We were contacted last week by Athletics After Dark to participate in a debate over the merits of keeping the A’s in Oakland vs. moving them to San Jose. On the pro-Oakland side is Jorge Leon, representing San Jose is Jeffrey August. Listen to the show and chime in.
Jeffrey’s comment added:
Hey All… That is me taking the San Jose side. To be clear, I am still 100% in favor of anything happening in the Bay Area (Oakland included). In this debate, I took the San Jose side, but as you can probably tell from most of my answers that is strictly because I believe the path to privately financing a stadium in San Jose is much more clear.
Some general observations:
I feel kindred to Jorge Leon. He is a good guy and has his heart in the right place. It is hard to criticize a guy like that.
Dale Tafoya is a rock star. I have been listening to his podcasts for a while (and I don’t always agree with the things David Feldmen says on them, ha). I hold him in the same esteem as Tyler Blezinski and ML. These are three guys we should all be thankful are part of our fanbase and have a DIY work ethic. I get more than the majority of my A’s news from these three guys (and their internet based media outlets).
Last, there was a couple of moderators that were originally scheduled but then actually didn’t appear. Zennie Abraham and Rich Liebermen. I believe it was scheduling conflicts for both. I was actually looking forward to getting grilled by Zennie, that will have to wait for another day.
Lastly, let’s hope there is no need for a podcast like this next offseason.
newballpark.org 
Great job Jeffrey. The prolem with arguing Oakland’s side in this debate is there are fewer studies and facts to back up the pro oakland comments. Most of the points made by Jorge are based soley on personal opinions and speculation. Jorge, if you happen to be reading this, this is no slight against you or any other pro Oaklander. There has just been much more work done at this point by the city of San Jose than Oakland to help the A’s build a new stadium. I understand the frustration with ownership moving the team but ten years of trying to build in oakland before moving on to other cities does not make Lew Wolf (or prior owners who tried) an evil greed monger. Let’s all hope this debate will be moot in a few weeks.
@BayAreaA’s( btw, I hate the name, just like Silicon Valley A’s that almost happened, and SJ A’s, which I hope will never happen)– Oakland may be a year+ behind SJ in the ballpark game, but I’m a patient guy and can wait. I doubt it will be a few weeks for a decision. We have a new player now in Jean Quan, and things may be delayed a few more months.
Jk,
Oakland is YEARS behind SJ in the ballpark, and with no money to accompany the hot air, it might as well be an eternity.
Jean Quan is a new player in the game…if she has a spare $1 billion in her back pocket. Short of that, well, see my first sentence.
I, as well as most of the fanbase, am hoping and praying for a decision in a few weeks. FREE SJ!
I am confident Lew Wolff will be able to convince MLB to open up San Jose to Oakland because the team would go from 15 miles away to about 40, the corporate support would make the team a contributor, not consumer of the luxury tax pool, and the territorial rights were specifically given to the Giants for free, simply to give them a way to explore their own San Jose ballpark back in 1992, and they should have been given back years ago. My concern with a San Jose ballpark would be how much our team would have to compensate the Giants should they relocate. Business is objective, based on data, so know decisions aren’t done based on “loyalty”, “legacy”, or any subjectivity. I live in Concord, so San Jose would actually be a farther drive. I simply want to the A’s to do whatever they can to be more competitive in THIS market, and to build in a downtown setting with many nearby amenities. Jack London square/Victory court would be a great setting for a ballpark IMHO, and there would be no compensation for the Giants. If they A’s let the territorial rights go altogether, then the Giants would hold on to 2/3 territories for good, and have a perpetual advantage (yikes!).
Thanks,
Tom
San Jose, with no assurances it can even get the A’s, has been setting the table nicely, buying up downtown property, performing an EIR, etc. Oakland, meanwhile, has flat-out treated the A’s with disdain: Wrecking the stadium, firing the city for suggesting a new downtown ballpark, etc. Bye bye Oakland.
Either way, I just want to keep our boys in town and to hopefully even the playing-field with the Giants someday. The A’s are one of the most storied sports franchises in history (really – look it up! lol).
I’m with you, Tom, though I’m not very confident MLB will do the right thing concerning Santa Clara. I hope they will, but we’re talking Seiig and MLB here. I have very little faith in the folks making the decision.
Jorge is greatly outclassed in this debate, from what I’m hearing. He just said that Lake Merritt BART brings people from San Francisco (which has a team), the North Bay (which has no BART) and the South Bay (which doesn’t yet have BART and is the site he’s arguing against for not having BART).
re: I’m with you, Tom, though I’m not very confident MLB will do the right thing concerning Santa Clara. I hope they will, but we’re talking Seiig and MLB here. I have very little faith in the folks making the decision.
…same here. Remember – most of these guys couldn’t find San Jose on a map.
pjk,
I’m sure after a year and a half of the “BRC”, coupled with Wolff talking to almost all of the owners (as he stated in the AN interview), these guys now all know the WAY TO SAN JOSE!
Selig understands one thing, and understands it well– making every franchise capable of standing on its own two feet with viable markets and stadiums. When he became commissioner, that would have meant moving the A’s out of the Bay Area or contracting them, because that was the only way to restore the Giants to strength they had in the 1958-67 pre-A’s period. That’s no longer the case thanks to the growth of Silicon Valley, and I think he’s enough of a businessman to recognize it. Whether three-quarters of the other owners are on that side, I don’t know.
@jk–just last week you were admonishing all of us that Bryan G was a god, well above anyone on this site, and we should all respect what he says….he says build it at 980—now you say watch out for JQ–she will bring it home for Oakland—-JQ says Victory Court—other leaders in Oakland say the Coli will work while IDF has a whole different idea—what you have in Oakland is what you have had for the past 15 years–no viable site that the leaders can agree upon—and still no plan or strategy to build a ballpark in Oakland…
TonyD–would BS want to deal with a nasty lawsuit from the city of SF, which can drag this out for a few more years?
A lawsuit from SF would be more about extorting money from MLB than stopping an SJ stadium. Really, it would be a dumb move by SF that would probably lead to a countersuit from SJ.
Jk,
MLB would be immune from any frivolous “nasty” lawsuit that might be generated by the city of SF (see Anti-trust exemption).
By the way jk, what would be the basis for such a hypothetical piece of legal nonsense? Can’t wait to hear your answer to that one!
@TonyD–all I know is that SF City Attorney Dennis Herrera fired off a letter to BS, telling him more or less they’ll seek legal action if the A’s go to SJ. SF had a complex legal agreement with MLB before building the China Basin ballpark, and a stadium in San Jose would break that agreement. Go tell Dennis he’s full of it, since you know so much about the law.
http://sfcityattorney.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=454
Guys,
Relax. Dennis Herrera is just carrying the Giants water. Second, read the freaking documents Herrera presented. It takes a google search but is well worth it. The document he is talking is referenced in it and you can read it. It is a letter from Leonard Coleman, former President of the National League.
Jk,
At the end of the day, the city of SF/DH can’t prevent MLB from relocating the A’s to SJ because of the anti-trust exemption. Doesn’t matter what document might exist or how much homage you pay to SF/DH.
We already discussed this when it was posted earlier this year. By the way, now you’re trying to count on the city of SF to keep the A’s out of SJ? Pretty shameful.
Anyhow, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!