Category Archives: News

10.28.10
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News for 2010 World Series Week

Here’s the rundown.

  • MLB and MLBPA are investigating two playoff format changes. One would make the Divisional Series all seven games instead of five. The other, arguably more controversial concept, would add an additional round. The former makes sense, and can be done in conjunction with the new scheduling format taking place in 2011, when Opening Day falls on Thursday or Friday instead of Monday or Tuesday. The latter would require reducing the regular season to 154 games, or some other concession to keep the calendar from running into mid-November. The tradeoff involves four home dates worth of revenue for enhanced playoff dollars, which could be shared to an extent. Doing some rough math, I figure that each team would leave an average of $3.5 million on the table from in-stadium sources alone by eliminating those four home dates. Can’t see it happening.
  • CNBC Sports Business reporter Darren Rovell interviewed the Giants’ Larry Baer yesterday (video). They discussed having 40,000 seats as an ideal ballpark size, plus the benefits of dynamic ticket pricing.
  • ESPN NY columnist Ian O’Connor thinks new Mets GM Sandy Alderson should apologize to baseball for the steroids era. Really?
  • The media is surprised at all the weed wafting through the South Beach air this week. Again, really?
  • After Wolff/Fisher gave Don Perata $25k for his mayoral campaign, Rebecca Kaplan just got $214k from a Hollywood producer and the California Nurses Association. Tuesday may be very interesting, indeed.
  • State legislators are wondering about the impact to California and San Diego-area schools after approving a bill that eliminated SD’s $2.9 billion cap on redevelopment investment. An analysis shows that to get a downtown Chargers stadium and enhancements to downtown streets, parks, and the convention center would cost $9 billion. Wow.
  • Just to the north in Escondido, the City Council will decide by the end of November whether or not to invest $50 million of its own redevelopment funds in a AAA ballpark for the Padres. The project could stretch the city’s RDA budget, leaving nothing behind for other projects all the way until 2020.
  • If you want to see the new arena standard is for the NBA, watch an Orlando Magic game at Amway Center. Or if you can’t, download a copy of the arena’s promoter guide (PDF).
  • Another tour of the Diridon ballpark site was rescheduled for Saturday, October 30 at 10 AM, outside the train station. I will not be there, as I will be checking out something else.

Okay, I’m gonna call it. Congratulations to the 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants. It’s been a long time coming.

10.22.10
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Congrats to the 2010 AL Champs Rangers, NL Champs Giants

I know the A’s played these guys tough throughout the year. Whatever happens in the World Series, and whatever form the Rangers take next season, our team will have something to shoot for. These Rangers are talented and are good stories individually and as a team. Wash may be the best story of all. Collectively, they have proven themselves every step of their journey. Good luck to them the rest of the way, and we’ll see them next year.

Congrats are also in order for the NL Champion Giants. They may be baseball’s version of the Island of Misfit Toys, and that’s just how Giants fans love them. Somehow this playoff run feels more special than 2002, at least to this outsider. Good luck to them, and while I can’t exactly root in a full-throated manner for the G-men, I can at least support them just so that my long suffering uncle Larry can be happy.

10.19.10
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A’s might buy KTRB

Big Vinny reports that the A’s may, in fact, be one of the suitors looking into purchasing KTRB, which is currently in receivership. Lieberman guesses that the station’s asking price could be $12 million, though that’s without the debt previous owners Pappas Broadcasting had amassed.

Assuming that the A’s don’t get drawn into some terrible bidding war for the station and then come out winners, they’ll end up spending eight figures on the station, and millions more to get it the way they’d probably want it. For the time being, getting most of its programming from Sports Byline USA makes sense because it’s a sort of turnkey operation. Sports Byline has a national focus, but operates in San Francisco and can afford to give attention to local teams.

