This ain’t the hot stove league, folks.
Owners’ meetings are scheduled to start tomorrow in the desert. While much of the focus will be on-field, an important matter may also be covered:
A committee established by Selig last year to find a new home for the Oakland A’s should be close to offering its recommendations. A’s owner Lew Wolff wants to relocate to San Jose. The Giants claim that city as part of their territory. In 2005, Selig helped broker the deal that moved the Expos from Montreal to Washington. Orioles owner Peter Angelos said the nation’s capital was part of Baltimore’s extended territory. San Jose is the 10th-largest city in the country and third population-wise in California behind Los Angeles and San Diego. So there’s a lot at stake.
Coupled with Buster Olney’s musings over the weekend, it sounds like this is all coming to a head soon.
An audit to get the final cost of Petco Park was just completed and presented to San Diego’s City Council.
The Marlins made a pledge to increase payroll in anticipation of their new stadium, could amount to MLB’s first salary floor – if the Marlins follow through on their promise to MLBPA.
The Twins moved into Target Field 28 months after construction began and 3 months before opening day.
Finally, the 49ers downsized former A’s exec Andy Dolich today, eliminating his COO position. The 49ers will be on the hunt for a chief marketing officer whose job it will be to pursue corporate sponsorships.
newballpark.org 
Might want to add that the SC boosters turned in more than 8000 signatures to put the stadium on the June ballot–way over the amount required—all done in a very short period of time–
Announcement probably right after Super Bowl.
That would be sweeeet. And I don;t care what city they choose if there is a clear and concise time line and vision.
I hope we get some answers soon. The suspense is kill me. 🙂
er, killing
I’m not suprised the Twins have moved into their new home so quickly. Where there is a will, there is a way. Contrast that to Oakland.
Al, you must mean, “Where there is a method to get hundreds of millions in public funds without a public vote, there is a way. Contrast that with the Bay Area.”
Thanks ML. Some people just don’t know the facts.
I was referring more to the competion ahead of schedule.
AI, It’s not and has never been a competition to see who can build a ballpark faster between the Twins or the A’s.
I bet John Henry could do better.
Geez, who said anything about competition. Forget I said anything.
Al,
didn’t you mean to say “completion ahead of schedule” in your above post? No worry’s brah! Damn typos.
maybe we won’t see a decision soon =(
” A committee studying the future of the Oakland A’s is apparently not ready yet to make a recommendation about where the team should relocate. A deal is being studied in Fremont, Calif., just down the East Bay from Oakland. Wolff, who abruptly ended extended negotiations to move the team to Fremont, wants to move the team to San Jose ”
from this article – http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100113&content_id=7913490&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
Seriously guys whats the deal with fremont? From what I gather its a stadium surrounded by a parking lot in an industrial neighborhood…its not attractive. I though no one was persuing a new ballpark at the coliseum site for the same reason!? If selig decides for the a’s to go to San Jose thats fine…its a downtown setting near transportation and activities. If Selig decides to give oakland another shot thats fine too…even if it takes a little longer. the jls sites are also in a downtown/waterfront setting thats near transportation and activities. but to delay things for a parking lot stadium with the “possibility” of development is foolish.
A no decision is a decision to allow time for Fremont to pull things together—-the BRP doesn’t have to do anything for this to go forward–no TR issues—gives a chance to figure out where the money comes from to buy the land, infrastructure improvements etc—-
Well, RS is saying after the Super Bowl, so in a little under a month; we’ll see. By the way, how much time is it going to take Fremont to “pull things together?” And what exactly does that mean: acquiring land, completed EIR, financing package, elimination of all NIMBY’s, etc.?
One thing to consider: SJ has yet to come out with its revised ballpark EIR (soon R.M.?), so that may also have some bearing on when the committee will release its report.
I agree with you daveinsm: =(. This BS is starting to get a little old. I know, I know..patience.
I think Revised EIR will be ready in Late May to be certified by mid-June. Revised EIR has no bearing on BRP findings and has no bearing on City Council decision to put ballot measure on November ballot. EIR is merely a pre-condition for development. Based on fairly competent sources the Revised EIR is a formality at this point. In other words, city staff and stakeholders are not concerned one bit with what will be in final revision.
