A lot of smaller items this week that I felt should go into a single post.
- Added 7/25 1:48 PM – Cowboys Stadium will now be known as AT&T Stadium, at a rate of $17-19 million per year (length unknown). For reference, Levi’s bought the naming rights at the 49ers stadium for $11 million/year, while AT&T Park’s deal was for roughly $2 million/year through 2024. Oracle Arena and SAP Center have deals worth $3 million/year.
- Added 7/25 1:40 PM – Really good interview on Athletics Nation with A’s Sales & Marketing veep Jim Leahey about how hard it is to sell tickets for the A’s at the Coliseum.
- Added 8:40 PM – Completely forgot that the A’s have changed the gate opening schedule on Fridays to 4:30. Normally the gates open 90 minutes before first pitch on weekdays, 2 hours before first pitch on weekends. This is to accommodate a request by many fans (including me) to observe home team batting practice, featuring Derby winner Yoenis Cespedes. Home BP is usually held a little over 2 hours before first pitch in most ballparks. For now the time change is only for Fridays. It could change, but remember that for day-after-night games many teams choose to cancel BP. As luck would have it, I’m flying into OAK from Salt Lake City at 3 on Friday, so I’ll have a chance to watch Cespy do his thing.
- The Chicago City Council approved a controversial $500 million renovation of Wrigley Field, which will include a big electronic scoreboard, increased signage and advertising, and the development of a hotel and office complex across Clark St from the ballpark.
- The Port of Oakland’s settlement with SSA was approved and accompanied by a celebratory press release by the terminal operator. Though there’s an interesting bit at the end:
The settlement agreement “has nothing to do with the baseball park,” (Port Board President Ces) Butner said. “We have not determined what we are going to do with Howard Terminal yet. We are going to have to figure out what it will be.”
Tim Kawakami also tweeted this:
There are some interesting ideas and names percolating around the Howard Terminal potential stadium site in Oakland…
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) July 18, 2013
Kawakami went on to talk about different uses and configurations for the land. Oakland wanted two downtowns with Coliseum City. I guess they can also explore two Coliseums (Colisea?). It’s all fun to think about until somebody has to pay the bill.
- According to an annual Harris Poll, the A’s are tied for last (27th) in terms of team popularity in MLB. The poll was conducted in mid-June with 2,210 American fans. Predictably, the Yankees and Red Sox are at the top. The Giants rank 10th in the survey, though they’ve moved around a lot over the years.
- The Giants played a rare doubleheader at AT&T Park, which occurred thanks to a prior rainout in Cincinnati. While the first game was played as a regularly scheduled home game, the second game had the Reds playing as the home team and batting last. A different type of doubleheader is scheduled for this weekend, with the A’s playing the Angels at 12:05 (national Fox TV game) and the Giants hosting the Cubs at 6:05. I’m seriously considering going to both as I’ve done this doubleheader the past two years.
- SF State professor and longtime Oakland political scenester Joe Tuman is expected to announce that he is running for Mayor today. An announcement is coming at Oakland City Hall at noon. Earlier today I had said something about San Jose’s antitrust lawsuit and MLB’s leverage, which aroused this response from Tuman:
@newballpark I think MLB needs to have confidence in Oakland politicians before making major decisions with so much $ on the line.
— Joe Tuman (@joe4mayor) July 24, 2013
- Not to be forgotten, Oakland City Councilman Larry Reid has been waiting for a “sign from God” to put him in the race, though his increasingly snarky commentary at public meetings suggests that this is a mere formality. Having both Reid and Tuman in there could make the race entertaining, to say the least.
- Sacramento arena proponents have accused anti-arena petition gatherers of lies and dirty pool in making claims about the ESC plan. Neither side looks great, as the anti-arena group may have out-of-town support and the “facts” that the pro-arena group are citing are projections, not facts. Yeesh.