Both Lew Wolff and Ken Pries have shown great interest in operating a station should the opportunity arise. It’ll be interesting to see how involved they’d be with it. Would they do the current hands-off approach with some local programming, a la Sports Byline or Fox Sports Radio? Would they get in bed with ESPN, a network that generally demands a great deal of control for new affiliates? How many other teams besides the A’s and Stanford football would they bring in?

Over the years, the A’s have been a foster kid who has bounced around from home to home. KTRB may be the best chance for the A’s to maintain real stability. It’s funny, though, to see what’s happened to the A’s recent former radio homes.

  • KABL (AM 960) became the Bay Area’s progressive talk outlet, and an affiliate of now-defunct Air America Radio. Since that network’s folding, the station has been rebranded Green 960 and has changed its call letters to KKGN.
  • KIFR (FM 106.9) was known as KYouRadio and Free FM, after which parent company CBS decided to make the station simulcast KCBS to improve its North Bay signal. Apparently KCBS has been the focus for years, to make the all news station the dominant station in the region. That finally happened this year.
  • KYCY (AM 1550), also a CBS property, simulcast A’s games with KIFR for a spell. In 2008, it became the home of the reborn KFRC.
  • KNTS (AM 1220), a newstalk station out of Palo Alto, is now KDOW, a reference to its positioning as a “business” station.
  • KEAR (AM 610) continues to be a very religious station, though ironically its broadcast location may be one of the more irreligious places in the world: Berkeley. Interestingly, I haven’t seen a reference to KEAR in any recent Arbitron lists.

How did these stations end up? You’d think that these corporate radio interests, in their infinite wisdom, deigned to shun the A’s because it was bad for business. Then again, perhaps not. First, recent ratings for these and other stations in the SF/Oakland market.

Next, San Jose ratings.

Perhaps the most interesting thing that comes out of this is that KTRB is very competitive with KTCT (a.k.a. KNBR-1050), which when you really think about it, is just a more expensive (to run) version of KTRB. It has two teams that get shifted around thanks to the Giants, a bunch of syndicated shows, and a block of local programming. Is it possible that with a little care and feeding, KTRB could be eating KTCT’s lunch and then gain on the blowtorch? I think it is.

Unfortunately, what may hinder the A’s is the presence of another blowtorch. No, not KGO. KOA. Where’s that, you ask? KOA-850 AM in Denver. It’s a clear channel station, whose signal can be heard as far north as Canada and as far south as the California-Arizona border, as I experienced when I was driving to Phoenix earlier this summer. KTRB is too close to allow for nighttime interference, so it’s forced to have a directional signal. When Pappas owned KTRB, they were looking at several transmitter locations, in the hope that they’d be able to solve the reception problem locally without causing a ruckus. They ran up debt, ran out of money, and ended up losing the station. My biggest hope is that if the A’s do buy KTRB, they’ll renew this effort so that better East Bay and nighttime reception can be achieved. Otherwise, what’s the point of a baseball team owning a station when much of the audience can’t hear it?

Update 6:50 PM: On a side note, I have to say that I’m really sad that Robert Buan has been let go (along with Steve “Soupy” Sayles). Buan was a good producer, a not-so-good play-by-play guy, a company man, and a nice guy. He’s also Filipino, which basically makes him a cousin of mine. I’m a bit surprised at the move, considering he could’ve had a natural role in an A’s-owned KTRB. Here’s hoping he lands on his feet. Salamat, pare!

10.09.10
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Coliseum sans Coliseum

Update 10/11 1:20 PM: SFGate’s Raiders blogger Vittorio Tafur has some choice words from Amy Trask, indicating where much of the inspiration for this vision came from:

“There is no short answer. … We’re having ongoing discussions about the stadium opportunities. We’re working very, very cooperatively with the city and with the local officials. We’ve been extolling the virtues of this site for a quite awhile now. It was a year and a half, 18 months, give or take, maybe more, just under, but about a year and a half ago that I started talking about this site and using a new-stadium on this site as an opportunity to revitalize the whole area.