Delay in annoucement by BRP because of Fremont is window dressing due to timing. The only timeline that is important right now are the deadlines for the November ballot for the voters City of San Jose.
Just heard from a friend in Willow Glen that the push pollers are at it tonight. Apparently the questions/misrepresentations are getting worse. MLB (and the other 29 owners) have been made aware of this and high brass at MLB including BDP and ABS are not very happy about it.
Thanks RS!
ABS = Allan “Bud” Selig
BDP =
Boogie Down ProductionsBob DuPuyNot very happy about it but not able to stop it either….something is wrong with that—another owner dissing his peer and calling him greedy—you’d think they’d shut down the gints quickly…
Maybe it all stops when the Giants get the deal they want. In the meantime…educate thyself San Jose!
Makes me wonder if in the end SJ will just forgo a vote since one technically isn’t required as no public money is slated to be used on a ballpark in SJ.
Now you’re speaking my language Dan! Dot all the i’s, cross all the t’s of the EIR, get the downtown neighborhood associations onboard, ensure no public money for the actual ballpark, market-rate lease or land sale for Diridon South and WALLA…no vote necessary! Under the aformentioned scenario, what could you possibly base a lawsuit on? And for the record, voter-approved initiatives don’t necessarily mean no lawsuits will occur; 15 lawsuits Petco Park anyone? (see also 2008 passage of Prop. 1A for high-speed rail; didn’t stop Peninsula NIMBY’s from filing a lawsuit. Prop. 8 anyone? OK, OK, another topic for another blog.)
I couldn’t resist posting the utter tripe Nav just posted in the SF Chron comments, calling a potential A’s move to Fremont or San Jose WORSE than the Baltimore Colts move to Indianapolis.
You can’t make this crap up, its priceless!
” navigator1/16/2010 9:03:33 AM
This is no different then what Lew Wolff is trying to do to Oakland with the relocation of the A’s to the South Bay. San Jose is trying to steal the A’s from Oakland in order to enhance its low National profile. This is worse than what happened to Baltimore, because neighbors aren’t suppose to steal from neighbors”
Wow talk about being delusional. The A’s moving to San Jose is about a mundane a move as you can get in sports. It’s no worse than when the Warriors moved from SF to Oakland. All 3 cities are part of the same metro area. It amazes me that SF, Oakland and their residents love to include SJ as one of their “burbs” when it suits them, but when it comes to the A’s moving down the freeway the A’s are being “stolen” and everyone gets all melodramatic.
Of course this is a theft by San Jose interests. The Oakland Athletics and their trojan horse ownership are being solicited by a neighboring city 50 miles away. If Lew Wolff decides to abandon Oakland, the Oakland Athletics will cease to exist. It’s no different than contraction to me. The team needs to leave their colors, their uniforms, and their history in Oakland They are moving away from a fanbase which will be reminded on a daily basis of what they once had. The animosity form theft by neighbor, really sticks in your craw. This is worse than a team moving to a different metro area all together. Has Oakland EVER attempted to take any of San Jose’s teams? Also, the fact that Lew Wolff will claim rights to Oakland, for both MLB, and MLS, will make sure that Oakland will be forever shut out of these sports. San Jose is screwing Oakland three times over what SF has done to San Jose. This is wrong, and you all know it. As I’ve said previously, if this ever comes to fruition, I will no longer set foot in San Jose.
If Lew Wolff decides to abandon Oakland, the Oakland Athletics will cease to exist.
It’s no different than contraction to me.
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According to this delusional “logic”, MLB has contracted at least 11 times since 1953, including the time that Minneapolis stole the Twins from Bloomington.
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This is worse than a team moving to a different metro area all together.
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This bizarre remark is the clincher for anyone with doubts about nav’s ability to participate in a rational discussion. It also tell us where his only loyalty lies — to a 56 square mile zone rather than to the larger metropolitan community.
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As I’ve said previously, if this ever comes to fruition, I will no longer set foot in San Jose.
