Category Archives: News

07.23.10
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Full Text of Ballot Measure

Just got Mayor Reed’s memo as I was headed out the door. Here is the full text of the ballot measure to be discussed at the August 3rd session:

Should the San Jose Downtown Ballpark and Jobs Measure be approved to authorize, but not require, the use of Redevelopment Agency funds, with no new taxes, to acquire and clear a site for a baseball stadium, fund related off-site improvements, and lease the site for a professional baseball team where the team would pay all on-site construction costs, operation and maintenance costs, generating new tax revenues for City operations?

I’ve added a link to the complete memo, which is four pages long and includes previously mentioned material, such as San Jose’s negotiating principles. More on this later tonight.

5:40 PM – the Mayor’s office has a response to Selig’s statement:

To bring Major League Baseball to San Jose, we first need two processes to occur: We must seek the approval of San Jose’s voters, and we must seek the approval of MLB.

The Commissioner’s process will move forward at a pace of his choosing. We respect their process, but we need to move forward with our process as well.

Our process is simple: we have exactly one regular citywide election scheduled in the next 23 months, and that’s in November. For the City of San Jose, it’s now or never.

August 3rd is the last day to obtain City Council approval to place items on the November ballot, and our Sunshine rules require that we file policy memorandums today. Sunshine and open government are cornerstones of San Jose’s decision-making process, and we will have a fully transparent process moving forward, just as we have over the past fifteen months.

With a strong statement of support from San Jose voters this November, we believe that we can remove any hesitation by Major League Baseball in recognizing the self-determined “territory” of San Jose’s residents.

Regarding any concern expressed about the timing of our decision, Mayor Reed’s staff sought to schedule a conversation this week between the Mayor and the Commissioner, but was unsuccessful. The Mayor has requested a meeting with the Commissioner’s office for next week to discuss the issue more fully.

Is that it for tonight? I sure hope so.

07.23.10
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Mark it down: August 3rd

Though the San Jose City Council remains in its July recess, Mayor Chuck Reed is moving forward to put a ballpark measure on the November ballot. While there’s been a lot of FUD regarding whether or not San Jose would do this, within City Hall there hasn’t been nearly as much drama. Call it the media’s version of the dog days of summer. Even Glenn Dickey got a word in late tonight.

As expected, San Jose’s posturing didn’t really amount to much, as it’s clear that they can’t really compete until all of the boxes on their checklist have checkmarks. Tonight’s news has an unnamed league source confirming this:

“Part of the problem is, Lew doesn’t have San Jose sewn up. It’s not like there’s a stadium ready to be built,” said this person, who refused to be identified because he isn’t authorized to speak for the league.

“If there was an approval, that could make a difference. It’s hard to say, ‘OK, Lew, you can have it,’ and then have them go through the voting process and end up losing.”

As recently as last week, Reed had said it would be up to Wolff whether the city should put a stadium measure on the ballot absent baseball’s approval. On Thursday, Wolff praised the mayor’s proposal.

“This is another element that would make the process more viable, just like acquiring the land and finishing the” supplemental environmental impact report, he said. “The more unknowns that can be out of the way, the better.”

As expected, Wolff also fell in line once San Jose got moving. While there will be representation from opposition groups, it’s highly likely that the Council will approve placing the measure on the ballot, especially because Wolff and a booster group will be picking up the tab.

It’s good to know that new opposition group Better Sense San Jose is headed by Shasta/Hanchett resident Marc Morris, and not an astroturf group. Morris has been present since Day 1 of the process, questioning the figures all the way, and all of his concerns should be properly addressed by the City and the A’s.

The real question at this point has to be: Will the Giants do something now that the A’s and San Jose have a “working relationship?”

9:43 AM – As a counterpoint, Congresswoman Barbara Lee penned a plea for Selig and MLB to focus on keeping the A’s in Oakland, which would help revitalize the city.

3:42 PM – The commissioner’s office has put out a response. In the statement, Selig voiced his disapproval for how San Jose is moving forward without his blessing. Is Selig doing his best Claude Rains impression? We’ll find out sooner or later.

Here’s the full text of the statement. Those of you who are reacting, what’s missing from the statement?

“We were surprised and disappointed by the news today in San Jose about the stadium referendum. We were not part of the process and had no knowledge that a decision to proceed with the election had been made. A ballot referendum is premature and completely independent of the ongoing work of the committee which has been in place to thoroughly study this situation.

“There is an established process in place and the committee will continue its work unaltered by these actions. Consistent with the ongoing evaluation of the Oakland A’s situation, the committee will meet with me once again this Monday. As I have said before, the object in this very complicated situation is not to get it done as fast as possible, but to get it done right.”

The question is not, “Why did Selig put out the statement?” The proper question is, “Why doesn’t MLB ask San Jose to wait for them to complete their work?”

