Warriors for sale
Let the bidding begin. Here are several links for you to peruse:
- Tim Kawakami looks at several bidders besides Larry Ellison
- ESPN’s Marc Stein has the national take
- SI’s Frank Hughes brings up Jerry West as a GM candidate
- SF Business Times article
The Golden State Warriors surprised everyone today by announcing that they have hired Galatioto Sports Partners to help facilitate a future sale. GSP is no stranger to the business, as they just finished the sale of the Charlotte Bobcats to Michael Jordan. They also have some serious league experience onboard in former NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik.
Beleaguered owner Chris Cohan may be looking for upwards of $400 million for the team, even though Forbes pegged the W’s value going into this season at $315 million. Assuming Forbes is correct, that’s at least a 27% premium, which could make some prospective buyers balk. Larry Ellison is obviously the most prominent suitor, but there’s no shortage of moneyed interests from all over the Bay Area that could take a shot.
Beyond the sale, which will probably take at least a year to consummate, there is the issue of where the W’s will play after their lease (and Oracle’s naming rights deal) ends after the 2016-17 season. While Oracle Arena is unquestionably a superior basketball venue compared to HP Pavilion, it remains to be seen if that will be satisfactory to whomever buys the team. If Ellison buys the team, it would stand to reason that he’d take the Oracle brand and use it as a cornerstone for a new arena deal, perhaps in San Francisco. Kawakami muses on this further:
According to my sources, almost all of the major parties interested in the Warriors are looking to possibly move the team to San Francisco, in a newly built (privately financed) arena in Giants’ parking lot adjacent to AT&T Park.
That includes Ellison, I’m told, though I believe he’d want to own the Warriors wherever they play–his company’s name, after all, is on the current arena.
With a bigger sponsorship base and a new luxury downtown arena, the Warriors would almost certainly have a higher revenue stream if they were located in San Francisco.
I’ve heard that the Giants could be involved in several of these forming groups, either as a background partner (remember, they’re also minority owners of Comcast Bay Area) or larger player in the purchase.
Right now, AT&T Park is used about 100 dates a year, for Giants games and concerts, etc. If there’s an arena built next door, that’s possibly another 100 dates for that area, and you can easily imagine more retail and other use of that corridor.
It’s not out of the question, though it’s a given that a new arena would have to be privately financed. In any event, W’s fans have to be happy that the one thing they’ve wanted the last decade – Cohan selling their team – is one step closer to happening.
There we agree. Unlike the A’s, the Warriors have drawn respectable numbers even in bad times. They should stay at Oracle.
If the cost of living was always directly proportional to salaries, there’d be no relative wealth anywhere on Earth.
I didn’t say that. What I am saying is that all of your posts makes it sound as if San Jose was a major city and Oakland wasn’t. It take more than just population to be considered a major league city.
It does in this area.
Who made Scott Haggerty the “Master” of the Bay Area? And doesn’t he realize that 1) Warriors fans come from all over the Bay Area, not just the East Bay, 2) They’re the only NBA team in the region, and 3) Oracle Arena is a decent venue because of its upgrades in 96? Obviously, he doesn’t realize any of this. Put the Warriors in Frisco or San Jose and they’ll draw the same as they do at Oracle, gauranteed! They’ll also be a richer franchise. By the way, can you provide a link to the story regarding the Gund Family and their “yearning” to have the Sharks play in SF vs. SJ; thank you.
“And because of the lease, it would be in a new owner’s best interest to stay,” he said. “If they leave prior to 2027, they would be obligated to pay off the debt from refurbishing the 19,596-seat arena back in 1997.
Like I said before. If you put “San Jose” accross the chest of a basket weaving team they’ll draw in San Jose.
That was childish and made no sense whatsoever DH. Stop trying to be clever because it aint working! Next topic R.M.
It’s 2027? I thought it was sooner than that. Those bonds were a few hundred million dollars, I believe.
Several years ago, there was talk of privately funded arena in SF. But soon, the Sharks extended their lease in SJ to 2017(?) and the Warriors signed on for a refurbished Oakland arena. Talk of an SF arena quietly died out. Most likely because they had no chance of an NBA or NHL tenant.
re: San Jose is a fairly bland minor league type city
…bland works fine for me. I’ll take the shopping malls, the Targets, Home Depots and freeways over the clutter and crowding of Frisco. We’ve got the Sharks here, the Nutcracker ballet every year, schools that aren’t that bad. I’ll take it.
So why have all the niche sports left town?