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OK, in that case, we give up — you win.
San Jose, drop this dastardly dimwitted diabolical and misguided effort immediately unless you are prepared to lose having nav’s foot grace your otherwise undistinguished city.
OK, let’s talk about, “what would be best for a larger metropolitan community.” Oakland is centrally located to all areas of the Bay Area. Oakland is the transfer point for the BART system. Oakland is at the heart of the fanbase. A ballpark in Oakland near Jack London Square would be by far environmentally better for the Bay Area. It looks like Oakland also wins on “what would be best for a larger metropolitan area.” Despite attempts by some on this site to denigrate Oakland as a good place for businesses, the openings of new theaters, restaurants, clubs, pubs, art galleries, etc. say that you’re wrong. There is no reason why this ballpark can not, or should not, be built in Oakland. The only resistance to this happening is the anti-Oakland bias being shown by a carpetbagger ownership with South Bay business interests and ties. Why don’t we start behaving like one big happy Bay Area family and have the people in the South Bay continue coming up for baseball, football, fine dining, and scenic views, while the people in the East Bay will go down for hockey, soccer, and micro processors. Is that a deal?
Was there any opposition when Minneapolis stole Bloomington’s team? I think not. It was a move from a boring suburb to a real city just 10 miles away, AND they kept the same team name. This won’t be the case if the A’s go the 25 miles away from a real city(Oakland) to the most boring suburban area in the bay area, Fremont. And the carpetbagger would change the name to something embarrassing like Silicon Valley A’s of Fremont or the like. OR move the team even further (50 miles south) to a whole new unproven baseball market of San Jose. A city that’s trying so hard to be a happening city like SF, but is sadly just an overblown suburb, just a little more happening than Fremont because they have a Gordon Biersch and a Spaghetti Factory.
Hey look, more Oakland piggybacking on SF snobbery. It’s amazing you have time to rehash dated insults when you’re so busy not filling the Coliseum.
I go to more than my share of A’s games since 1971 pal, when I was 9 years old. I’m more of fan than you’ll ever be. BTW, SJ is not the great sports town you guys think it is. So many failed teams over the years. The Sharks are the only the exception but they keep saying they’re losing money.Outside the 17k at the Tank, no one watches them on TV.
Oh, and BTW2, Santa Clara County, this rich bastion of wealth, can’t even support a County Fair.What a joke. Alameda County Fair is a huge success, with many people and families from the Oakland area attending.
What makes theft by neighbor so insidious, is that the victimized city will be prevented from ever being made whole again with another franchise. When the A’s moved from Kansas City to Oakland, the city was able to secure another Major League franchise with the KC Royals. Also for those of you who think that San Jose has been so proactive by getting an EIR done and buying some parcels, while all the time conspiring with Lew Wolff, think about what Oakland did by BUILDING the Oakland/Alameda County Sports Complex without any commitments from any franchise. As far as the Warriors choosing to cross the Bay Bridge, Oakland gets absolutely no benefit at all. No National exposure, nothing. Oakland is being used by the Warriors. The franchise refuses to take the city’s name, features San Francisco uniforms at times, and the Oracle Arena has been ethnically cleansed from any visual sighting anywhere of the moniker “Oakland.” There is no mention of “Oakland” on the floor, on the basket supports, at court side, and on their website featuring to Oracle Arena on one side of the Bay Bridge, standing by it self, and linked directly to the SF skyline. The Warriors USE Oakland and cleanse the Oracle Arena of any mention of “Oakland” to make the schmucks coming over from the “City” and the Peninsula, feel “comfortable” and feel as though they’re not really in Oakland. Oakland is being used, nothing was “stolen.”
There is a very simple reason for that … the stigma of the name ” Oakland ” . Yeah, I have relatives and friends who reside in Rockridge, Montclair , etc., where aged boomers and yups reside with their Volvos , venturing down to trendy bistros during daylight hours and enroll their kids at pvt schools . Funny, they never say they live in
” Oakland ” , but ” Rockridge ” or ” Montclair next to Berkeley ” when they tell others from beyond the Bay where they live , LOL.
