Have you noticed how most of the free agent contracts inked this offseason have been five years or less? Player age is certainly a factor, but equally important is the fact that the new CBA runs five years, through the end of the 2011 season. Although it’s unlikely that the MLB’s current business model will collapse, there’s no telling if certain issues such as a salary cap could rear their head. No owner wants bad contracts grandfathered into the next CBA, so the Soriano and Zito signings are the exception.

As far as that business model goes, let’s just say that no one’s complaining. Take a look at the table below, which shows various types broadcast and internet revenue.

Every team can count on $30+ million every season without selling a single ticket or TV ad. That’s good money. This doesn’t even include revenue derived from Latin American TV contracts or other internet feedsharing agreements. The Extra Innings satellite/cable package pays out $2 million per year to each team as well.

So if you’re the Giants, and you rake in upwards of $100 million in gate and concessions revenue, putting together a $95-100 million payroll doesn’t sound all that bad even with the mortgage on the ballpark. According to Forbes, the Giants’ 2005 revenues were $171 million. We don’t have their books in front of us, but by using all of these bits of information and putting them together, we can come to one simple conclusion: The Giants can’t cry poor because of the cost of the ballpark. They proved their financial health by heavily outbidding the Mets and Rangers for Barry Zito, and by showing their willingness to outbid the Astros for Carlos Lee.

Signing Zito is also a significant not-so-stealthy PR move. Zito was already a darling among local media, and the 7 or 8-year deal means that as long as he isn’t traded (he has a no-trade clause), he’ll still be there when the A’s new ballpark opens. In the meantime, many A’s fans will have watched Zito continue to pitch on the other side of the bay – either in person or on KTVU/FSNBA – which means more revenue for los Gigantes. If you’re the A’s, all you can do is hope the development process speeds up, because when Cisco Field opens up, the playing field in the Bay Area will be pretty close to even.

The first chance for the public to scrutinize the Cisco Field plan will come on Tuesday, January 16, according to Argus scribe Chris De Benedetti. The meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. instead of the customary 7:00 p.m. No agenda has been posted, and I wouldn’t expect one until the week before the meeting. It’ll be interesting to see who shows up, especially because the TV cameras will most likely be rolling. Bring your pencils for the comment cards.

Webcast link (live only during session)

The PR fight between San Francisco and its football team continues with the release of correspondence between the two parties. Mayor Gavin Newsom has reopened the idea of the stadium at Hunters Point Shipyard, an idea that was rejected earlier by the 49ers because of uncertainties regarding cleanup of the seriously toxic Superfund sites there.

The Navy pledged $120 million towards cleanup nearly three years ago. Cleanup is expected to take the better part of a decade to complete, which makes a 2012 opening date for a new stadium rather optimistic – to which 49ers owner John York concurs.

In addition, a new public park and wetlands refuge is being created out of Yosemite Slough, the inlet that separates Hunters Point from Candlestick Point. York points out in his response to Newsom that an engineering firm recommended the construction of a six-lane bridge over the slough to properly route traffic coming from the 101-Candlestick exit. In this Chronicle article, Lennar is supposedly going to pay for infrastructure related to the stadium, but the bridge has to give one pause. At 0.35 miles in length (accordingly to my Google Earth), the bridge would be one-half the length of the new Carquinez Bridge, which was a $200 million project. A direct comparison isn’t fair, but size of the new bridge could be $50 million or more. And if they’re talking infrastructure, they really should consider a light rail spur from the new T-Third line, since the location would presumably only have bus service under the current plan.

Even with these challenges, a Hunters Point stadium sounds a lot more feasible than a Candlestick Point stadium. I’ve heard that to facilitate construction under the previous plan, all manner of staging would’ve occurred on offshore barges. Yikes! The biggest problem now is that the mayor has given the team only until the end of March to review and approve the project. The deadline has already rankled York, and the optimistic schedule pushing such a deadline may be a ploy to save face by presenting a somewhat realistic looking proposal – lest they look like Oakland. Newsom even offered to set aside land for new 49ers training facilities – certainly an arrow across the bow of Santa Clara.

Still nothing was mentioned about how anyone’s going to pay for a $800 million stadium.

For selfish A’s-related reasons, I’d rather see the 49ers stay in SF. Bringing them down to Santa Clara would create a situation in which three teams would be located in Silicon Valley. The Valley is rich, but how well can it economically support three large teams? I’ve always considered the Bay Area a fairly fluid place when it comes to consumers looking for entertainment, but when it comes to hard numbers and competition for premium seating, I don’t think having three South Bay teams is a favorable situation for the A’s, 49ers, and especially the Sharks. Keeping the 49ers in SF would create a better balance, with two in SF, two in Oakland, one in SJ, and one straddling the East Bay/South Bay border. It’s that kind of geographic distribution that could make it easier on all local major sports franchises.