SaberCats are gone because the league folded. The Fry brothers wanted to keep AFL going and owned one of the healthy franchises. The Stealth probably got a better revenue deal in Everett at the new arena there. Interestingly, through last season the Stealth were the southernmost team in NLL. Lacrosse is more of a Northeastern/Canadian sport, and the attendance here sort of proved that.
You might want to quote the right person, in this case Larry “I’ll stake my career on the ballpark village plan” Reid. To those who think the lease is protection, I have three words for you:
Remember the Sonics.
From the Tri-City Beat
http://www.ibabuzz.com/tricitybeat/2010/03/23/diaz-met-with-mlb-officials/
Fremont Manager Fred Diaz met with MLB officials
By matt artz
Tuesday, March 23rd,
They met last Thursday. I have no details, and he didn’t seem to have any sense of when the MLB committee would make its recommendation or what that recommendation would be.
I’m hoping they would make a recommendation to the commisioner after April 1st when NUMMI shut down. Also, I heard that Fred Diaz meeting with them was a success. On March 26, Fremont mayor might talk about the A’s stadium in Fremont at his State of the City Address http://www.Fremont.gov or http://www.Fremontbusiness.com
I don’t like Targets or Home Depots, nor do I see them regularly, and SJ works for me.
Don’t worry, I quoted the right person.
Er, no.
From the article:
In any case, Remember the Sonics.
ML—have never heard you utter a discouraging word about BS—what’s caused the change of opinion? Personally, I have never been impressed with him—slow to take action whether it be steriods are fixing the TR issue for the A’s
Er, yes……if you read the entire article, you will see Haggerty’s quote.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_14733858?IADID=Search-www.insidebayarea.com-www.insidebayarea.com
There’s a lot of newsprint and blog pages wasted every year about how bad Bud Selig is. And all of it is complete ineffectual. This blog isn’t about that. Just because I don’t write about him doesn’t mean I tacitly approve of what he does. Do I think he’s an awful person? No. I do think that his naturally conflict-filled position as an owner-turned commissioner makes it hard for him to ever argue that anything he does is in the best interests of baseball as a whole, not just the owners. That said, as a CEO he’s done the duties asked of him by his shareholders, or rather, the owners.
MLB in Fremont is a pipe dream. It will never happen.
Haggerty’s quote in the Merc was shorter. The quotes are similar, the articles are edited differently.
I think it’s strange to place faith in the same man who spearheaded Fremont’s efforts to take the A’s from Oakland.
Next time, post a link when you quote.
In any case, Remember the Sonics.
ML….I suggest you do the same.
Actually, when I quote I link. We’ve wasted enough of everyone’s time with this.
Is Fremont any more of a pipe dream than a willing Lew Wolff working out an JLS ballpark deal? Seriously.
ML…you’re right. I am tired of talking about this as well. Peace.
Dennis H.-
Seems a bit arbitrary to declare adjacent counties such as San Mateo and Alameda part of other markets, when huge populated chunks of each are closer to downtown SJ than SF or Oakland. Just because the census chooses to chop up the Bay Area into MSAs a certain way for statistical purposes doesn’t mean they aren’t part of a teams target market. It’s still all in the SJ-SF-OAK CSA.
That vintage Deford/SI article is priceless! Love the reference to “Al Davis, the shrewd young boss of the Raiders.”
I’ve never once said or even implied that population alone makes San Jose “major.”
I love how San Jose is referred to as “a flaccid, sprawling urban adolescent.”
I finally found time to read that whole thing.
It is amazing how , even back in 1968, Oakland was the future of the Bay Area! I love Oakland, but come on…. Jack London Square was the next big thing 40 years ago. It still is… I wonder if in 40 Years it will still be the future of the Bay Area, or if ti will have grabbed the mantle of “present” for the Bay Area by then.
The sports teams mentioned in the article… The Clippers petered out (with the rest of soccer in the US) 2 seasons later. The Seals moved away within a decade… to Cleveland?!?!?!?! Even the Raiders left.
What a wild and woolly adventure this has been.
Also, I think it is safe to say that San Jose is not really adolescent or flaccid anymore. Sprawling, sure.
Rumor/speculation but what many have suspected about the “process” might be correct–and most likely why Fremont is being bantered about again. BS hasn’t been able to secure the votes opening SJ—guess some of these owners prefer to continue to subsidize the A’s—-all in all—if this holds up—A’s could be headed elsewhere out of the bay area—doubt that LW will invest his own money in either Fremont or Oakland after this process-
ESPN’s Rob Neyer, as usual, has a cogent take on that never-ending Oakland A’s relocation study:
It should be 29-to-1; you can hardly blame the Giants for wanting to keep the A’s out of San Jose. But it’s not 29-to-1, because some of the other clubs are afraid of setting a precedent, and also because the Giants (presumably) have some favors they can call in. And despite the impression you might sometimes get, Bud Selig can’t just do whatever he likes.
