LA Times baseball writer Bill Shaikin chimes in on the lack of progress up here, just as he did last June. This time, he spoke to Lew Wolff, who revealed at least one important new nugget.
He says the A’s would not strike it rich in San Jose, not when they would build the ballpark themselves and face what he says would be $18 million to $20 million per year in mortgage payments, but could do well enough for fans to develop a rooting interest in Brett Anderson and Kurt Suzuki rather than watch General Manager Billy Beane trade them away.
“We’re in this so I can give Billy enough money to keep players,” Wolff said. “We’re still not going to be in the free-agent market.”
First off, what Wolff says last is all that I (and many other fans) want. I’m not looking for the A’s to have a $100 million infield, I just want a $100 million payroll. Second, the revelation that the mortgage would run $18-20 million should settle much of the talk about the ballpark cost, as I had seen absolutely ridiculous projections ($50 million/year) in the comments. Throughout this excruciating process, Wolff has been talking with financial institutions about the costs and viability of the project, should it take one form or another. .
Shaikin sums up the current situation concisely in this short paragraph:
Can Selig endorse San Jose and risk losing an election? Can he endorse Oakland without land in hand? Does he spend a few more months trying to pacify the Giants, who vow not to go quietly, or the A’s, who say they exhausted their efforts in Oakland years ago?
I really don’t have anything else to add.
newballpark.org 
Had Selig taken the approach that the Bay Area should follow all other 2 team markets relative to shared territory all of the concerns would be moot—than Wolff or the gints for that matter could locate in any of the cities of shared territory—
“He says the A’s would not strike it rich in San Jose”
OAFC is gonna have fun with that one.
Not sure what you mean NT–as ML said most of us just want the A’s to be able to have a team supported by a reasonable payroll which today is $100M—look no further than Minnesota for what a new ballpark provides–the opportunity to keep Joe M and have a $100M payroll—
Moving to SJ won’t make the A’s the Yankee$ or Red $ox overnight, but if it could make us the Twin$, that’s a lot better off than where they are today. 5,200 through the gates on Tuesday!? The OAFC should have more fun with that one ;o)
“Can Selig endorse San Jose and risk losing an election?” Has Shaikin been reading this blog? Again, don’t think a vote in November will be necessary, but I’ll leave that thought for a future thread. Lastly, for R.M. or anyone: would it be “cheaper” for the A’s/LW to either 1) have 14 acres donated to them free of charge and pay an annual property tax or 2) pay an annual land lease, at market rate, for the 14 acres?
This just shows how much details we do not have on our end. We can all but speculate on things and act like we know what we are talking about. I am not saying all the things people say are total BS, rather they are just not really accurate.
You know… I am just done with the whole “complexity of the issue” crap. It’s fairly straight forward, as Mr. Bill from LA points out.
I will be overjoyed and euphoric and ecstatic and relived and amazed and every other word that means “happy” on the day I am able to buy a brick for the entrance to a new stadium. If it’s in Fremont, Oakland or San Jose I am buying the brick.
I don’t care what has to be done to get there. Shared territory, stripped territory, no changes to territory… Either way I will still be a wine drinking, cheese eating, fan of baseball in general and the A’s in particular.
I am sick of being taken for granted, or neglected, or whatever. I am tired of going to AT&T Park to watch the A’s play in the type of venue I want to see them play in.
In short and in vulgar- Bud Selig, step the hell up and lead from the front for one time in your entire career as the commish. Put this shit to rest. Good grief.
General question to the blog: How can folks who want to help out the “A’s to San Jose” cause become involved? Are there political/community/business groups in San Jose that one could join or work with to help? Who are the major players in San Jose that can actually get this done? Thanks in advance —
You can start here: http://www.probaseballforsanjose.com
And here: http://www.sjredevelopment.org/ballpark.htm
probaseballforsanjose.com
Thanks to you both!
From today’s Matier and Ross column in the Chron:
“Indeed, insiders tell us the tug-of-war over the A’s appears to be coming down to a choice between the ball club’s current Oakland home and San Jose, which is actively trying to lure the team south.
Word is, baseball is looking very favorably on Oakland’s two proposed waterfront sites but questions whether the city has the corporate sponsors needed to fill a new ballpark’s skyboxes. It’s a challenge that has Oakland boosters scouring the East Bay for enough Chevrons, Safeways and Cloroxes to make the town competitive with the Apples and Ciscos of Silicon Valley.