07.23.10
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Cuban cleared to bid on Rangers

A day after The Decision in San Jose, an auction for the Texas Rangers is expected to occur. The proceedings on August 4th are sure to be even more interesting, now that billionaire/Mavs owner Mark Cuban has been cleared to bid on the team.

If Cuban wins, I’ll officially be concerned for the A’s and the AL West. Cuban is already legendary for the perks he provides to the members of the Mavericks roster. Expect that and more with the Rangers. It’ll threaten to escalate the Rangers-Angels rivalry into something approaching Yankees-Red Sox. Now that’s scary.

Even worse, Cuban has spent the last several years crunching numbers, running proprietary algorithms, and measuring performance on everyone in the NBA, from players to coaches to referees to sportscasters. (Okay, maybe not sportscasters.) If there’s a guy who can and will hire enough of the right people to really crank up a team-building model based on sabermetrics, it’s Cuban.

At least Cuban can’t fix the oppressive August Texas heat. Then again, I wouldn’t put it past him to invest in a retractable roof of some kind.

07.21.10
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Date to place ballot measure may be moved up

The oft-mentioned date for San Jose’s City Council to approve placing a ballpark measure on the November ballot has been August 3rd. However, it’s possible that the date may be pushed up to July 28, if not the August 3rd agenda may be out by then. A memo is expected to emanate from the Mayor’s office by the end of the week.

In the offing, I have received multiple reports of San Jose residents taking surveys on a potential ballpark measure. At least one resident has taken a survey this week, indicating that fine tuning of the ballot language may be finalized. We should know something by the end of the week.

07.21.10
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More whining + CFL building boom, who knew?

With newspapers laying off employees left and right and slimming down the old broadsheet, you’d think that precious inches wouldn’t be wasted on, well, no new news.

Since there isn’t any news, scribes are forced to get comments from Lew Wolff and Jorge Leon/Doug Boxer, who have have a nicely adversarial relationship. This time, Chronicle baseball writer John Shea and Merc columnist Bruce Newman take stabs at the issue. I had warned you good readers a couple of weeks ago that we were heading into a quiet period. Too bad that’s not stopping the media. If anything substantive happens before August 3, I’ll be shocked.

Well, here’s one rumor that’s a good likelihood: Expect that August 3rd vote to move a ballpark initiative forward. As much as San Jose is whining about the commish and his panel, they’re not going to risk losing all momentum by trying to wait MLB out in vain.

….

Up in the Great White North, various CFL cities are in the process of replacing their oft-utillitarian stadia with updated or new venues. Whether they’re talking amenities in Calgary and Edmonton or new digs in Regina and Winnipeg, it sure looks like the CFL is undergoing a cycle of building similar to that seen with the four major sports leagues. While stadia in large markets (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver) have usually been domes, the smaller markets typically had outdoor, 30-35,000 seat venues with minimal creature comforts. (Keep in mind that this is a sport with a $4 million salary cap.) Most of these upgrades look either partly or entirely government-funded, which doesn’t look so great.

Quick sidebar: Years ago I went on a series of business trips to Calgary. One of my contacts there was a guy who was also a high school football head coach. Curious about this, I asked which rules the team played by, Canadian or American. He laughed and replied, “American.”

7/21 10:30 AM – You might like ESPN SportsTravel’s article on the farthest seats in baseball. With distances! And pictures!

07.15.10
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W’s New Owner Is… Not Who You Think

Just coming across the wire is a report by CNBC sports business stud Darren Rovell, who says that the Golden State Warriors are being sold for a a record $450 million. While it was almost assumed that the winning bid would be put forth by Oracle head honcho and billionaire Larry Ellison, it now appears that the winner is a group headed by Kleiner Perkins managing partner Joe Lacob and Peter Guber of Mandalay Entertainment.

Mandalay is the interesting piece here, since they’ve been acquiring minor league franchises by the truckload over the last several years. They even have a history in the Bay Area, as they almost bought the A’s from Schott/Hofmann in 2001. Now that they’re in charge, it’ll be interesting to see what they do with it. Note: Mandalay is not affiliated with the Mandalay Bay casino, which is owned by MGM/Mirage.

Update 1:13 PM – Now the other shoe drops. Tim Kawakami has just posted a Twitter update with a quote from Larry Ellison:

Whoa. Ellison statement: “Although I was the highest bidder, Chris Cohan decided to sell to someone else.”

Kawakami also has a blog post explaining further, with a full statement:

“Although I was the highest bidder, Chris Cohan decided to sell to someone else.  In my experience this is a bit unusual.  Nonetheless, I wish the Warriors and their fans nothing but success under their new ownership,” said Larry Ellison.

Cohan decides not to sell to Ellison out of spite? What a jerk.