It’s been a year (and counting) not because Selig’s committee can’t come up with a reasonable recommendation regarding the future of the Athletics. It’s because Selig knows what that recommendation is (or will be), but hasn’t yet been able to garner the support from enough owners to implement the recommendation.
Actually, the NASL lived one for another decade and a half. The original San Jose Earthquakes were there for most of it, also outlasting a second Oakland franchise (Stompers). Ironically, both hockey and soccer now survive in the South Bay.
To clarify, I didn’t mean that all of soccer in the US was done within 2 years, just that the Oakland team was done and eventually the NASL.
As far as soccer surviving in the South Bay… there is a stadium to be built before I concede that point. I’d love for the Quakes to become a fixture, but we are not that far removed from a relocation, and there will be a second one if Uncle Lew doesn’t get on it and build the stadium.
GoA’s,
Neyer is simply trying to stir $hit up; that’s his job as a columnist (for ratings, reader traffic, discussion, out of boredom, etc.)
And despite what some think here, Fremont isn’t being “bantered about again.” All the ballpark possibities need to be included in the final MLB committee report, including Fremont. It will be part of BS’s “strong case” to MLB ownership re: allowing the A’s into SJ.
I did email Neyer and expressed the following:
1) The “precedent” of altering territories was set years ago, both geographical and television: the NY Giants move into Boston Red Sox territory in the 50′s (yes, the Bay Area was once part of BoSox T!), the expansion of the SF Giants territory into Santa Clara County in the early 90′s to allow their move to San Jose, and the Expos move to DC/Orioles TV territory in 05. Besides, with the exception of the A’s and Rays, all the clubs are set with their ballparks and host city’s/territory.
2) The Giants curry no favors in MLB. This is an organization that infuriated MLB ownership when they privately financed Pac Bell and, a few years later, allowed a drug dealer unfettered access to the club house. Their standing within MLB is nill. Bill Neukom is also a junior owner in MLB and won’t be allowed to rock the boat. He will be put in his place soon.
3) Lew Wolff’s relationship not only with Bud Selig but others in MLB; Reinsdorf/White Sox and Cardinals ownership to name a few. They’re not going to keep the A’s out of SJ just because some selfish, “New Booty” owner out of Frisco keep crying about it.
Look, the Merc’s Mark Purdy was quoted last year as stating (based on information from MLB’s “inside”) that Bud Selig had the votes to overturn the Giants TRights to Santa Clara County, but ONLY if a ballpark in San Jose was to be built as a result. I think we’re very close to getting to that point GoA’s.
Tony D—I want to agree with you but many of us who want to see a ballpark at some point in the next 5 years are amazed at the pace of developments. Do writers need to stir it up…sure…but its hard to refute what he is saying—takes 22 to support it and while LW has a few relationships keep in mind that he is relatively new. The gints aren’t playing around–they want to be the only team in the Bay Area—if SJ stays closed they feel they can be successful in achieving their objective in the near future—note how they are now televising some SJ gints games in SJ–change the uniform colors etc–remember–it was LW who when asked about TR and the gints said it should be about money but it isn’t to them…this time around he felt BS could secure the votes but BS lost his leverage when he didn’t penalize the gints for knowingly allowing steriods in the locker room—true to his character he took a pass on the tough issue and let it fade into the sunset—
would be great if someone had an assessment of the 30 owners and who might be in what court but figure that is difficult info to find–
Also apologize for this being in the Warriors area–meant to post it origninally to SJ SEIR blog
GoA’s,
It’s not hard to refute what he’s saying. He’s just a columnist, he’s not on the “inside” so to speak. And while we are all tired of the pace of this committee study, the truth is that SJ is not quite ready to build the ballpark (land acquisitions, EIR completion, etc.). Heck, in theory they won’t be ready until after November of this year because of the election/vote. And yes, the G’s do want the Bay Area all to themselves, but where would the A’s go? They already exist in the Bay Area and it’s much easier to move them further from the Giants/within their existing market then take a risk in, say, Sacramento or Portland. LW relatively new? Again, try “New Booty” Neukom. He’s junior to LW and doesn’t have enough stripes to stir shit up. As for the “Lil” SJ Giants, they have no relevance to this whatsoever, so I won’t comment on that. Again GoA’s, it’s all rampant speculation, not “inside” reporting.
