LOS ANGELES -- If Arturo Moreno succeeds in buying the Anaheim Angels, he would become the first Hispanic to own a Major League franchise and would run a team based in a community with a large and growing Hispanic population.

To Major League Baseball and industry experts, that could be a match made in marketing heaven.

"It's not just the fact that he has a Spanish name. It's also the fact that he understands the game and is passionate about it," said David Carter, who owns a sports consulting firm in Los Angeles. "He can deliver baseball to a very important burgeoning market -- young Hispanics."

Moreno, who made a fortune in the billboard industry, has not spoken publicly since he reportedly reached an agreement in principle with the Walt Disney Co. to buy the Angels for $180 million.

But associates describe the 56-year-old Tucson native as a savvy businessman whose working-class roots could appeal to Hispanics, both in the United States and abroad.

"It's significant from the standpoint of the region and the standpoint of Major League Baseball," Carter said. "If you look at the direction of baseball, it needs to redouble efforts to reach new, younger and ethnic fans."

Angels catcher Bengie Molina said he hoped ownership by Moreno, if the agreement succeeds, would bring more Hispanics to the ballpark.

"I don't know if it will be positive or negative. It's kind of hard to tell right now because there's nobody being a Latino owner," he said.

But he added it could open doors "for us Latinos who want to come up and play the game, and play for the big leagues."

The league has worked hard in recent years to gain fans in Central America and the Caribbean. It has played opening day games in Mexico, Puerto Rico and elsewhere.

The Angels' fan base has been predominantly white during its first four decades. But Carter said Moreno almost certainly would try to capitalize on the demographics of Orange County, where one-third of the 3 million residents are Hispanic.

"We are working very hard to market the game overseas," said Richard Levin, a spokesman for Major League Baseball. "We would appreciate whatever help we could get."

Levin said the league had no information about the agreement, which would need approval by 22 of the 30 team owners. Disney spokeswoman Michele Nachum declined comment.

Aggressively marketing the Angels to a Hispanic audience would be a change from Disney's approach. The company promoted the Angels and its Anaheim Mighty Ducks NHL franchise at its theme parks and would tout those parks and other products at games.

The cross-promotion was designed to keep tourists in Anaheim, but the strategy hasn't worked for the company, which has been trying to sell both teams for several years.

The team won the World Series last year for the first time in its 42-year history but has lost money since Disney bought it after former owner Gene Autry's death in 1998, paying $147 million. It had acquired a controlling interest in 1996. Disney also spent about $100 million to refurbish the stadium, renamed Edison Field.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia said a winning team is what brings fans to the ballpark but said maintaining diversity is also crucial to the league's success.

"As this game keeps moving forward, it has to more reflect the demographics of society," he said.

Moreno is a former minority investor in the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team who tried unsuccessfully to buy a controlling interest in the club in 2001. He was bought out last year. He also owns part of the Phoenix Suns NBA franchise and the Ugly Duckling used car company.

Forbes magazine estimates his net worth at $940 million and ranks him No. 246 among the richest Americans.

He grew up working for the family print shop in Tucson, graduated with a marketing degree from the University of Arizona and is a Vietnam veteran. He took over Phoenix-based Outdoor Systems in the mid-1980s, transforming it into an industry giant before he and a partner sold it for $8.3 billion in 1999 to Infinity Broadcasting Co.

"To me, Arturo Moreno is a modern-day Horatio Alger," said Chris del Conte, executive director for fund development at the University of Arizona. "He's a rags-to-riches story. He worked his way up. He started something and made it into something special."