Meanwhile, the San Jose Sharks have shot off a 39-page letter raising questions about the impact a new A’s ballpark would have on their game days.”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/12/BAT41CSF3I.DTL&tsp=1
interesting the info you left off—Dupuy visited SJ and had lunch with LW and Mayor Reed; next day SJ sells 2 downtown parcels to Sobrato for $20M in order to acquire the 2 remaining peices of the land at Diridon–there is a fascinating chess game going on—gints don’t believe that Oakland can do it—which is why they are so adamant about SJ–by the BRC continuing to study waterfront sites in Oakland it pushes the gints to consider the options–do you want a ballpark right across the water from where your at today—-or do you want one 45 miles down the road—
After following Matier and Ross throughout this process, I put little stock in what they write about it.
They misidentified the sites in Oakland, for instance.
That said, I’d like to think that it is really down to Oakland or San Jose.
Putting little stock into what those two clowns write as well Jeffrey. They’re SF homers to the core! And as GoA’s stated, don’t you just love how they completely ignored the SJ news of last week. Maybe Matier and Ross should take they’re pathetic act up to Cache Creek.
Matier and Ross didn’t ignore it. They mentioned it:
Box score: For those wondering how the A’s move play is going, all we can say is check out the calendar of Major League Baseball reps who were in town for the team’s Opening Day:
San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed got a sit-down lunch with MLB’s president and chief operating officer Bob DuPuy. Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums got a phone call. The beleaguered town of Fremont, which had a yearlong courtship with the team, didn’t get anything.
Oops, my bad Jeffrey. I actually read their article and they did mention it. I WAS WRONG ON THAT. I still think they’re a bunch of clowns. FYI, for those of you (like myself) at home today, check out the 1:00 ESPN Twins game from their new yard Target Field…and dream.
Just because you don’t agree with M & R, they’re a bunch of clowns. And Mark Purdy of the Mercury news is a genius?
Give me a break!
ironic–I don’t see anyone mention Purdy–what was interesting to me is what you chose to cut and paste to try and convey your point—I don’t know about you but I find it more than intriguing that the man in charge of ballparks made an in-person visit to SJ and the next day the final 2 parcels of land were put in motion to acquire—I might have mentioned that in my cut and paste
Matier and Ross have been wrong about things over the past few years.
Not only in the Chronicle but during an interview with John Russo on KRON 4. (of course that were just Matier)
I guess I would say it is not that “I don’t agree with them” but that I don’t trust their reporting. As detailed as it is (yes, that is sarcasm). In this very piece you have linked they seem to be handicapping the odds in favor of San Jose, giving Oakland an outside shot and dismissing Fremont altogether, I think Tony would actually agree with that… Lunch with one mayor (San Jose), phone call to another (Oakland), ignoring a third (Fremont). Maybe I read that wrong?
I don’t recall Mark Purdy ever “reporting” on the process as M and R do, only giving his opinion as to how it should unfold (San Jose A’s). To which I don’t pay much attention.
Problem is, and M&R don’t spend much time on it, is that “Oakland’s” waterfront sites aren’t actually Oakland’s. They’re owned by a mirad of private owners, some of whom have no intention of selling or if they will sell will want top dollar for the land. That’s no small thing to just pooh pooh off. The lawsuits alone that some of the landowners could bring could delay a stadium plan for years.
I haven’t read the “39-page letter..” But, I find it hard to believe the Sharks would be too worried, considering baseball starts 1 week before the end of hockey’s regular season. Downtown SJ won’t have any problems accomodating a little extra traffic, considering the revenue it would generate for the City. The Sharks sell out every game, and as a die-hard Sharks fan— who has to drive 2 hours to the Tank and is most dependent upon good traffic conditions—I’m not worried.
Sharks/SVSE had to do what is required via the timeframe for an SEIR—the city can’t negotiate or discuss because the A’s haven’t been approved to move–bttm line—I would render it a non-issue—especially since SVSE is expected to manage the new ballpark as well as the new Earthquakes stadium–assuming it comes to that–
As he sits in his Los Angeles office, Wolff swivels his chair and retrieves a white three-ring binder, the kind a high school student might use to present a term paper.
The sheets inside include names and pictures of this year’s Oakland players, the easier for him to identify them when he sees them at Angel Stadium this weekend.
“I’m the only owner that has to carry this kind of book around,” he said, “because we don’t have the ability to keep our players around.”
Umm, yeah right Lew. We brought in a free-agent starting pitcher and traded for a 3rd baseman. The rest of the every day lineup and rotation has been in the organization for years now.
Good point. We did add Coco and Gabe Gross too, but there wasn’t much turnover. I guess he doesnt watch many games, if he needs a notebook. Very Good Point.
I’m not that surprised. He’s a businessman whose priorities are securing the A’s a new venue and trying to transform them into a sustainable operation. Billy Beane is the VP in charge of player personnel. So, it’s probably a good thing he’s not into micromanaging the on-field aspect of the team.
I think that may have been a bit of showmanship. It was lame either way. I have seen him at enough game sot know that he si there pretty frequently, he knows who the players are.