Why not, rather than look simply look at the stadium project, look at how one can use a stadium as an anchor for, or a catalyst for, an urban redevelopment that provides economic stimulus for the whole region? You guys know as well as I do that this site is centrally located, it’s tremendously well-served by public transportation. There are stadiums and facilities all over the country where they’re trying to figure out, how do we get subways or trains to come to our stadium? We’ve got BART. We’ve got Amtrak, the capitol corridor, the ACE train. So, it’s a central location on a freeway, well-served by public transportation.

So, about a year and a half ago, we started proposing and extolling the virtues of proposing the possibility of doing a stadium project on this site. Not as a stand-alone facility but as a catalyst for an urban renovation in the manner in which to bring economic stimulus for the whole region. We have been working very cooperatively with the city and the Joint Powers Authority. You guys understand this region. Right now, fans come to this facility and there’s nowhere for them to spend their money in the area. There’s one or two spots on Hegenbereger, but how about doing something here like was done on the waterfront.”

If the Raiders get a new stadium built in the Coliseum complex, be prepared for the place to look something like this:

You may notice something’s missing. That’s because there’s a large pedestrian plaza where the old Coliseum infield used to be. The finished product includes a $862 million stadium, which includes $144 million in debt remaining on the the original (and to be demolished) Coliseum. A stadium built for two teams would cost $880 million. Either way, costs would be slightly less than the $954 million projected for the 49ers stadium, though likely rising costs haven’t been accounted for in the Oakland model.

These and other facts come from a recent feasibility study (PDF) commissioned by the Coliseum Authority. The analysis was done by CSL, a firm that has done plenty of other similar studies, including the study for the Santa Clara stadium. Not surprisingly, CSLI breaks down the financing for the stadium (minus Coliseum debt) along very similar lines to what was pitched for the Niners:

  • $96 million in public funds (redevelopment)
  • $133 million in personal seat licenses membership equity fees
  • $150 million from the NFL
  • $339 million from the Raiders

If the 49ers and Raiders roomed together at the stadium, the financial picture would be vastly different:

  • $110 million in public funds (redevelopment)
  • $133 million in personal seat licenses membership equity fees from Raiders fans
  • $133 million in personal seat licenses stadium builders licenses from 49ers fans
  • $300 million from the NFL
  • $30 million from the Raiders
  • $30 million from the 49ers

One of these is impossible, whereas the other makes too much sense to actually happen. Keep in mind that the two-team model is the only truly feasible model in either Santa Clara or Oakland. Naming rights could be worth double for a shared stadium. There would be less competition for a bowl game, soccer friendlies, mega concerts – all of these big events would gravitate to one place. It’s just a matter of executing.

While the Niners are well ahead of the Raiders process-wise, the Silver & Black hold the trump card. Ever since the Santa Clara concept was unveiled, I was skeptical that the Niners could do it alone and I remain skeptical. It’s no fault of the team, it’s simply too expensive. It would be one thing if it was the Giants and Jets working together; at least they had a working relationship to help make the deal possible. Nothing like that exists here. And for the Yorks to hope that Al Davis’ wandering eye will somehow cease long enough to pen a long-term deal is, well, not very promising.

The holdup here is that Al could very easily move the Raiders south to Santa Clara. But you can’t expect him to agree to the same kind of 40-year lease to which the Niners are committing. It would be hard to see him commit to anything longer than a decade, hell, even 5 years. The Raiders are going to want to keep all of their options open, whether that means a new stadium in Oakland, or waiting out what happens with the Chargers in San Diego (or LA). Any short-term lease or flexible situation makes it harder to secure important pieces of financing, which will make it harder to get the stadium built. Not to sound callous, but the best thing for both teams – if they want to get something done together – may be for Mr. Davis to slip into a long coma. Or, you know. Then again, maybe Amy Trask’s eye is just as wandering.

