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Great Lives from History: Latinos, 2nd Edition

Arte Moreno

by Joseph Dewey

American entrepreneur and baseball team owner Although he came to national attention in the 1980’s for his entrepreneurial savvy in developing a billboard business in Phoenix, Moreno made history in 2003 when he became the first Hispanic majority owner of a major sports franchise in the United States when he purchased the Angels of Major League Baseball.

Latino heritage: Mexican

Born: August, 1946; Tucson, Arizona

Also known as: Arturo Moreno

Areas of achievement: Business; baseball

EARLY LIFE

Arturo Moreno (ahr-TEW-roh moh-REH-noh) was born in August, 1946, in Tucson, Arizona. He is the oldest of eleven children, a fourth-generation American, and the son of a newspaper publisher. Moreno’s grandfather started a successful weekly Spanish-language newspaper for Tucson’s sprawling Spanish population. Moreno worked in the newspaper’s office during high school, developing an exemplary work ethic while discovering the importance of his Mexican heritage.

Arte Moreno (Wikimedia Commons)

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After graduating from high school in 1965, even as the turmoil over American involvement in the Vietnam War escalated, Moreno enlisted in the U.S. Army. His two-year stint included a tour of duty in Vietnam, where he experienced fierce combat around Da Nang—it was an experience that would shape his conservative political beliefs and his unwavering patriotism. He returned to Arizona committed to a business career. With the help of the G.I. Bill, Moreno enrolled in the University of Arizona, graduating with a degree in marketing in 1973. Throughout his university time, Moreno worked selling shoes, learning firsthand how to appeal to customers.

After graduation, recognizing the potential of billboard advertising given the open expanses around the Phoenix area, Moreno joined Eller Outdoor Advertising Company in the sales division. He struggled initially in the small but highly competitive billboard industry, but his charisma and ability to easily relate to customers quickly established him as a force in the Phoenix business community.

After seven years learning the business, making key contacts, and networking with advertising firms across the country, in 1984 Moreno joined Outdoor Systems, at the time a midsized marketing firm worth about $500,000. Moreno quickly rose within the corporate structure and within three years became the company's chief executive officer (CEO). Under his direction, Outdoor Systems grew exponentially. By the mid-1990's, the company was worth an estimated $90 million and Moreno had become a nationally recognized entrepreneur, profiled in news magazines. In 1996, Outdoor Systems's stock went public, and Moreno became one of the richest entrepreneurs in America.

LIFE’S WORK

By 1999, Moreno was growing restless in the billboard industry, which was facing competition from the growing cable-television and Internet advertising markets. Moreno always had been interested in sports (an alumni benefactor of the University of Arizona, he was a proud supporter of its athletic programs), particularly baseball. He had coached his sons' Little League baseball teams for ten years. From 1985 to 1992, Moreno was one of seventeen partners (including actor Bill Murray) who owned the Salt Lake City Trappers, a successful minor-league baseball franchise. Moreno loved the intimate atmosphere of the ballpark—he relished time he spent with the fans and devised innovative marketing techniques to attract fans to games. Helped by the team's winning records, Moreno developed his own sense of baseball marketing. It was a remarkable run—the partnership purchased the team for a paltry $150,000 and sold it in 1992 for $1.5 million.

In a bold move, in 1999, Moreno sold Outdoor Systems to Infinity Broadcasting for $8.3 billion. After testing a few projects, including a used car franchise and a golf course, Moreno was determined to buy a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. He already had purchased a 5 percent stake in the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. In 2000, he became a minority shareholder (5.3 percent) in the Arizona Diamondbacks of the National League and was part of its World Series championship over the Yankees in 2001. In one of the few missteps in Moreno's career, he attempted to purchase the team outright and assume the role of managing general partner but was outmaneuvered by a consortium of the team's partners. Although he made a second attempt, in the end Moreno was bought out.

Moreno's Efforts to Attract Hispanic Fans to Angels Games

Determined to fill seats after taking control of a franchise that had just won a World Series but had one of the lowest attendance records in Major League Baseball, arte Moreno initiated a number of risky price cuts for tickets (most notably for children under age twelve); revamped the souvenir and concession operations (in addition to cutting beer prices, he approved the $44 family special: four tickets, four drinks, and four hot dogs for $44); and approved ticket incentive packages for families. All of these moves, some observers speculated, were geared to attract lower-income Latino fans in the Los Angeles area. That argument extended as well to Moreno’s bold player personnel moves. In his first year, he made headlines when he invested more than a $140 million to bring four superstar free agents to the Angels: pitchers Bartolo Colon and Kelvim Escobar and outfielders Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Guillen. That the new players were all Latino ignited further controversy—but fans responded. Moreno himself dismissed insinuations that his moves were racially motivated, claiming he had simply acquired the best talent in positions the team needed. The team’s success on the field and in the stands amply proved his point.

