SB 4 was referred to the Senate’s Appropriations Committee yesterday, but not before it was amended. There isn’t much strikethrough or italics in the amended version, but what was changed was very important. The Appropriations Committee has four Bay Area members: Senators Johan Klehs (Pleasanton), Leland Yee (San Francisco), Mark Leno (San Francisco), and Joe [...]

Consider, if you will, a baseball team in 2005. While its prospects on the field are bright, its economic future – its home, in particular – is uncertain. However, in less than a year, the landscape will change dramatically, and the team will be able to pick from numerous new homes and locales, with suitors [...]

According to a new article by Scott Wong of the Tribune/ANG, Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente and Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty have gotten into a war of words regarding the future of the A’s. After an Argus story Friday about Haggerty’s renewed call to bring the A’s ball club to Fremont, [...]

I took new pictures of the two Fremont sites. Here they are, compiled into photo overview format (PDF). I will warn you, gentle reader, that you will probably get bored looking at them, simply because most of them look like this: No, it’s not a site that inspires the imagination. But it may very well [...]

From the Fremont Argus: With the number of ideal Oakland sites disappearing quickly, Fremont Mayor Bob Wasserman and Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty have stepped in to start a dialogue with the A’s regarding a ballpark in South Fremont. Here’s a snippet: “I’m not convinced Santa Clara County or San Jose is finished trying to [...]

Two more newspapers have written about CA SB 4: LA Daily News: Bill offering tax breaks for sports, entertainment centers faces vote SD Union Tribune: New play is possible in stadium financing As reported yesterday, SB 4 passed with no opposition in the AEST&IM committee, and is slated to go Assembly’s Appropriations committee, then the [...]

Yesterday, CA SB 4 was approved in the Assembly Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media (I’ll call it AEST&IM for short) on a 7-2 vote, with 1 abstention. The one local committee member was District 24 Assemblywoman Rebecca Cohn (Campbell), who was credited with the abstention. The matter is being referred to [...]

The Chronicle (thanks, Ballpark Digest) mentions a bill making its way through the California Legislature that would create a statewide governing body that would help fund, construct, and run various types of public entertainment venues, namely sports venues. The bill is CA SB 4, introduced by State Senator Kevin Murray of Culver City. Unlike most [...]

Reflecting some fans’ growing sense of unease about the Wolff’s stadium efforts, the Oakland Tribune printed a new op-ed piece wondering if Wolff is really serious about keeping the A’s in Oakland. There is a question of whether this “paranoia” (their term, not mine) is grounded in reality. Frankly, a little “skepticism” (my term, not [...]

Just came back from the meeting at Lake Merritt’s Lakeside Center. There were more than 20 people in attendance, all representing different interests and community groups. The Coalition was created to give the community a voice in how $198 million in Measure DD funds should be spent. A major focus for the past year has [...]