That’s ignorance, plain and simple. To deny something that is Oakland because of what misinformed people who don’t know the city may think, is what the Warriors do. That’s wrong. Also, those same people you speak about who live in Oakland’s hills and other well to do areas, are now venturing down to Lake Merritt, Uptown, Old Oakland and Jack London Square after dark. Nice try at perpetuating ignorance.
I saw in the Merc this morning that a group of local SJ folks had pulled together a forum of Stone, Purdy and Neukom to discuss territorial rights. Now Neukom has pulled out indicating that Selig has told him not to discuss the territorial rights issue. Ironic–he won’t discuss it but he is putting forth his push polls, and astroturf groups to do his dirty work.
Here’s the news clip GoA’s was referring to. Its from the Merc’s Internal Affairs column today:
Rose Garden tactic by Giants chief irks A’s-to-S.J. backers
A few months ago, a group of local judges, attorneys, media folk and cops who meet regularly to talk about community issues thought it would be fun to kick around the pros and cons of the Oakland A’s proposed move to San Jose.
So they lined up a debate featuring Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone, Merc sports columnist Mark Purdy and San Francisco Giants managing partner Bill Neukom.
The first two are vocal supporters of the A’s move; Neukom likes the idea about as much as Superman likes kryptonite.
Alas, Neukom’s office last week canceled his much-anticipated appearance at the Jan. 27 meeting, saying Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig in December “told the Giants and A’s not to talk about the territorial issue” until a special panel formed by Selig finishes studying the A’s stadium options.
Stone, for one, isn’t buying it, noting that Neukom — formerly Microsoft’s top lawyer — spoke last summer to an overflow crowd at a Los Altos Rotary Club meeting, where he vowed the Jints would fight for their territorial rights to the Bay Area’s most populous city.
Stone is among those who also suspect Neukom is behind a recent letter from San Francisco’s city attorney that warned Selig not to “tamper” with those rights.
But when faced with two potentially hostile questioners, “suddenly he’s claiming the commissioner of baseball has asked the Giants and the A’s not to speak?” sneered Stone. “That’s classic San Francisco politics.”
Stone has nerve after trying to steal teams from other communities for years. Where was the Oakland representative? How arrogant!
“Where’s the Oakland representative?”
Presumably looking for a viable site in Oakland.
Yet again I have to read comments here with people implying that moving the A’s from Oakland to San Jose is a move within the market. You’re wrong, plain and simple. The best way to demonstrate you’re wrong is to see what Oakland A’s fans think about it. They think it’s an out-of-market move.
Now think of every sports team that has moved to a new stadium in their region in the past twenty years and see if you can find an example where the fans are hopping mad about them moving to another market. Oh, that’s right, because they’re not. Oakland A’s fans, on the other hand, are. The main thing that is different in this case is that you’ve got a bunch of existing fans who obviously hate Oakland and want to move the team closer to their house or something. It’s obviously about getting San Jose some respect, what with all the “tenth biggest city in the US” that gets tossed around (call me when you discover Metropolitan regions and city limits, lol).
This is moving a team to another city. It’s *exactly* what you would see had someone tried to move the Baltimore Orioles to Washington, DC.
I know some of you folks out in the suburbs and the South Bay think that Oakland is the same as San Jose but I’ve got news for you, it’s not. It’s not because people in Oakland (and San Francisco, and Berkeley, etc) don’t think it is.
The simple fact that MLB has given the territory the A’s ownership wants to move to TO ANOTHER TEAM and will have to PAY OFF THE OTHER TEAM TO BUY A PORTION OF THEIR MARKET should make it crystal clear: San Jose is not the same market as Oakland.
Stop the propaganda and start debating your market on its merits. Oh yeah, that’s the problem, without the existing East Bay fanbase San Jose/Santa Clara Co. is too small to support MLB.
This is why MLB is pushing Fremont. Fremont let’s them stay within the A’s territory and fudge the move out of the city. They don’t have to pay the Giants and can try and leech corporate money from Silicon Valley. It sounds good on paper but I think anybody who really thinks about it understands that a team has to be more directly accessible to its fans than Fremont, where there are apparently no A’s fans at present.