I think the word you were looking for is “salesmanship”. He’s trying to sell a false idea (that the A’s can’t compete in Oakland), so he needs to invent some facts to support that. And he’s hard selling it right now because the team is off to a good start, and we need to be reminded how awful we really are.
TPS,
It’s not that the A’s can’t compete; it’s that the A’s need a new venue, and the City of Oakland can’t and won’t deliver! What part of 5,200 through the gates last Tuesday don’t you understand? What part of decrepit, 40-year old football stadium don’t you understand? Sure, it’s great to compete, and the A’s are off to a great start, but what good would it be to lose those players in a few years to the Yankees and Red Sox? WE NEED OUR OWN VERSION OF TARGET FIELD!
By the way, Matier and Ross are getting hammered over at the CA High-speed rail blog.
We don’t have an argument about the A’s needing a new stadium, only about where that stadium should be. I think we all know Wolff was brought into the A’s ownership group specifically to move the team to SJ. I just don’t like his constant dishonesty about the situation in Oakland, and his “efforts” to keep the team there. As for keeping players, the A’s traded away Swisher, Harden, Blanton, Haren, and Scutaro without any great financial need to do so, they chose a total rebuild path under his leadership, and otherwise the A’s would have had a lot of popular, productive players under contract right now.
tps—what is dishonest about the fact that since 1995 the A’s have needed a new ballpark and here 15 years later they are still trying to identify a site—even the biggest homers have got to admit that shows little to no interest in retaining the team by the city leadership….and now compare that to a city that doesn’t know if it will be able to get a team but has already secured the site and the EIR—-at minimum you should beat up Oaklands city leaders as much as you whine about LW —
Many franchises have played 20, 30 or more years in woeful ballparks, trying and failing many times, before finally getting a palace. The Indians at Metropolitan, Orioles at Memorial, Twins (twice) at Metropolitan and Metrodome, Rangers at Arlington, Giants at Candlestick, Mariners at Kingdome… Lew Wolff announced he was leaving town less than 18 months after he took over the team. He keeps playing the, “I’ve suffered more than any other owner…” card without ever actually earning it.
For TPS below,
Many of those “Cooky Cutter” ballpark/football stadiums were considered State of the Art for much of their existence. Candlestick was once called “the most beautiful ballpark in baseball” by Richard Nixon. And we all know that the Coliseum was the place to be back in the 80’s. It wasn’t until Camden Yards was built that the owners said enough of this “Cooky Cutter” bull crap. The A’s have been at the Coliseum now for over 40 years; THE TEAM HAS EARNED IT!
If the A’s are set on trading off their top talent, how do you explain the following players brought in under Wolff’s ownership: Bradley, Thomas, Giambi, Garciaparra,Cabrera, Holiday, Sheets?
And where are all those players today (where will Ben Sheets end up)? Where were did all those players go at the end of the season?
All the players TPS mentions were with us well before LW took over and were traded away shortly after. They could’ve remained with the organization for awhile longer if they didn’t decided to “rebuild” after reaching the ALCS.
I’m not sure I see your point. Are you arguing that the Wolff ownership is sabotaging the A’s onfield performance? The 2009 opening day roster didn’t perform as hoped so they were traded away just as any other team would have done in that situation. If the Wolff ownership were out to tank the ballclub, they wouldn’t have signed those players to begin with. The Danny Haren deal has worked out well for the A’s so far. Brett Anderson is developing nicely and hopefully Carter and Taylor (via Gonzales, via Holiday, via Wallace) can make their mark within the next season or so. Cunningham has resulted in the sturdy Kouzmanoff. Gio Gonzales has great stuff and plenty of upside (for now). Fautino De Los Santos (23) is putting up fine numbers in the minors and Sweeney has a .291/.349/.396 line during his time with the A’s. I wouldn’t accuse any of these players as sabotaging the A”s chances of winning.
Briggs, I didn’t say he was, “set on trading off top talent…” Only that his current whining about needing a notebook to keep track of players, because he’s unable to afford the players the team develops is total B.S.
.
A) The A’s have had less roster turnover than many other teams the past few years
.
B) They’ve traded away good young, cost-controlled talent to produce most of that turnover (eg. they haven’t lost any significant homegrown player to free-agency since Zito, and most of us were thrilled to see him go).
Ray and Kuiper had Lew Wolff in the commentators’ box last night. He didn’t even know who the team was playing after Seattle. Lew isn’t a “baseball guy,” he’s a developer. Like it or not, in this position, a developer is the best guy to have spearheading the “development” of a new venue. Selig had this planned all along. They’ve been planning to move the A’s closer to SJ the whole time. Hell, Oakland is closer to SJ than SF is, so the logic behind this whole “territorial rights” deal sounds just as stupid to the other MLB owners as it does to us. The A’s outdrew the Vagiants for 30 years, and the SF media is panicking now because it was a great 10 years where they could pretend that they had a real franchise and they don’t want it to end.
