullpens in the outfield, widened courtyards, improved restroom and concession areas, a spacious and modernized press box and broadcast booths, The Nestle Family Zone for family oriented people, modern club-level and dugout-level suites, the Pepsi Perfect Game Pavilion located on the terrace level concourse is an interactive area for both kids and adults and landscaped courtyards featuring statues of Gene Autry and Michelle Carew. The stadium has also three full-service restaurants:

The KnotHole Club (a sports bar located at the club level); The Diamond Club (an expensive restaurant with outdoor seating on the field level); and the Home Plate Club (an indoor restaurant on the club level). The fans can even enjoy Zankous Chicken; fire roasted chicken and spicy beef sausage. The plasma screens are installed throughout the stadium. The team changed its name to the Anaheim Angels for the 1997 season, but changed it back to the Los Angeles Angels for the 2005 season. The most unique feature of the stadium is the "outfield extravaganza" waterfall-and-geyser area located in center field. In 1997, Edison International bought the naming rights of the stadium for 20 years. However, after the 2003 season, Edison International exercised its option to dissolve the deal. On December 29, 2003 , announced the new name of the stadium as Angel Stadium of Anaheim . Unofficially the stadium is also known as The Big A.