The stadium is often referred to by its unofficial nickname The Big A, coined by Herald Examiner Sports Editor, Bud Furillo.

[9] The landmark "Big A" sign, which originally served as a scoreboard support in left field, is located near the eastern boundary of the parking lot.

The halo located near the top of the 230-foot (70 m) tall, 210-ton sign was once illuminated following games in which the Angels won (both at home and on the road), a practice broadcaster Victor Rojas was known for referring to by saying "Light that baby up!"

[11] ARTIC (Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center) servicing the Metrolink Orange County Line and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, is located nearby on the other side of the State Route 57 and accessed through the Douglass Road gate at the northeast corner of the parking lot.

)[12] The stadium was built on a parcel of about 160 acres (0.65 km2) of flat land originally used for agricultural purposes by the Allec, Russell, and Knutzen families[1] in the southeast portion of Anaheim.

Consistent with many major-league sports stadiums built in the 1960s, it is located in a suburban area, though one that is host to major tourist attractions.

Despite this, Angels Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan still threw two of his seven no-hitters in the ballpark, alongside 2,416 of his 5,714 career strikeouts.

An elevated bank of bleachers was built in right and left fields, and temporary seats were placed underneath to be pulled out for football games.

Additionally, the Big A scoreboard support that stood in left field, and was the inspiration for the stadium's nickname, was moved 1,300 feet (395 m) to its present site in the parking lot, adjoining the Orange Freeway beyond the right-field stands; its usage changed from scoreboard to electronic marquee advertising upcoming events at the stadium.

A black and amber scoreboard/instant replay video board was installed above the newly constructed upper deck seats in left field.

Swift technical innovations in scoreboards in the 1980s quickly made the 1979 display obsolete, and the visual quality was washed out during day games as it was in direct sunshine, leading a Sony Jumbotron color board to replace it in 1988, alongside amber matrix displays installed above the right field upper deck and along the infield balcony.

As with the addition of football seats to Candlestick Park a decade before to accommodate the rival San Francisco 49ers, the changes ultimately disadvantaged the Angels and their fans.

Also, while the expanded capacity allowed the Angels to set attendance records that still stand today, on most occasions even crowds of 40,000 left swaths of unusable and empty seats.

[16] The Rams would later return to Los Angeles in 2016, playing their games at the Memorial Coliseum again for four seasons; the team moved into the new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood in 2020.

The January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake on Martin Luther King Jr. Day caused the left-field Jumbotron to collapse onto the upper deck seats beneath it.

[18] In 1996, two years after the Rams' final game in Anaheim, The Walt Disney Company, a minority owner of the team since its inception (the stadium is located less than 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Disneyland and across from the Arrowhead Pond, the home venue of the then Disney-owned Mighty Ducks of Anaheim), gained enough support on the board to effectively take control of the team.

Fans were greeted by a restored view of the San Gabriel and Santa Ana Mountains, the Brea Hills, and the 57 freeway beyond the outfield.

These included the installation of outfield bleacher pavilions, a video display board and an out-of-town scoreboard below the right field seats.

[39] Anaheim Stadium hosted five group stage matches of the 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup, including two involving the United States national team.

[40] Angel Stadium has hosted concerts including bands such as The Rolling Stones, The Who, David Bowie, U2, The Osmonds, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, The Grateful Dead, Madonna, the Eagles,[41] Jackson Browne,[41] Linda Ronstadt,[41] and Toots and the Maytals.

The 1988 sci-fi comedy My Stepmother Is an Alien features a scene shot in Angel Stadium of Kim Basinger speaking to an extraterrestrial counsel.

The 1990 comedy Taking Care of Business featured a World Series matchup between the Angels and the Chicago Cubs, with the baseball scenes in the movie having been filmed in the stadium.

[8] In 2014, Barack Obama gave a commencement speech for University of California, Irvine graduates, which was held at the stadium due to capacity and security concerns.