- Despite the City of Detroit officially filing for bankruptcy, it’s likely that $283 million in TIF-based funding for a new downtown Red Wings arena will go through. All sorts of wrong with that.
More if it comes.
newballpark.org 
How can you do Tax Increment for a city that needs $18 billion?! That is sacrilege, the damn city needs tax revenue in the next decades to crawl out of this canyon!
Is Tim Kawakami a San Jose journalist or a Giants PR rep?
Good question, TK is likley a giants PR rep and funded the bogus Harris Poll.
Has Kawakami ever written a positive column about the A’s coming to San Jose, or just “Giants hold all the cards?”
Leave Tim K alone. Im glad he supports the giants to keep the A’s in oakland.
Also I wonder if mark davis would look at hoeard terminal field for the new Raiders. Downtown Oakland would make sssoo much money and that location a waterfront football arena would be a automatic superbowl attracter…. so if we dropping 300mil. That is what I would vote for
Kawakami has said on multiple occasions that the A’s moving to San Jose makes the most sense for the franchise. It’s how that happens that he doesn’t understand.
New mayoral candidate has already saved both the A’s and Raiders for Oakland according to Zennie A tweet- look forward to his answer to the question as to where he is going to get the money for both- only wish it was as easy as blowing hot air out of the mouth- if that was the cas JQ would be president by now
Hey ML
Do u think Howard Terminal or Coliseum Area is a better fit for a new Raiders Stadium ????
ML: Why do I get the impression that Kawakami only offers up that “makes the most sense” bit because he works for a San Jose newspaper? Everything from his “Giants hold all the cards” to his A’s owner-bashing (while excusing the even-more-mega-rich Giants owners) to his latest Howard Terminal bit (which I admittedly have not read in great detail) all sounds like Giants PR. Has he ever written about the A’s family-friendly ticket prices vs. the Giants Cadillac ticket prices?
Thing about TK- he reports gossip v. spending anytime really doing informative reporting- claims his sources are MLB executives which mean Baer and Dolich- great sources to support impartial reporting-
TK is the official asshole of the Merc, AND HELL NO we won’t leave him alone. His “A’s in SJ makes sense” stance is just a cover for his position writing for the SAN JOSE Mercury News. He’s a Giants/SF homer through and through who doesn’t give a rats ass about San Jose. Glad RM put him to shame earlier this year.
Re the Port of Oaklands stance on Howard Terminal: Oakland making a “serious pitch” for the A’s is even more laughable now!
MLB needs to have confidence in Oakland politicians before making a decision? The comedy out of The O! gets better and better! Got corporate support or $1 billion for ballpark?…(that’s what MLB needs confidence in)
@Glass Joe a.k.a Tony D
San Jose will be defeated tony d. I dont care what ML knows behind the scenes… Coliseum City will happen…at least a Raider/A’s version of it
One of the funniest things I ever saw was Kawakami guesting on a Comcast TV show about the Sharks. Talk about visibly uncomfortable. He knew he was going to have to talk a sport he knew nothing about and cared nothing about and that he absolutely didn’t belong on the show.
Remember guys TK is the same guy who said the 49ers stadium would never get built in Santa Clara and lost a bet with Jed York he made in 2010 that it would not be built by 2014.
TK wrote he already “conceded” defeat to York and owes him lunch. On stadium issues he does not understand the fundamentals behind it in any way. I have called him out several times about the 49ers in the past 5 years and I was right on all of it.
As for the A’s, TK like most Pro-Oak people do not understand if Oakland had a site (HT, Coliseum City, etc…) that was feasible in anyway, Wolff would be forced to build on it by MLB.
The fact is there isn’t anything feasible as much as Aaron like Bud Selig is praying for an Oakland miracle.
San Jose’s lawsuit will force the A’s into Oakland….it is a matter of time.
I am sorry….San Jose’s lawsuit will force the A’s into San Jose….It is only a matter of time.
