Angel Stadium has seen its share of action

February 4th, 2021

The Angels have called Angel Stadium home since 1966, but they aren’t the only ones who have utilized the ballpark: several major events have been held there over the years.

The club was also a co-tenant with the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams from 1980-94 and served as the home stadium for an assortment of other professional and college teams over the years, including Cal State-Fullerton football from 1970-71 and '83; Long Beach State football from '77-82; the California Surf of the North American Soccer League from '78-81; the Southern California Sun of the World Football League from '74-75 and the Orange County Ramblers of the Continental Football League from '67-68. Angel Stadium also hosted college football's Freedom Bowl from '84-94.

Here's a look at some of the major events hosted by Angel Stadium over the years:

1967: Angel Stadium hosted the MLB All-Star Game for the first time. It was the first All-Star Game shown on prime-time television. The ballpark also hosted the All-Star Game in '89 and 2010.

1970: The first major concert held at the stadium was by The Who as part of their Tommy Tour on June 14.

1976: The Who played again on March 21, one of many concerts at the ballpark that year. Yes also played on July 17, ZZ Top on Aug. 7, Kiss on Aug. 20 and Aerosmith on Sept. 10 and 12. The Angels also held the AMA Supercross Championship round for the first time that year, an event they'd continue to host from '76-1979, '81-87, '89-96, and '99-present.

1977: Pink Floyd played at the ballpark as part of their In the Flesh Tour on May 6 and 7. Alice Cooper played on June 19 and Lynyrd Skynyrd on Aug. 27.

1978: The Rolling Stones played on July 23 and 24 as part of their Rolling Stones U.S. Tour and Boston played on Sept. 23 and 24. Black Sabbath, Sammy Hagar and Van Halen also opened for Boston, as the concert was part of Summerfest. The Rolling Stones played at Angel Stadium again in 2002 and '05.

1979: The ballpark hosted the American Final for motorcycle speedway on Nov. 16, which was a qualifying round for the 1980 Speedway World Championship. Bruce Penhall won the event.

1982: Scorpions, Loverboy and Foreigner co-headlined a concert on July 17 that also featured Iron Maiden as the opening act. It drew 73,351 fans.

1983: David Bowie performed as part of his Serious Moonlight Tour with The Go-Gos and Madness serving as opening acts on Sept. 9.

1987: There were three prominent concerts in ’87, beginning with Madonna, who brought her Who’s That Girl World Tour to Angel Stadium on July 18. The Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan also performed on July 26 as part of the Alone and Together Tour, and Bowie played on Aug. 8 and 9 as part of his Glass Spider Tour.

1988: The movie "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!" features a memorable scene at Angel Stadium with a mind-controlled Reggie Jackson trying to shoot Queen Elizabeth II. But many of the baseball scenes were filmed at Dodger Stadium.

1992: U2 performed as part of the Zoo TV Tour that also featured The Sugarcubes and Public Enemy on Nov. 14. U2 also played on June 17 and 18, 2011, with Lenny Kravitz serving as the opening act.

1993: Paul McCartney brought his The New World Tour to Angel Stadium on April 17 and drew 48,560 fans.

1994: The film "Angels in the Outfield" was released and used the ballpark for many scenes, as the Angels were the featured team in the movie. But other interior shots were taken at the Oakland Coliseum.

1996: Angel Stadium hosted five group stage matches for the 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup, including a pair of wins by the United States over Trinidad and Tobago and El Salvador. The five matches drew a combined 90,000 fans. The movie "The Fan" with Wesley Snipes and Robert DeNiro was released that year and set at Candlestick Park in San Francisco with Angel Stadium used as a stand-in.

1998: NSYNC played on June 13 as part of the NSYNC In Concert tour that was also part of Wango Tango, put on by local radio station, KIIS-FM.

2005: Kelly Clarkson was the main act as part of her Breakaway World Tour, which was also a part of Wango Tango like NYSNYC in 1998.

2006: The World Baseball Classic’s inaugural tournament was held and Angel Stadium was the site of Pool 1. The United States, Japan, South Korea and Mexico made up the pool, with six games being held at Angel Stadium from March 12-16. South Korea and Japan advanced to the semifinals, with Japan ultimately winning the first-ever Classic at Dodger Stadium.

2012: Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw combined to host the Brothers of the Sun Tour on July 14. Chesney also played again on July 27, 2013, along with Eric Church as part of the No Shoes Nation Tour.

2014: President Barack Obama gave the commencement speech for UC Irvine, which was moved from the campus for security reasons and to accommodate a larger crowd.

2017: Chance the Rapper and SZA headlined a concert on Sept. 9, as part of the Day N Night Festival.