Update 1:27 PM – Damon Bruce is lining up Sal Galatioto, head of Galatioto Sports Partners, the firm hired to broker the sale. Also, Darren Rovell has a followup on Twitter:

Ellison’s bid was a few million more, but it was too late. Bid was put in hours before agreement was signed w/Lacob+Guber

Hours before? Something smells fishy…

Update 1:49 PM – Galatioto was just interviewed on KNBR-1050 by Damon Bruce. He refuted Ellison’s assertion, saying that Ellison’s bad was late by weeks, not by hours. He said that Ellison tried to disrupt the negotiation process after the bids were submitted and narrowed down. If true, it seems to fit Ellison’s M.O. Not saying that this doesn’t happen from time to time, it’s just that Galatioto Sports had to follow its own rules. Better luck next time, Larry.

Just wondering: What happens to naming rights on the arena?

07.14.10
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Altogether Now

Not to be forgotten, at least one Oakland official is expressing his frustration at Bud Selig and his Merry Trio’s sixteen months of work (and counting), courtesy of Chris Metinko of the Trib:

“I think these people are playing us,” Oakland Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente said Wednesday. “The best thing (Major League Baseball) can do is pit one city against the other. I feel this is all being orchestrated.”

De La Fuente’s comments come just days after San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed expressed similar dismay over MLB’s long, drawn-out study.

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De La Fuente, who also serves on the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority Board that controls the stadium in Oakland, said he has not heard anything from MLB in several weeks and echoed Reed’s comments about the cities being held hostage.

“At the end of the day, we should not be held hostage by baseball,” De La Fuente said.

In honor of the collective anger emanating from at least two corners of the Bay Area, I present the following video gem (watch out for some profanity):

In light of the rather elaborate plan hatched and executed by Miami’s new trio, it’s worth asking: How much of this process is real?

07.13.10
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Calling a bluff

There’s a reason why I don’t play much poker anymore. Frankly, I suck at it. I have no poker face. Apparently, we’re about to find out if San Jose has a good poker face too, because Bud Selig just announced that he is not going to bend to their will.

But, Selig said he would not let an Aug. 3 deadline from the San Jose City Council affect the committee’s timeline. San Jose officials have said they require a commitment from Major League Baseball by that date in order to put a stadium referendum on the November ballot.

If San Jose decides to table the measure, that’s not going to be further impetus for MLB to act. It’s amazing to me how stubborn they are about this. They have been slowly plowing away with their head down for five years now. Maybe they received some kind of promise from Selig when he visited a couple of years ago. Somehow I doubt it. Maybe Wolff told them that he’d work the channels and take care of the lodge, which sounds more likely. Whatever the real machinations are, San Jose will have to decide soon how truly serious about this they are. That means taking a bit of a risk and having faith in the citizenry.

MLB is the hot girl who gets all the attention in school, and San Jose is the average looking guy who is barely acknowledged by her. If he wants to take her to the senior prom, he needs to do all the prom stuff – rent the tux, get a limo, corsage, maybe a hotel room… otherwise she’ll find someone else. Perhaps her slacker ex-boyfriend.

Let’s keep this in proper perspective. The cost for San Jose to be in this is minimal compared to the way so many other American cities have been absolutely pillaged by pro sports leagues and franchises over the last thirty years. So come on, SJ, man up. Get the limo.

Selig also addressed a rumor about his panel perhaps working out a ballpark deal with Oakland:

Selig also denied suspicions that the three-person committee has overstepped its original information-gathering objective and has engaged in active talks to broker a new ballpark in Oakland.

Can’t fault the slacker dude from trying to get the girl back. Does this plot sound more John Hughes or Richard Linklater? Kevin Smith?

07.13.10
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Coming to a head

Tuesday’s Merc article by Tracy Seipel indicates a sense a desperation among the San Jose boosters and Wolff, in that they need Bud Selig to render a decision on T-rights in order for San Jose to move forward with a ballot measure. In weighs Roger Noll, who feels that Selig hasn’t acted prudently on behalf of either the A’s or Giants.

Roger Noll, a professor of sports economics at Stanford University, said Wolff’s frustration means “Selig isn’t doing the job of a commissioner, which is getting the Giants and the A’s to talk together.” He has predicted the two teams could strike a financial settlement for the territorial rights.

“It’s very difficult to reach a deal without the commissioner coming in and saying, ‘Look, I want a deal… and you guys need to work it out,'” said Noll. “‘And if you don’t, I will impose one on you.”’

Now that would be fantastic for the pro-San Jose folks. Unfortunately, it’s not realistic. From what I’ve gathered, there has been little discussion about prioritizing this issue. Even if Wolff brought it up at the brief owner’s meetings and in the process set himself on fire to get everyone’s attention, I still don’t think Selig and the owners would take action immediately. I could be wrong on this, but I’m going with what I’ve been stating the last six months: San Jose has to get its ducks in a row first, then the owners can talk. Unfair? Yes. Unexpected? Not in the least.