Columnists like Dickey, Poole and Kawakami wax sentimental about Oakland’s Ballpark Site of the Week (be it Victory Court, the Coliseum parking lot, Howard Terminal, etc) but they never address the monumental economic and other issues that serve as deal-breakers for these sites. One of these guys even said the A’s owners would get rich once they sell the team after a new Oakland ballpark is built. He did not address the issue of the massive stadium debt the franchise would carry afterward, and what to do when the numbers don’t add up on paying the mortgage. Damn the economics – full speed ahead, I guess…
@ML I don’t know if that statement is more funney or sad “it’s all fun till someone has to pay for it”
What on earth are you talking about @standforcoliseumcity_aaron? I hope these posts are some form of auto-generated @Horse_ebooks style account.
looks like its going to be a thin race for Quans job, her poll numbers are not good, but she could keep her job
@Luke
I have a girlfriend…sry dude not intrested.
@PJK and Sid a.k.a Snape
ML pointed out how MlB can delay this case also the leverage and the amount of owners would vote in favor of the Giants including Magic Johnson Dodgers. ..while u point out how the team woild fall in debt???? How…the Coliseum Field site would be 300 mil cheaper to build then a 800 mil ballpark with 0 money coming from San Jose???? Hell no to san jose.
Either invest in coliseum city or gtfo
To be consistent with his views, One would think that Kawakami should at least questioning why his Mercury News is covering the A’s? Kawakami seems to believes that it’s OK for his San Jose newspaper to infringe on Giants territory with their coverage of the A’s, while he doesn’t understand how the A’s could in any way be allowed to build their new ballpark in San Jose. I gather that since the Mercury News pays his salary, Kawakami chooses to remain silent on this inconsistency.
TK needs to be reminded daily that he has not licked Jed York’s boot yet.
TK put down a bet SC will never be able to find money or build a stadium for the 49ers and if they did, he would lick Jeds boots.
TK is a hack btw. Blocking people from commenting on his Merc blog if they disagree with him
@aaron – Getting sick of you citing things I haven’t written. Next time you do that I’ll ban you for a couple weeks.
BTW – Certain teams are more than willing to GTFO. That’s the point.
How true, daniel, TK is a weenie,not credible, and indeed will delete anti-giants comments on his blog (even if the comments are not offensive or personal – he and the giants mgt. are a good match)
@ml
Hahahah dude nobody is scared of u. No wonder ppl hate u out here but ur san jose only supporters…jesus dude…how the hell u going to lie in my face….ur a fake A’s fan who thinks u know it all. But u dont know shit u small dick bastard. U that lonely???
I cant wait for the sf giants to run over this dumb lawsuit…stay outta the coliseum. Its only for true A’s fans.
And fuck bitch ass pjk and tony d.
U aint a Oakland fan. San jose is a great placr to get women and a nice house with tech comapnies around. SAN JOSE IS NOT A PLACE FOR SPORTS. I WOULD TELL THE SHARKS TO MOVE TO ORACLE OR IF THE WARRIORS MOVE TO SF. FUCK OFF U NERDS…GET PUSSY…IM IN PLEASANT HILL IF U NEED ME.
re: stay outta the coliseum. Its only for true A’s fans.
…A’s: 1st place, 23rd in attendance. Sounds like Oakland doesn’t supply enough A’s fans. Lots of folks staying out of the Coliseum
Aaron’s hitting the sauce again
@ML man you put up with a lot stupid stuff, cant say I would put up with that much, your a good guy.
@Lakeshore/Neil – Thanks, I appreciate it.
I’m going to leave Aaron’s comment up just so that people can shake their heads upon reading it.
