Angels owner Arte Moreno on Friday raised the specter that the team could potentially leave Anaheim because he said ongoing negotiations with city officials for a new stadium lease are “basically going backward.”

In his first public statements about the lease since negotiations reopened in September, Moreno said both sides “are not even close” to reaching an agreement on the city-owned Angel Stadium.

“I’m really frustrated,” Moreno told the Register while watching the Angels work out on a practice field at spring training in Tempe, Ariz.

The Anaheim City Council agreed in September to extend an opt-out clause that allows the team to leave as soon as 2019, giving both sides time to negotiate a renewal of the lease that expires in 2029. Although Angels Chairman Dennis Kuhl previously said the team has not looked at other locations, Moreno on Friday suggested team officials will now start exploring their options.

“We have always, from let’s call it 40,000 feet, kept an eye on what’s happening out there,” Moreno said. “Obviously, somewhere along the line, we’re going to have to make a decision.”

The team and city officials have approved an outline of bargaining points. The most disputed of those issues is whether to allow Moreno’s development company, Pacific Coast Investors, to pay $1 a year for 66 years to develop the land surrounding the stadium.

City officials have said that money generated as a result of development would go toward an estimated $150 million worth of upgrades to Angel Stadium, which was built in 1966 and underwent a facelift during the 1990s. The Angels current lease requires the team to both manage the venue and pay for upgrades.

Mayor Tom Tait, who voted against the bargaining points, and other opponents have said profits from any such development deal should go into city coffers, rather than to a private developer.

A city-hired appraiser is examining the value of the stadium and surrounding parking lots to determine its worth under two scenarios: if the Angels decide to stay in Anaheim or move out of town.

“Of course, we want the Angels to stay in Anaheim. But we have a responsibility to the people of Anaheim to get a fair return on one of our largest assets,” said Tait, who called for the appraisal.

“I think the existing lease that we’re operating under offers the Angels an incredibly good deal,” said Tait, who voted against the current lease in 1996 when he was a council member. “They play in one of the best venues in baseball and I don’t know where they could get a better deal.”

Tait and City Council members said Angels President John Carpino called them earlier this week to express his frustration about the slow progress in negotiations.

“I talked to John and he said that it boils down to repairing the stadium and finding a funding source,” Councilwoman Lucille Kring said.

“The city doesn’t have the money to make those repairs, but we’ve found a funding source through private development to pay for it,” Kring said. “Let’s get it done, because no one wants to see the Angels leave.”

Angels spokeswoman Marie Garvey said the team has solely concentrated on Anaheim, but will now “explore all our options to ensure that we have certainty for our fans and the future of the team.”

The City Council on Tuesday is scheduled to discuss the stadium negotiations behind closed doors.

Councilwoman Kris Murray said she didn’t believe that Moreno’s comments were a negotiating ploy.

“The critics said that there was no way the team would leave, but this shows that our fears were justified,” Murray said. “I think it’s imperative that the entire City Council work in good faith so we can keep the Angels in Anaheim for generations to come.”

Contact the writer: 714-704-3769 or amarroquin@ocregister.com