The question arising from this is: What risk is there to the political process if MLB doesn’t take action in time? Well, that’s not easy to quantify. Perhaps some group is taking a poll now on this, but I suspect that trying to explain the history and vagaries of MLB’s Santa Clara County territorial rights to the voting populace would be an exercise in futility. The last polls taken support a ballpark in a general way, so what’s the hold-up? In all likelihood, it’s the ballot language. The measure has a limit of 75 words, and the pols must have numerous drafts on hand, wanting the most ironclad (yet deliberately vague) version in place before they go to the voters. That’s the irony in all of this. MLB won’t budge until SJ has its ducks in a row, and SJ doesn’t want to move unless it has an indication from MLB that it wants to move forward. SJ doesn’t want the extra cost associated with a spring off year special election, and November 2011 is more than merely cutting it close, it’s practically late given a likely construction schedule.

It sounds like an impasse, except that MLB knows that it has survived just fine without a franchise in San Jose for the last century. Can SJ afford to be a little more patient? We’ll find out soon enough.

Note: The article mentions a new grassroots anti-stadium group called Better Sense San Jose. The site has been up since April or May and has a decidedly fiscal slant, though like Stand for San Jose, I’m skeptical as to who’s behind it. WHOIS lookups on the domain owner are blocked, whereas the contact address appears to be a P.O. Box at a UPS Store in the Rose Garden neighborhood. Come on, people, it’s okay to let the public know who you are.

07.12.10
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Another weekend, another op-ed

Following up on last week’s volley by San Jose booster Larry Stone, Oakland supporter and one-time A’s executive Andy Dolich fires back on the home city’s behalf. He brings up a great point in showing how Oakland has been counted out time and time again, only to emerge as still having its teams. His tack is left a bit wanting, as he repeatedly mines the not-so-recent past for Oakland’s success while not pointing at all to the future, or recent failures. His only hint at the future is a hope that someone will swoop in and buy the A’s out from the Wolff/Fisher group.

The A’s will most likely get their new stadium in Oakland because the A’s will follow the Giants example. In the Giants’ darkest moment, a group came together to keep the team in its rightful place in San Francisco. Oakland elected officials and private, civic-minded business leaders will find a way to build a new ballpark. When fans of the Green and Gold are celebrating their fifth world championship, it will be in Oakland.

I’ve heard this multiple times, yet I’ve never heard it articulated in any meaningful way. Is the idea to wait out the process, hope San Jose fails, Wolff gives up, and sells the team in short order to an Oakland-only interest (that MLB approves of)? It’s not impossible, but it’s not really a strategy. It’s like waiting for your boss to give you a promotion at work even though you’ve been playing Farmville at your desk everytime he drops by. Moreover, is Dolich suggesting that he would be part of the angel ownership group, just as he was part of the Piccinini group? If that happened, then suddenly there would be something concrete. It’s hard to say what other pieces would be part of such an investor group, but at least one would have to be a billionaire in order to carry the weight required to get a new ballpark deal done. Hell, I would love to start that rumor myself, but it would be completely out of thin air.

Speaking of a new ballpark, Dolich cites the Giants the prime example to get something done in Oakland.

It took the Giants 16 years and four failed elections to get their gem of a privately financed jewel at China Basin. It’s a bear to build a new sports venue in today’s California, no matter how much rose coloring you add to your glasses or how much of the owners’ privately funded millions are put into the project.

Point of distinction: When the Giants proposed their “privately financed jewel,” it took only one election to get it approved. The previous three initiatives all involved publicly financed venues in either San Francisco or Santa Clara County. Big difference. Whether in Oakland or San Jose, it’s not hard to envision a ballpark happening once a Yes vote is obtained. Oakland does not have a voting requirement for a stadium, which boosters like to point out frequently, but at the same time it’s remarkably bad form to spend up $50-100 million on land and infrastructure in a budget crunch without getting public approval, especially in light of the Coliseum renovation debacle.

If Oakland and its boosters really want to get citizens of the city and the region out of its collective apathy or disaffection, they need to articulate how this can all be done. It doesn’t have to be done now, but it needs to be done steadily and completely. I’ve received conflicting reports on whether that’s happening, though Mark Purdy, in his latest repetitious plea to Bud Selig, thinks the MLB panel may be working with Oakland interests on such a plan. Personally, I hope that it is happening, whether it’s to perform due diligence throughout the East Bay or to create a viable Plan B if San Jose doesn’t work out. In the constant battling between the two factions, it’s easy to lose sight of the goal of keeping the A’s in the Bay Area. I don’t tire of the posturing since that’s all it is, posturing. Soon, the dog days will be upon us and work will begin anew.