The Los Angeles Angels will continue to be owned by the family of Arte Moreno, after the franchise ended an exploratory process to sell the team.

Potential buyers had been reviewing the team's finances and had visited the stadium with bids due next month.  

But on Monday, five months after putting the team up for sale Moreno announced that he would be remaining owner.  

In a statement released by the Angels social media, Moreno said that his family still believes they can make a 'positive impact' on the team in the coming seasons.

'During this process, it became clear that we have unfinished business and feel we can make a positive impact on the future of the team and fan experience,' Moreno's statement said.

'This offseason we committed to a franchise record player payroll and still want to accomplish our goal of bringing a World Series Championship back to our fans. We are excited bout this next chapter of Angels Baseball.

'We are grateful to Galatioto Sports Partners for their outstanding efforts throughout the process that allowed us to meet with a number of highly qualified individuals and groups who expressed strong interest in the club.

'However, as discussions advanced and began to crystallize, we realized our hearts remain with the Angels, and we are not ready to part ways with the fans, players, and our employees.'

Since Moreno purchased the team back in the Spring of 2003 - the season after they won their only World Series title - the Angels have made the postseason six times in 20 seasons. They currently are in the middle of a drought - having not made the playoffs since 2014.

In that time, they went to the American League Championship Series, losing both times to the eventual World Series champions. In 2005, they lost in five games to the Chicago White Sox. In 2009, they lost in six to the New York Yankees.

The 2023 season could be the last for Angels star two-way player Shohei Ohtani, whose contract expires at the end of the year.

Currently, Los Angeles has the tenth highest 26-man payroll in the majors, paying out $172million according to Spotrac.

Moreno will now also need to figure out a way to negotiate a deal for a new stadium, which is currently owned by the city of Anaheim.

The Angel Stadium lease expires in 2029 and a bidder would have had to decide between investing hundreds of millions of dollars in renovation costs, forking out $1 billion for a new ballpark, or trying to find a new location.

A $320m deal to sell the property to Moreno's business partnership was shelved back in May, shortly after the city's mayor resigned.

The 56-year-old stadium was estimated to need about $150m in upgrades back in 2013 - which will now either be paid for by Moreno or axed in favor of a new stadium.