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ANGEL STADIUM
Anaheim, Calif.
Opened: 1966
Capacity: 45,050
Average Ticket Price: $17.36
Average Cost of Concessions & Souvenirs: $57.50

Pluses:
Angel Stadium has a generous number of on-site parking spots (12,500) at a very reasonable $8 a car.

Minuses:
Traffic in Southern California is one of Dante's circles of hell; oversized vehicles must pony up to $16 a game to park at the stadium; public transportation options are limited.
From ThunderStix to reasonable concession prices, the Angels have cast a spell of euphoria on their fans in recent years.
Photo by Robert Beck/SI
More than one percent of Angel Stadium's capacity dedicated to wheelchair-accessible seating, with a program that allows wheelchair-bound fans to watch batting practice at lower-level seating areas; Pepsi-sponsored pavilion offers baseball-themed interactive video games; 400-seat picnic area beyond center field; plenty of food concessions (43) and beer stands (50!); generous restroom facilities (27 women's, 26 men's, four family).
Surprisingly, the O.C. is home to a quickly growing batch of fans with ... passion? Yup. The new sheriff in town, team owner Arte Moreno, has changed the Angels' culture, with fans now cheering until they're hoarse. Moreno isn't responsible for the excellent conversion of the formerly sad-sack Anaheim Stadium -- once home to the NFL's Rams -- into the smaller, baseball-only ballpark that it is now, with its excellent sight lines and modern amenities. But Moreno is the reason people are excited about L.A.'s "other" team. His first priority is the fan experience, which is why concessions and beer are surprisingly reasonable. Rally monkeys and ThunderStix aside, let's be serious: Vlad Guerrero might be worth your ballpark dollars on his own. -- Jonah Freedman  
Anaheim is the center of Orange County's scads of freeways and concrete, so you won't find any charm in the surrounding area. The Pond, home of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, is nearby, but unless you've got a double-dip of sporting events planned, that doesn't do you much good. The Big A is strictly a commuter park. -- Jonah Freedman  
2005 Record: 73-57 (all statistics through Aug. 29)
Players worth price of admission: Vladimir Guerrero (.316 BA, 26 HR, 89 RBI), Chone Figgins (.286 BA, 46 RBI, 44 SB), Bartolo Colon (17-6, 3.34 ERA), Francisco Rodriguez (30 SVS, 2.94 ERA).  
The Angels have done a nice job of carving a distinct personality in an otherwise bland California suburb. From the rally monkey to reducing beer prices, the Angels exude "fan-friendly," which, when combined with producing one of the better teams of the early 21st century, has helped the team emerge from the shadows of its more glamorous crosstown cousin (save for the wrong-headed notion to attach itself to a city that lies 30 miles away).  

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