Going back to the plan, I think they’re making a mistake. Instead of demolishing the entire Coliseum, they should reuse the East Side stand the way I described in March, transforming it into a convention center. The space is there and there’s plenty of opportunity for integration, whether it’s extra parking through a garage under the facility or a green roof creating a large amount of open space. After all, you’re already talking about a billion dollars, what’s another half-billion among friends? It would allow the employment base to be stabilized, since the low-wage service jobs common with these facilities could easily float between the arena, stadium, and convention center.

Beyond that, it’s clear that any stadium project would need TIF to help it get built, TIF that would come from surrounding development. Various industrial and commercial development projects would be encouraged, along with more sprawling parking across 880 (notice the pedestrian overpass). Not sure what that would mean for tailgating. I’m somewhat curious about the “Live/Work” area occupying the Coliseum North area (thanks Jeff), as it’s a stage that would probably trail the rest of the development.

Is it a pipe dream? Yes. I was somewhat disappointed that the Trib’s panel didn’t raise any questions about the Raiders’ future in Oakland, even though a feasibility study for the Raiders was due and up for review. Certainly, the Coliseum Authority, City, and County don’t want to lose the Raiders, but at what price? Knowing that Raiders could very well want only short-term deal in the South Bay, the Authority may be best served by waiting the Santa Clara process out – for if that fails, an East Bay stadium sounds like a decent fallback (though not as cost-efficient as a rebuilt Coliseum).

Other notes from the presentation:

The cited population figures are strange. They completely omit Sonoma, Napa, and Solano counties, which indicates they did a fairly lazy CSA lookup-and-add to derive the numbers.

I hadn’t seen a corporation count in one of these studies until now. Even with the omitted counties, the Bay Area would place third (fourth if LA had a team and was included in the comparison).

I took the corporation count further by making a before/after comparison. If a new football stadium were built along with a new ballpark for the A’s, there’d be a visible shift in the amount of premium options available to interested parties. There could even be some oversaturation of the premium product, especially club seats. The suite numbers look the same, but should be treated differently because the future total includes “minisuites,” which are smaller and more affordable than typical luxury suites. The oversaturation phenomenon is evident in New York, where the old stadium only had 500 club seats (2X teams) and the new one has 10,000 (also 2X teams).

I’m sure that many of you South Bay partisans will quickly say that the market can support the jump. I’m not so sure. Good thing club seats aren’t counted as part of the TV blackout quota.

It’s also not clear what the effects on the Warriors would be. BTW, the team currently owes $10.7 million in back rent and expenses to the Coliseum Authority, a likely goodbye present from outgoing owner Chris Cohan. The drive to rename the Warriors won’t go anywhere as long as there is this tension regarding financials between W’s and the Authority.

10.06.10
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Trib Editorial Board asks mayoral candidates about A’s, Warriors

Blog fave Dave Newhouse reports on a panel held for the four leading Oakland mayoral candidates about two major sports issues affecting Oakland. The one with the most ink is the matter of whether the Golden State Warriors will finally adopt the Oakland moniker. I suspect the answer for incoming W’s owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber lies in money. Chris Cohan hinted a long time ago that some amount of relief from the team’s lease might do it. It’s not clear whether the same thing would satisfy the new owners. There is also some question as to what value each designation has. Is “Oakland Warriors” more or less valuable as a brand than “Golden State Warriors?” Some sports marketing folks out there know the answer to that better than I do.

Following that question of pride was a question about a pending fall. All four were asked to address the A’s situation:

(Jean) Quan: “I think this (city) is the soul of Major League Baseball — great diversity, ethnically and income-wise. I met Lew Wolff after I got elected. He didn’t say ‘girlie,’ but almost. There’s not a transit-rich (baseball) site that’s more ready to go in the entire Bay Area than ‘Victory Court’ (in Jack London Square). We own most of it, and could develop it as an entertainment (center).”