The Vagiants!?! LOL!
It’s funny. If you read what Lew has been saying about the SJ Earthquakes, it appears he’s much more in tune with what is happening on the field with that team.
I actually know Matier personally through my work…I’m a truck driver and I make deliveries to the KCBS building in SF 3 times a week. During my frequent visits I run into Matier and former Mayor Brown and I get the privilege of speaking with them before they do their morning segments on the news.They are the nicest guys around who genuinely love to just talk and debate issues. I respect them very much…However neither one of them know very little about the A’s and their quest for a new ballpark, in fact I often find myself informing THEM about certain things on the issue..
So take it from me…this probably doesn’t mean much and next time I see Matier I’ll definitely ask him about it…But I will say this as well, Matier is very well respected and has a good amount of connections, so I wouldn’t put it past him to have a heads up on who might have the edge in this race…
Watching that Twins/Red Sox game nearly brought a tear to my eye…TARGET FIELD IS GORGEOUS! Don’t worry Jeffrey, we’ll be “there” one day brother.
As an avid listener of KCBS, I can tell you that Matier & Ross are only “good” at reporting one thing: San Francisco politics…and that’s it! They don’t expand much outside of SF city limits, and when they do it becomes rampant columnist-type speculation. They are also fierce protectors of everything San Francisco, and probably side with Neukom/Giants on trying to keep San Jose a “colony” of SF forever. Alas, as even LeAndre points out, they know very little in regards to MLB and the A’s pursuit of a new ballpark. Heck, I remember a few years back Matier writing that the A’s would most likely wind up in Vegas.
In regards to Mark Purdy, at least he’s a sports columnist who’s talked to Lew Wolff on many an occasion. Hey, didn’t somone from the Chronicle say a few weeks back that the committee would come out with its report in three days?
that was a blogger on sfgate, Zennie Abraham
And he was quickly discredited on that apparently false info. You have to take anything Zennie posts with a grain of salt. He’s as big an Oakland partisan as some would accuse M&R of being for SF.
Be careful to steer away from selective reasoning. This isn’t Oakland vs. San Jose vs. San Francisco, nor is it Giants vs. A’s. I think it’s closer to a team and player during arbitration where it’s the Giants and A’s agreeing on terms to San Jose and the MLB committee is the arbiter. In any case, I think it’s unproductive to see this as a spat between two teams. Essentially, it’s a legal issue between two businesses that requires a third party to intervene– like it or not. So, it’s probably best not to accuse journalist of choosing sides.
On a different note, Target Field is a great looking ballpark as are the Twins’ new alternate uniforms. I wouldn’t mind seeing the A’s get a refreshed look to go along with their new ballpark on day.
I agree with the refreshed look idea. I’d like to see the Green darkened a bit, keeping gold as a less prominent accent color. Also, lose the “apostophe s” after the classic “A” on the hat. Of course, the best new feature would be “San Jose” accross the front on the roadies!
Just an FYI. Phil Matier lives in Oakland.
Thank goodness the team is playing so well so I have something else to obsess about rather than the stadium situation. Watching the Mariners celebrate their ’95 playoff team, I couldn’t help but wonder if somehow this A’s team can, like that ’95 Mariner’s team, be a cinderella story and help garner public support for a new ballpark.
Didn’t they have 116 wins that year? (or some other ridiculous number) That was a great squad
No, 1995 was the season in which the M’s came back to win the division while the Angels choked a double-digit lead away by losing to the M’s on the final day of the season. It also helped Seattle fans regain interest in the team, which helped foster support for a new ballpark, keeping the M’s in town.
Followed by upsetting the Yankees after being down 2-0 in the series on Edgar’s walk-off double in game 5.
2001 was the 116 win team.
A bit off subject, but when was the last time anyone spotted Wolfe at an A’s game? His seats are a few rows in front of me and every time I’m there his seats sit empty. I wonder if he’s retreated to the safety of a suite or if he’s just flat out lost interest, or if he’s just given up on Oakland totally.
Wolff sits in those seats when he doesn’t have to entertain guests or is attending with family. He’s often in the owner’s suite or diamond level seats as a host. I suspect he has to do a lot of that during the opening homestand. He often mentions how he personally is not a fan of watching a game from a suite, it’s just part of the job.
He was in the Diamond Level opening night
So today’s A’s/O’s game is one of the free televised games via the MLB At Bat app. I’m in San Jose today and can’t watch it on television but figured it’d be cool to watch a little here and there on my phone while doing errands. Nope. Territory restrictions in San Jose. There some irony in here somewhere.