Lakeshore: some people’s purpose in life is to amuse others, whether they realize it or not
@ML, it’s not like anyone took him seriously but yeah, it’s crazy
Added 8:40 PM – Completely forgot that the A’s have changed the gate opening schedule on Fridays to 4:30. Normally the gates open 90 minutes before first pitch on weekdays, 2 hours before first pitch on weekends. This is to accommodate a request by many fans (including me) to observe home team batting practice, featuring Derby winner Yoenis Cespedes. Home BP is usually held a little over 2 hours before first pitch in most ballparks. For now the time change is only for Fridays. It could change, but remember that for day-after-night games many teams choose to cancel BP. As luck would have it, I’m flying into OAK from Salt Lake City at 3 on Friday, so I’ll have a chance to watch Cespy do his thing.
Thanks RM! Needed a good laugh tonight..
Really good interview on Athletics Nation with A’s Sales & Marketing veep Jim Leahey about how hard it is to sell tickets for the A’s at the Coliseum.
Cowboys Stadium will now be known as AT&T Stadium, at a rate of $17-19 million per year (length unknown). For reference, Levi’s bought the naming rights at the 49ers stadium for $11 million/year, while AT&T Park’s deal was for roughly $2 million/year through 2024. Oracle Arena and SAP Center have deals worth $3 million/year.
re: If the team wins, the top-end for attendance is probably around 2.1 million.
…Which means the best the A’s can do is to rank about 21st in attendance. Wow. Don’t the A’s deserve better?
Jim’s gonna love Cisco Field at $an Jo$e!! BTW, even he’s abiding by the gag order; damn!
I already pay too much for my AT&T service. Time to find a new carrier and this coming from a Cowboys fan.
@All “Pro-Oaklanders”
I’ve been following this site since 2006 and I continue to do so because ML provides quality news and honest opinion in regards to the Oakland A’s and their quest for a stadium. And I’m speaking as a Pro-Oaklander who would prefer the A’s stay in Oakland, which I’ve made no secret about.
I’ve met ML quite a few times and from our relationship together I can certainly say he only wants what he considers to be the best and most realistic place for the A’s to reside and he is without a doubt a “true A’s fan”.
If anyone disagrees you can simply state your opinion with facts and rhetoric, not ridiculous name calling. That kind of behavior is one of the reasons I stopped commenting here in the first place and it gives real Pro-Oaklanders, who value fact and rhetoric, a horrible name.
If anyone needs to “stay out of the coliseum”, it is the ignorant people who give the A’s and it’s city the unfortunate reputation it sometimes has.
well it looks like the whole potential “interesting names and Howard Terminal in play” was taken wrong.
Seems like he was referring to Joe Lacob and in play for he warriors. Which he set off a harsh reply from Joe.
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2013/07/25/joe-lacob-updates-and-defends-the-warriors-sf-arena-hopes-and-plans-for-piers-30-32/
JL nailed my issue with TK–he is the equivalent of nat’l inquirer scribe–just working to get a headline…”It’s just that you were speculating after, possibly, listening to naysayers and opponents. And, of course, as is the way it is in the media in 2013, everyone just repeats what you say without actually checking back for the facts.” I would love to have someone in the bay area media do an honest assessment of the challenges of HT–why it was listed as the highest cost site for Oakland back in 2002 and what’s changed to make that reasonable today. Cite facts and figures and push elected officials for answers of how they will pay for their portion while also trying to pay $300M to the Raiders—one can always dream or just ignore TK and other bay area media who fail to do any investigative reporting. Luckily, we have ML and this site if you want the most honest assessment of what’s going on.
“If anyone disagrees you can simply state your opinion with facts and rhetoric, not ridiculous name calling. That kind of behavior is one of the reasons I stopped commenting here in the first place and it gives real Pro-Oaklanders, who value fact and rhetoric, a horrible name.”
Well said. I’m born and raised in the East Bay and currently live in Oakland in Fruitvale. I have a full 81-game package. I recently graduated from San Jose State, but I am NOT a San Jose kind of guy. It’s a cool city, just not my cup of tea. Obviously I’m pro-Oakland. With that being said, some of the shit I see other pro-Oaklanders say on here makes me cringe. If you can’t have a real discussion with facts and logic please don’t speak up. You’re only making those of us who aren’t stupid look really stupid.