(Rebecca) Kaplan: “I love the A’s. Lew Wolff felt (Mayor) Jerry Brown didn’t care. The A’s could succeed here very well. I believe we could have a football and baseball stadium on the Coliseum site. We own the land. San Jose is not a done deal. They have a local law that requires a ballot measure, and they did not put it on the November ballot. So there’s a window of opportunity here.”

(Joe) Tuman: “I’ll be blunt. In professional sports, it’s ‘show me the money.’ … I won’t spend a dime of public money on keeping the Oakland Athletics here when I can’t pay for police officers or keep the streets safe. I’m not saying it can’t work, but let’s be objective.”

(Don) Perata: “I probably know a little more about this stuff than most people. I was part of two Raider deals that both failed. We got held up; we really did — by both (the A’s and Raiders). We got rid of the Coliseum board and then politicized it. … In retrospect, it was a disaster. I don’t think the A’s are going to stay here. We can’t play in this game, putting up the money. We haven’t been smart with our franchises.”

So from this, we can gather that one candidate backs Victory Court, another backs a Coliseum-sited ballpark, another won’t put up a dime, and the frontrunner has given up. Well, no one can ever say Oakland lacks diversity, and that goes for sports politics too.

According to this DIY poll by TellFi (via The Oakbook), Perata is garnering 34% of the vote, with Quan at 27%, Kaplan at 16%, and Tuman at 10%. If Perata and his rather brutally honest mindset prevails, it’s probably curtains for MLB in Oakland. Absent a simple majority, Perata would have to win via the instant runoff that would occur on election day.

Strangely, Newhouse follows up Perata’s comment by writing, “But we’ve been smart enough to keep them.” I’m not sure that smart is the operative word, Dave.

(Thanks, Ed)

Quick postscript: I wonder how linusalf will spin this Newhouse article? Update 10/8: He finally did, and it doesn’t say much. Also, supposedly Lowell Cohn was on Ken Dito’s show this morning and is no longer opposing a move south because of Oakland’s inaction. Wonders never cease.

10.04.10
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More end of season tidbits

Let’s roll it out, shall we?

  • New Twitter update (and article) from A’s beat writer extraordinaire Susan Slusser (@susanslusser): Beane feels optimistic about prospects for new stadium. He says team expects news sooner than later.  #Athletics. More on this from MLB.com’s Jane Lee.
  • The Quakes named David Kaval as its new President. Kaval replaces Michael Crowley (the one who owns a piece of the A’s, not the journalist), who will be bumped up to Managing Director. Kaval’s previous gig was at the independent Golden Baseball League. Quick analysis: the Quakes need to make more headway with sponsorships, and Kaval’s experience indicates he knows the angles.
  • –
  • Target Field ended the regular season with the 3rd worst home run rate (1.35 HR/game) of any MLB ballpark, just behind Safeco Field (1.22) and yes, the venerable Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (1.33). Some of that may be attributable to the half-season absence of Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer‘s almost inexplicable power dropoff, from 28 to 9 HR in one year. Mauer should be able to adjust, as David Wright did at Citi Field (10 to 29 HR from 2009 to 2010).
  • The Twins are criticizing the T-Wolves for placing a large ad sign at Target Center that will be visible from Target Field and Target Plaza. Seriously?
  • Home runs are down slightly at New Yankee Stadium, but it’s still the most HR-producing park in the majors.
  • MLB instituted new sky ground rules at Tropicana Field for the playoffs. The upper “A” and “B” compression rings/catwalks that hold up the dome are no longer in play, as balls that hit the rings are now automatic dead balls. Previously, balls that hit the rings were in play, and were ruled fair or foul based on where they landed. The lower “C” and “D” rings are home runs if balls hit them in fair territory.
  • Matier and Ross report that the 49ers are getting ready to open a sales office for their planned Santa Clara Stadium. The office will be in the Tech Center, which is adjacent to the Santa Clara Convention Center, which itself is across the street from the stadium site. No seat license prices yet, of course.
  • Mesa, AZ voters are mulling over Prop 420, a proposal to replace HoHoKam Park with a new city-owned ballpark complex with a bunch of ancillary development to help pay for it. If you’ve ever been to HoHoKam, you’ll know that the only thing ancillary to the park right now is a cemetery.
  • Firing up stogies in the clubhouse to celebrate the Reds’ first division crown since they opened their new ballpark is apparently verboten.
  • The nonprofit group that runs the Memphis Redbirds (AAA, Cardinals) has been struggling financially, causing them to consolidate a bunch of debt in an effort to stay afloat. What hurt them? The arrival of the Memphis Grizzlies, a blip of excitement for U of Memphis basketball when John Calipari was there, and bad projections for attendance at AutoZone Park. The team and ballpark will probably be sold in the near future.
  • The Giants are getting the late game slots (6:37 PM PT) for their first two home NLDS games, which is great for West Coast viewers, not so great if you’re a young Braves fan who has to go to school Friday morning. The Rangers are getting the crappy day slots that we as A’s fans have been rather familiar with.
  • Attendance at yesterday’s Raiders-Texans game was a scant 32,218. There are often comments about how whether or not the Bay Area is a two-team baseball market; are we sure it holds up as a two-team football market? They could’ve saved some money and left the tarps on!