Using your logic, the Dodgers and Angels have no business sharing the same territory (within 75 mile radius of the stadium), but they have done so since the 60’s. Same goes for the NY and Chicago teams.
OTOH, Neilsen and Arbitron often include San Jose within the Bay Area media market. And using the 75-Mile rule, San Jose is well within the means. All Bud Selig and the MLB ownership has to do is approve the territory revision, which will likely be all Bay Area counties and Sacramento being shared by both teams.
That’s what I wish would happen. There is no need to have separate territories in the Bay Area. Just let the teams share both of them like the other two team markets. However I don’t think Bud is going to want to shake things up THAT much, and he’ll likely just move Santa Clara back over to the A’s.
If you look at hard cold economic trends of the Bay Area ) forget the US, esp the Upper Mid west rust belt ) from a business owners standpoint, sports teams have to know their PAYING fan base. In other words, the A’s don’t have hundreds of millions of dollars rolling in from their TV network like the Yankees or Red Sox , for the rabid fan who due to economic circumstances cannot afford to attend the games in person , but are just as loyal as those who do attend . So teams like the As have to put butts in the seats to bring in dollars . Look around you in the Bay Area, and it is apparent that the good higher paying blue collar jobs in manufacturing are long gone -even Silicon Valley manufacturing. Today’s non-white collar worker is flipping burgers, cleaning toilets, mowing lawns , clerking at big box store . A day at the ‘park with food and kids in tow is expensive – remember , it’s ” free ” on TV.
The Giants are thriving on the white- collar walk up biz in a trendy locale surrounded by pricy condos and apt towers in a spectacular waterfront setting with romantic views of the Bay Bridge and the sunlit hills of ..” Montclair Near Berkeley” . You all know how it was in Windlestick Park , depending on it’s ” loyal ” greater number back then of higher income blue collar fan base : decades of ” today’s paid attendance is …3,787 ..Thank You for coming ! “, unless the Dodgers or Cubs were in town on a weekend .
So , looking 10-30 years into the future , as any ownership group must do when deciding to delegate $500 Million dollars that could have gone into their kids’ and grandkids’ trust funds requires an answer to a simple question : which location will bring the greatest number of the kind of ” casual fan” with disposable income that the Giants have so successfully attracted . And what non -baseball ” guilty pleasures ” ( such as the Giants spectacular waterfront views ) can this best location provide to get those butts in those seats ? Where are those wealthier casual fans going to be living in 10- 30 years . I suspect fewer of the the non-white fans will be Hispanic/Black and more will be the new people of color : Asians and Asian Indian- who not only already make up a large part of the population in , of course , Fremont, Silicon Valley , the Peninsula , but increasingly the Tri-Valley areas esp San Ramon area . As far as the blue collar white fans , seems many of them moved to homes they could afford to buy in the Tracys and Brentwoods and Pattersons the past 15 years from a life of permanent apts and rental homes in the East Bay .
Everything I’m stating is ” Captain Obvious ” to even the most neophyte real estate /business investor here in the Bay Area .
A baseball/cricket stadium … bring it on, LOL !
Nobody ever said cities and markets were coterminous. Most in the region would still be within driving distance of the park and most (if not all) games would be televised on local channels. That’s a move within the market.
Sameoldpartylinefromyall,
Please stop trying to speak for me. I am an Oakland A’s fan.
I was born in Castro Valley, and grew up there and in San Leandro & Hayward – you know, the EAST BAY.
Yet, I am excited about the potential move to San Jose, because it will allow the A’s to remain in the Bay Area. Like many, I was scarred by the Raiders move to Los Angeles (now THAT is a move out of the area, even though delusional posters like Nav claim that those types of moves are worse), and I want nothing more than for the A’s to get new digs within the Bay Area that allow them to compete on a yearly basis.
“The best way to demonstrate you’re wrong is to see what Oakland A’s fans think about it. They think it’s an out-of-market move. ”
NO I DO NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU DONT SPEAK FOR ME. I am an Oakland A’s fan, and I WELCOME a move to San Jose.
