Arte Moreno
How the ex-billboard king turned around the LA Angels of Anaheim
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Shortly after buying the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from Walt Disney (DIS) in 2003, Arte Moreno did the unthinkable: He cut ticket and beer prices—and then he spent $145 million to sign four of baseball's hottest free agents and fortify an already formidable team.
Today the Angels' $102 million payroll is among Major League Baseball's heftiest, and ticket prices are in the middle of the pack. Yet the gamble seems to have paid off. Moreno routinely fills Angel Stadium to near capacity, has tripled ad revenues, and says the Angels will earn $11 million-plus this year after years of losses. "He's made his [team] one of the real quality franchises in baseball," says agent Arn Tellem.