Update: Tonight’s fresh articles by Susan Slusser and Jane Lee have done a better job of clarifying where management’s position is going forward than the quotes Slusser got from Lew Wolff last week. From Lee’s article:

“I was talking to one free agent last year, trying to tell him to concentrate on the field, that we had the best playing facility in the league, the best groundskeeper in the league. He said, ‘You’re right — until August.'”

…

“I think we’re going to be planning a new stadium at some point soon,” Beane said. “That’s just my own gut feeling. We have to at some point. I’m an optimist.

“I think it will allow us to start to plan around some of these guys here from a long-term standpoint. Hopefully, it’s not a revolving door, like it’s been the last decade. Hopefully, we could do some long-term planning, which we really haven’t been able to do. I think it would be pretty invigorating for everybody involved, and I think everybody would sort of be relieved having a direction for the franchise.”

Thing is, if MLB rules in Oakland’s favor, there’s an immediate quandary because I don’t think the owners have been planning on staying in Oakland.

09.30.10
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(Insert Name Here) Kings

As reported by Field of Schemes, it appears we are going to find out the answer to Marine Layer’s recent post and poll question.

The Sacramento Bee has the story and the money quote:

“On the heels of the disappointing – but not surprising – action (or inaction) of the state and Cal Expo board, it is fair to say that the NBA has ceased its activities on the Sacramento arena front,” league representative John Moag said in an e-mail to The Bee. “However, we will continue to monitor and respond to the activities and options of others that might reasonably ensure the competitiveness and viability of the Kings’ franchise.”

Not much in-between line reading to do with that one, now is there?

Mayor Kevin Johnson is proposing an Arco remodel. The Kings and the NBA are flat out rejecting that idea. The NBA is ceasing any activities related to a new arena in Sacramento but looking for a way to reasonably ensure competitiveness of the Kings franchise.

The only question that seems to remain… Will the NBA go for an already built modern facility, like the one in Kansas City, or will they go to a temporary solution, like HP Pavilion or Key Arena, with promises of future renovations? We have a whole season to watch the answer evolve.

For an in-depth analysis on the inadequacies at ARCO, check out this article (PDF).

09.27.10
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Larry Stone speaks, some won’t like it

KCBS Radio did one of their In Depth interviews with Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone (MP3 download). Stone has, of course, been a active, constant proponent of bringing MLB to the South Bay, and has used his easily won public office as a bully pulpit. Stone was asked about the history of now 24-year effort to get this done, plus fielded questions about whether his roles as assessor and developer are conflicts of interest. If you’re a South Bay partisan, you’re going to think what he’s saying is gospel. If you’re an Oakland partisan, your ears may bleed profusely. It’s over 27 minutes long and well worth the listen (thanks, I.C.).