You’ll then be a San Jose A’s fan if they move there, which I honestly doubt. The Oakland A’s won’t exist anymore if it does happen.This latest Fremont site may fly, even though I think it’s still a dull area for anything but an auto plant. Should be interesting how this drama plays out. I’m still rooting for Oaktown to hang on to their team. We’ll have our own PacBell Park with an east bay flavor to it.
You’re an “A’s fan” not an Oakland A’s fan. There’s a difference. You do realize that a move to San Jose would be the end of the Oakland A’s? People from all over the Bay Area and Northern California want the A’s to remain in Oakland. It’s not about living in Oakland or convenience. It’s about history and tradition.
And if Oaktown is unable to come up with the economic resources, just as they have been unable to do for the past fifteen years, would you rather see them move out of the area completely, or just fold up their tent and leave the area altogether?
San Jose Athletics is MUCH preferable to Charlotte Athletics, Las Vegas Athletics, Portland Athletics……
I’d say you get the picture, but obviously you don’t.
If Lew had a sweetheart deal in those cities, he’d probably check them out, but there isn’t any. Portland too small and too close to a fragile Seattle franchise. Vegas and the gambling, no-way and Charlotte I’m not too sure, but the south isn’t into baseabll that much (look at FLA and Atlanta).
I’m still pissed off that MLB shot down the Dolich/Zimmer group. They were committed to Oakland and wanted a new park in downtown somewhere. Lew just saw south bay from day 1 and just bitched and complained. I wish he would sell the team. He may not even be around by the time this soap opera plays out in 5-10 more years.
I wouldn’t get my hopes up about Lew selling the team. There’s a lineage being set up there, so it’s going to be for the (relatively) long haul.
He can cash out and make a huge profit like the guy before him and not like the guy before him ( the Haas famil,y who sold at a reduced rate to Schottman). Isn’t that what it’s all about, the money?
There’s no guarantee that the A’s would leave the Bay Area just like there’s no guarantee for a new ballpark in San Jose, Fremont or Oakland for that matter. Everyone on this blog seems to ALWAYS try and predict the future like they no exactly what’s going to happen, what the committee will recommend and where the A’s will end up. The bottom line for now is no one knows anything, the A’s don’t have anywhere else to go for the time being so just calm down and be patient and lets just wait and see what the BRC recommends before we start getting into this whole “I don’t want the A’s to leave the Bay Area and that’s why I’m pulling for San Jose” talk. If you care about the A’s regardless of which “market” they play in then you should be pulling for Oakland just as much as San Jose. Again there’s no guarantee that they will be a successful franchise in San Jose either.
It appears that all three cities have pros and cons for why they should land or keep the A’s so it’s anyone’s guess at this point. I’d say you were the one who doesn’t seem to get the picture.
The one thing we can predict is that Lew Wolff will put the A’s in San Jose if MLB allows it. Nobody else will have any say on it, it doesn’t matter whether the move will be as financially lucrative as some say. It could be a total bust in terms of increasing revenue. However, the A’s are Lew Wolff’s MLB franchise, and as I’ve said before, Wolff and MLB will move the team wherever they want for whatever reason they want.
“Wolff and MLB will move the team wherever they want for whatever reason they want.”
Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.
That’s why I will be ecstatic if they remain in the BAY AREA!
I am an A’s fan and live in Sacramento. I would love for them to move here, but realize it will never happen. The idea of a downtown park in Oak or SJ does not appeal to me. Of all the proposals the NUMMI site is the first that offers reasonably good access for fans from the Central Valley. I don’t care if Bay Area snobs think Fremont is boring. I’d go there to watch the A’s and not freeze to death. San Jose is too far to drive to on a regular basis.
The San Jose site has ACE train access making it much more accessible to the Central Valley.
Considering ACE is based out of Stockton, I don’t think a commuter train would be much help for Sacramento residents … unless you take Amtrak to Stockton and transfer to ACE … which of course would only be useful for weekday games …
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If anything a Sacramento resident … or anywhere in that region is better off taking the Capitol Corridor to an Oakland stadium. You have to admit, it’s a very central location.