@LeAndre, its nice to read your comments, I would also like to think Iam a reasonable pro-Oaklander, and I have stated that a few times, I have also been reading this blog for a long time, I have also found ML to be really fare. I recently commented, for the first time. Would you be ok with San Jose if it ment they had to leave the Bay?
@Lakeshore/Neil
I would rather the A’s play in SJ than outside of the Bay Area without a doubt. With that being said I do think a stadium is possible in Oakland. But weak politions and an ownership with not much hope for the market create a lot of obstacles.
It’s funny/pathetic/ironic that Lacob could talk up Howard Terminal as a potential ballpark site, yet is leaving Oakland for $F for the same exact reason the A’s want to leave AND for the same reason the Raiders feel they can only build a 50k seat stadium at the Coliseum. I guess when you leave Da Town (much like Knauss sending 500 Clorox jobs to Tri-Valley), it’s time to save face and start talking the talk…
It is so refreshing to read a pragmatic pro-Oakland take on this whole situation. No doubt that a stadium in Oakland would be awesome, and to know the A’s would not be going anywhere out of the Bay would be priceless. A lot of why I support San Jose is purely because they are so much further along in the process, not because I live here or have some crazy civic pride angle I’m trying to work.
So much of being an A’s fan is diverted to off-field issues, which has been ever since I can remember. Would love that to end.
Much thanks LeAndre and Fruitvale. And Fruitvale, congrats on your degree.
@TonyD – Leverage.
@daveybaby
Yeah, I am as pro-Oakland as you can get, without being crazy. I grew up in Oakland, went to Croker Highlands elementary school, then to Edna Brewer (McChessney Jr. High at that time), and graduated from Oakland High. I no longer live in the Town, Big O, whatever we are calling it this week, I actually live out of state, after living in Oakland for 39 years my job moved, as jobs have a tendency to do. I get back to Bay Area two-three times a year, as my wife and I still have grown children and grandchildren located in the Bay. I try to attend as many A’s games as I can, and will move back someday, my buds and I take road trips, and catch the A’s, Raiders, or Warriors on the road when I can. I as many other reasonable pro-Oaklanders would love to see an A’s ballpark in Oakland, I realize Oakland is not the most optimal situation, but it’s not as bad as some have said, and a lot better them many realize. It not only can work in Oakland, but work well. Unfortunately there are a lot of things that would have to come together for that to happen in a way that would be good for the A’s, so I will pull, as hard as I can for the San Jose A’s, if it comes to that. It we are a little harder for me, then most to cheer (lets go SJ, let’s go, let’s go SJ lets go) but I will get used to it, because the alternative may be to see our team out of the Bay Area, and I don’t think any of us want that. Come on Tony D. Let’s go SJ, let’s go.
@LS,
Point taken. So if we’re looking at $120 million for pier reconstruction and $1 billion for 17k seat arena (perhaps $7-800 million minus retail/residential component), then how much would a pie in the sky HT ballpark really cost? Wow!!
@lakeshore,
For the record, was a huge proponent of the Uptown plan and have been a part of many “let’s go Oakland!” chants at the Coliseum. As a proud SJ native and citizen, I just feel our time has come to join the Big leagues of major American cities; MLB/A’s in San Jose! I’ve been thinking of a chant along the lines of “let’s go San Jo!” 😉
@ Tony D. I know, I have kept up with most peoples comments over the years, and you have stated befor that you have been a part of a lot of lets go Oakland chants, it looks like ( I hope if Oakland cant work) I will be chanting San Jo! right along with you my friend.
How bout just, “Lets Go A’s”? I don’t know about “lets go san jo”..I love my home town, but that’s a little cringe worthy
When I was a kid, it was “Let’s Go A’s”