Among the morsels from the interview:

  • Within the first two minutes, Stone makes the claim that the A’s can’t survive in Oakland.
  • Stone is (IIRC) the first public figure to say that the Giants are trying to drive the A’s out of the market. When challenged on this, his response is, “Anybody would try to do this.”
  • Apparently the Earthquakes are not considered a major pro sports team, at least according to Stone. He must’ve forgotten them.
  • He thinks the Giants could spend $2-3 million to defeat the spring ballot measure.
  • Stone dances around the idea that some of the owners might feel threatened by another team invading their respective territories.
  • SJRA has the money set aside for the last two parcels (AT&T and Aegis).
  • Stone claims that when he talked to Schott some time ago, Schott had 75% of the owners lined up for a vote for a move south.
  • Stone speculates that Selig gave the Giants a “10 year head start” for the SC Co. t-rights, in effect protecting the county for a decade.
  • Interviewer Jane McMillan characterizes the Diridon area as “suburban” in comparison to what would normally be considered urban areas for other ballparks. Where does urban end and suburban begin?
  • McMillan also asks if a deal is done, but unfortunately says that the ballpark will be shared with the Quakes (which it won’t), which got Stone’s response moving in the wrong direction.

It’s a good listen, though if you’re on the SJ bandwagon you’ve already heard many of the talking points.

BTW, on an unrelated note, the Rangers secured a 20 year, $3 billion extension to the current TV rights deal with Fox Sports Southwest. $150 million a year (Maury Brown thinks the numbers could be off). Guess they won’t have that big debt problem that could keep them from re-signing Cliff Lee and extending Josh Hamilton.

09.24.10
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End of the season stadium tidbits

Not much to report on the home front, at least when it comes to the A’s stadium saga. However, there are a few other news items that might be of interest.

  • Going back to speculation about how the club section at Cisco Field might work, MLBAM is piloting an “order from your seat” system from within its At Bat iPhone app. The brief pilot runs through the end of the season, and claims order delivery of 30 minutes or less.
  • With the Pac-10 expanding to 12 teams next year, the conference will be broken into two divisions, requiring a football championship game in the process. While such games have been a boon for powerhouse conferences such as the Big-12 and SEC, it remains to be seen if the Pac-10, whose basketball championship has been notorious for poor attendance, will see much success. Las Vegas has emerged with some initial buzz, though the game could be held almost anywhere within the conference’s area, including San Francisco or Oakland. The league and its member schools are meeting in SF in two weeks to hash all of this out. FWIW, the Pac-10’s headquarters are in Walnut Creek.
  • The A’s got caught up in the annual shuffle of minor league affiliates. Vancouver switched to the Blue Jays, leaving the A’s in the lurch until they signed a deal with the Vermont Lake Monsters (Burlington, VT) yesterday. Kane County left the A’s for Kansas City, leaving an opening for the Burlington (IA) Bees. The Sacramento River Cats re-upped through 2014 with little drama. Midland and Stockton remain unchanged. Vermont’s Centennial Field is notable for being owned by the University of Vermont, and for its capacious foul territory (~85 feet from home plate to the backstop).
  • A threat by the Red Sox to leave spring training home Fort Myers has worked, as Lee County is ponying up $81 million in bonds for a new stadium, even though $17.5 million in city debt remains on the old one.
  • Escondido is spending nearly $400k on its own study of a Padres’ AAA stadium.

Will we hear something about the A’s soon? Maybe… Consider this an open thread.

09.20.10
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San Jose City Council approve resolutions to support A’s move

Update 9/21 7:40 PM – Resolutions (city and redev agency) passed unanimously. Mayor Reed says that he’ll be talking to MLB COO Bob DuPuy soon to get some direction, and that he’s cautiously optimistic that he’ll get a resolution soon.

Tomorrow night, the San Jose City Council will vote on another set of resolutions (city and redevelopment agency have slightly different versions) in support of a move south. From what I can tell, the only significant language change was the recognition of recent statement of support by SVLG and 75 of its constituent CEO’s.