Not inferring that it is “inside” reporting but that it absolutely makes sense–Neukom may be new to the lodge but his strips as chief legal counsel for Microsoft during pretty challenging times speaks volumes–he is now lightweight—and yes I know–they can’t sue but I am sure he is able to put together a pretty convincing arguement to rationalize his position—who knows–maybe the A’s get sold back to MLB like the Expo’s and they figure where to place them out of the Bay Area in the future—what we do know is that LW is frustrated- the gints are snickering about the what inning the blue ribbon commission is in and BS says that it is stil under analysis 12+ months after he commissioned a small team to establish some answers with a sense of urgency–something doesn’t add up—
I want the A’s to stay in the Bay Area and becasue of that I see SJ as the best option but I am beginning to question whether or not the lodge will pull together to make it happen—ridiculous–sure—but that’s what an anti-trust exemption will provide for you–
This will be my final say on this Neyer garbage; sorry R.M. for straying so far off the Warriors topic.
I disagree GoA’s. The Neyer rampant speculation does not make any sense because the supposed “delay” in getting the report out has been explained ad naseum. Besides, no one except the media and ignorant politicians has said when the report will come out.
Like the “Lil” SJ Giants, Neukom once being chief legal counsel for Microsoft has no bearing/relevance to this whatsoever. And your right GoA’s, it’s because he can’t sue! It’s as simple as that. Beside, the A’s have lawyers in their ownership group as well, and Lew Wolff’s good friend (besides Selig) is Big Time attorney/White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf (two can play it that game, so bring it on Bill if you must!).
Also, Neukom CAN’T put together a pretty convincing argument to rationize his position because he simply HAS NO CASE! For one, the MLB Giants play in Frisco, not 40 miles down the road in SJ. Two, the SVLG survey of 09 completely blew the “Giants corporate support in Silicon Valley” argument out of the water. Three, they can’t prove that Giants season-ticket holders in SCCo. (perhaps 7,000) will all miraculously become A’s fans with the team in SJ. Lastly, four, they have the rights to SCCo. only because they were supposed to relocate here themselves. Again, as has been said before, NO CASE because there is NO ARGUMENT to be made.
Speaking of argument, let’s say the committee released its report in, say, September of last year. We’d all be “happy” right now, right? Would anything be different though? Again, SJ still hasn’t acquired the entire Diridon site, the revised EIR still isn’t complete, and the hypothetical November vote would still be 8 months away. I know we’re all getting impatient about this, but why the rush/sense of urgency?
Last thing: Selig gave both Wolff/A’s and Neukom/Giants gag orders in December to not talk about territorial rights to the media until further notice. That means no one in MLB will discuss the report/territorial rights to the media until told to do so by Selig; hence Neyer’s piece being complete, rampant speculation that doesn’t make sense whatsoever. That is all.
Two things:
.
Why are so many people in this thread repeatedly referring to SF as “Frisco”?
It’s embarrassing and uninformed.
.
And why are so many people minimizing the distance between SF and SJ?
It’s 48 miles, not 40 (measured train station to train station, or AT&T Park to the SJ future park site.)
That’s more than the combined ballpark-to-ballpark distances in the other three 2-team markets.
Tony…you need to check your confidence meter my friend because its redlining right about now…When ever anyone, even SJ partisans, brings up anything remotely close to the A’s possibly not being able to move to SJ, or having trouble for that matter, you just plug your ears and start singing “la-la-la-la-la”…I guess the reason Lew hasn’t been granted the rights to SJ after trying the last half decade has only been to keep everyone on this blog entertained…
Sometimes you gotta raise your “SJ Partisan Hat” just a little bit…its starting to block your vision
I like your last stat CM–can you circulate that to the other owners so at least 22 of them realize the gints TR claim is BS….and than maybe BS can do something—
How do you folks define how strong or big a city’s market is? I am sure it goes more than just populations. The size of the population doesn’t accurately tell how strong a market is, although you can infer that the market is big and can potentially become strong.
For the record all, there’ s nothing wrong with disagreeing with someones opinion and/or wild speculation. Doing so, as well as expressing your own opinion, does not constitute “plugging” ones ears or singing childish songs.
I refer to Frisco as Frisco as a personal defiance of the city’s full-of-itself image, calling itself “The City” and all. Friscans don’t like their town referred to as Frisco so I do it anyway.
I grew up 40 miles from a real city – New York City. Frisco a small town compared to NYC.
Everyone say it with me: “Frisco!”
Ar we heading to Texas or what?