Moreno did not have to wait long for another opportunity. In 2002, he showed interest in acquiring the Anaheim Angels, then owned by Disney. The franchise had just won its first World Series but lacked an identity and had only a slender share of the highly competitive sports market in the Los Angeles area. In the spring of 2003, Moreno made his offer—$180 million for a team that at the time had a market value of $250 million. The club was struggling; despite its championship, the franchise attracted only 2.3 million people in annual attendance (14,000 season ticket holders) and generated a thin $100 million in revenue. MLB owners quickly approved the sale, and on May 15, Moreno became the first Hispanic majority owner of a major league franchise in American professional sports history.

Moreno immediately made his mark on the Angels operations. Attendance in the first year of his tenure leaped by more than a million. By 2009, annual attendance exceeded 3.5 million. From 2004 to 2009, the Angels won the highly competitive American League Western Division. By 2009, the franchise was valued at $500 million. In 2006, Moreno negotiated a lucrative exclusive contract with Fox Sports Network to televise all the Angels home games, a deal responsible for generating on average $500 million each year.

However, despite such success, Moreno faced a firestorm of criticism in 2005 when he moved to change the franchise name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in an attempt to broaden the team's appeal to the lucrative Los Angeles market. Some saw the move as a bid to reach the large Latino population in Los Angeles; Moreno insisted that he was entirely motivated by economics. Although Moreno faced a lawsuit from Anaheim city officials and a backlash of criticism from residents who had long regarded their baseball team as distinct from Los Angeles, Moreno prevailed.

SIGNIFICANCE

Before his move into sports ownership, Moreno made his mark as a self-made millionaire, the consummate American success story. Moreno brought to the Angels franchise his business acumen and charisma. Ultra-competitive, Moreno shaped a business plan centered on two simple goals: fill the seats and win games. He has done both. During home games, he often leaves the owner's box to mingle among fans. That populist style, which endeared him to the Angels' fan base, was further enhanced when he turned down more than $3 million in potential yearly revenue when he opted to name the team's new stadium Angels Stadium instead of securing a corporate sponsorship. That mix of business savvy and unaffected populism has defined Moreno's signature success.

Further Reading

1 

Basten, Fred E. Great American Billboards: 100 Years of History by the Side of the Road. Berkeley, Calif.: Ten Speed Press, 2007. An accessible and helpful history of the rise and fall of the billboard industry and its impact on marketing and on American culture. Important context for understanding Moreno's business achievements.

2 

Bernstein, David. Advertising Outdoors: Watch This Space. London: Phaidon Press, 2004. A look at the complex psychology of billboard advertising and the marketing strategy in creating effective billboards.

3 

Burgos, Adrian, Jr. Playing America’s Game: Baseball, Latinos, and the Color Line,. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007. Although primarily concerned with the impact of Latino players, provides an important historic perspective of Moreno's achievement in becoming the first Latino majority owner.

4 

Lewis, Michael. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game,. New York: W. W. Norton, 2004. Focused primarily on the Oakland Athletics, this highly readable work presents a compelling description of twenty-first century baseball, the role of the general manager. and the impact of business decisions and front office management in the sport.

5 

Travers, Steven. Angels Essentials: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Real Fan. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2007. A handy and thorough history of the team Moreno purchased, includes a full account of the Moreno era.

See also: Linda Alvarado; Ralph Alvarez; Samuel A. Ramirez, Sr.; Joseph A. Unanue.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Dewey, Joseph. "Arte Moreno." Great Lives from History: Latinos, 2nd Edition, edited by Trudy Mercadal, et al., Salem Press, 2021. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=GLLatin2e_0374.
APA 7th
Dewey, J. (2021). Arte Moreno. In T. Mercadal, C. Tafolla & M. P. Cotera (Eds.), Great Lives from History: Latinos, 2nd Edition. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Dewey, Joseph. "Arte Moreno." Edited by Trudy Mercadal, Carmen Tafolla & Martha P. Cotera. Great Lives from History: Latinos, 2nd Edition. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2021. Accessed October 22, 2025. online.salempress.com.