I will not be attending the session, but I will be monitoring it remotely. Action on the resolution is slated to be early in the agenda. If you’re interested, here’s the newest language:

RESOLUTION NO. ____

A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN JOSE:
(A) REAFFIRMING THE NEGOTIATING PRINCIPLES PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED AND AMENDED BY THE CITY COUNCIL; AND (B) SUPPORTING THE EFFORTS OF THE OAKLAND ATHLETICS OWNERSHIP TO MOVE THE TEAM TO SAN JOSÉ AND THE ASSISTANCE OF THE SILICON VALLEY LEADERSHIP GROUP AND OTHER LOCAL GROUPS IN THEIR EFFORTS TO BRING MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TO SAN JOSE

WHEREAS, on April 7, 2009 and August 3, 2010, the City Council and Agency Board affirmed its interest in supporting the efforts of the Oakland Athletics’ ownership to move the team to the City of San Jose; and

WHEREAS, on May 12, 2009, the City Council and Agency Board established Negotiating Principles for the development of a stadium in the Downtown for a Major League Baseball team, which were subsequently amended by Council on August 3, 2010; and

WHEREAS, on September 10, 2010, through the efforts of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a letter from seventy five (75) of Silicon Valley’s leading CEOs was sent to Major League Baseball urging Commissioner Selig to approve the Athletics’ move to San Jose; and

WHEREAS, various local organizations, including the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau, the San Jose Sports Authority and Baseball San Jose, have all expressed their support for the Athletics’ move to San Jose, and Lew Wolff, the Athletics’ owner, is also on record as indicating he would prefer San Jose as the new home of the Athletics; and

WHEREAS, the Council desires to reaffirm the following previously-approved Negotiating Principles that will guide the City’s efforts in bringing a Major League Baseball stadium to San Jose:

1. No new taxes are imposed to fund ballpark-related expenditures.

2. The City must determine that the ballpark development will generate a significant economic benefit to the City and have a positive impact on City General Fund revenues.

3. No public funds shall be spent to finance or reimburse any costs associated with construction of the ballpark or construction of any on-site infrastructure or improvements needed for the ballpark.

4. No public funds of any kind are spent to finance or reimburse any ballpark operational or maintenance costs related to activities conducted by or under the authority of the baseball team that uses the ballpark either at the ballpark or in the streets surrounding the ballpark.

5. No public funds shall be spent to finance or reimburse the cost of any traffic control, street cleanup, emergency or security services within the ballpark site or within the streets surrounding the ballpark that are related to activities at the ballpark conducted by or under the authority of the baseball team.

6. If the property is leased for a ballpark, the baseball team must be willing, at the end of the term of the lease, either to purchase the property at fair market value or to do one of the following things at the City’s option and at no cost to the City or the Redevelopment Agency:

a. Transfer ownership of the improvements to the City or Redevelopment Agency; or
b. Demolish the improvements and clear the site to make way for other development.

7. The entity that builds or operates the ballpark must be willing, if the City deems it appropriate, to make the ballpark available to the City during baseball’s offseason for up to 10 days per year for community-related events, at no rental charge to the City.

8. The name of the baseball team must include San Jose.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN JOSE:
(a)  Reaffirms the negotiating principles previously established and amended by the City Council; and
(b)  Supports the efforts of the Oakland Athletics ownership to move the team to San José and the assistance of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and other local groups in their efforts to bring Major League Baseball to San Jose.

I don’t expect this to change unless MLB makes its own announcement, after which the resolution would be amended again. This is what we can expect until the spring election, if it occurs.

Some choice quotes from public speakers at the session tonight:

Michael Mulcahy: I’m not a San Francisco Giants fan, but I’m rooting for them to make the playoffs so that we can see how that transforms a city.

Former Mayor Susan Hammer: I’m getting a little impatient with the snail’s pace of Major League Baseball.