City of Anaheim V. Angels Baseball LP - Aftermath

Aftermath

Despite the legal victory, the team only uses its full name on official press releases and its website, and continues to market itself without direct reference to location wherever possible. Neither "Los Angeles" nor "Anaheim" appears on the team's uniforms or officially licensed merchandise or promotional materials; "Angels" or "Angels Baseball" are used instead. Major League Baseball and the national media have recognized the name change from the beginning, and team ownership correctly predicted that the national media and the general public would drop "of Anaheim" out of convenience and refer to the team as simply the "Los Angeles Angels."

Despite the prolonged legal battle, organized fan resistance to the new name subsided long before the appellate court ruling.

The name controversy and the city's suit and boycott did little to quell fan enthusiasm for the team, as Angel Stadium consistently drew over 3.3 million fans through its gates each season from 2004 to 2008. It also had little to no impact on the team's on-field performance — they won four American League West division titles over the same timespan, marking the most successful era in franchise history. The controversy also did little to negatively impact the perception of team ownership around the league, as evidenced by the Angels being selected to host the 2010 All-Star Game, with MLB Commissioner Bud Selig calling the Angels a "model franchise."

In 2007, the Angels' name change was the inspiration for the independent minor league Long Beach Armada baseball team's tongue-in-cheek name change to the Long Beach Armada of Los Angeles of California of the United States of North America Including Barrow, Alaska.