Category Archives: News

12.29.12
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News for the End of 2012

It’s a light end of the year newswise, yet there are enough nuggets to put together a post.

  • The A’s are getting closer to a deal to play at Hohokam Stadium, the current spring training home of the Cubs. An announcement is expected to be made in January. The City of Mesa will contribute at least $15 million of the $20 million cost of renovations to Hohokam and Fitch Park, with the team and city splitting costs between $15 million and $20 million and then the A’s paying for the rest. When the announcement is made, I’ll devote a post or two to the transition and the differences between Hohokam and Phoenix Muni. [Arizona Republic/Gary Nelson]
  • For the two spring training games being held at the Alamodome at the end of March, no lower deck ticket can be had for less than $35 (plus Ticketmaster fees, natch). If you have time, watch the Alamo Bowl today and imagine what a baseball game would look like in there. Consider that the first row down the third base line will be several feet above the field.
  • Minnesota’s Hennepin County and the District of Columbia have pulled in greater tax revenues than expected for their respective ballparks. In Washington, city leaders have chosen in the past to pay for other budget items, whereas in Minneapolis they’re paying off ballpark debt early. In the case of Target Field, ballpark debt could be retired 5-10 years early – at long as the Twin Cities doesn’t turn into Detroit or Cleveland in the next decade. Or Cincinnati for that matter. [Minneapolis Star-Tribune/Rochelle Olson | Washington Times/Tom Howell Jr.]
  • Maury Brown estimates that revenue sharing for the 2012 MLB season is around $400 million. If you look at the history of teams and their relative financial status, there are usually 10-12 who constantly are on the receiving (welfare) end, including the A’s towards the higher end. By that measure, I figure that the A’s check for this year has to be in the $40-45 million range. [Biz of Baseball/Maury Brown]
  • AT&T Park is the #1 ballpark in America when it comes to Facebook and foursquare check-ins. What about the Oakland Coliseum? I mean, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum? I mean, Oakland Stadium? I mean, O.co Coliseum? Um, nevermind. [ESPN/Bill Speros]
  • Take time to read @muppet151‘s request for the Victory Court EIR. It is on point. [TwitLonger]
  • Honestly, I should add an “Oakland dog park” item to the counter. This is laughably ridiculous. [SF Chronicle/Matthai Kuruvila]
  • If you’re not working or too hungover, head to the Exploratorium on Wednesday. That’s the last day in the wonderful Palace of Fine Arts location before it moves to Pier 15. It’s also FREE.
  • The NHL and NHLPA had conference calls to set up further talks. They’re running neck-and-neck with Congress for the most dysfuctional situation right now. Here’s the current NHL proposal. [ESPN/Katie Strang]
  • The Maloofs continue to say that they won’t sell the Kings, but privately say that they would sell for $500 million. [USA Today/Sam Amick]

Unless something major happens, this is the last post of the year. See you on the other side. Until then, have a safe and happy New Year.

12.27.12
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Suggestion: Buy Used

Part of the game in the world of new stadia is the stadium improvements fund. It’s a set aside of stadium revenues from the partnership of team and city/county that is used to fix plumbing, lights, and seats. It’s also used in many cases to change other non-critical items that become obsolete over time, so that the partners can keep up with competitive venues and enhance fan experience. By enshrining the terms in a lease agreement, both sides can set proper expectations about what kind of maintenance and upgrades a venue will get over the short and long term.

To that end, the NFL stadia in Denver and Houston are getting fancy new LED displays as part of a $30 million audiovisual makeover. This makes sense both stadia are at least a decade old and display technology has advanced rapidly over the last several years. In Denver, the horseshoe shape at Sports Authority Field at Mile High means there are three boards of different sizes: one big board (27′ x 96′) on the open south end and two half-size boards in the north corners of the upper bowl. SAF@MH also lacks ribbon fascia boards, so one or two levels of LEDs are in the works there. Both the big displays and fascia boards will be capable of HD.

At least Denver’s displays are LED-based. Houston’s Reliant Stadium uses old CRT technology (like the Coliseum) and is finally moving into the 21st century with fully digital LED displays from Mitsubishi. The new displays will replace the old mix of incandescent, CRT, and static displays tucked under the stadium roof. When completed, each one will measure 52.5′ x 277′, officially longer and bigger than the center-hung boards at Cowboys Stadium (also built by Mitsubishi). Since the display is so long, only a portion of it will be used for replays, unlike Cowboys Stadium’s 16 x 9 boards. Despite that limitation, the new displays promise greater presentation flexibility for in-game information, video, and ads.

Compare that to what Raiders and A’s fans continue to live with at the Coliseum, and it starts to get depressing. Better than telling you, I’d rather show you via an infographic by reddit user dbeat.

nfl_scoreboard_sizes

Comparison of video displays in NFL stadia. Reliant Stadium’s new board will soon be the biggest. Denver’s is mid-sized. The Coliseum’s are among the smallest.

With the sad state of displays at the Coliseum and the cycle of change elsewhere, I got to thinking, What happens with the old displays? I’ve sent an inquiry into Denver’s Metropolitan Football Stadium District to find out (I’ll update here if I do). Some displays end up getting donated. Do they also get resold? LED lifespan is 50,000 hours, so unless you’re going for greater resolution the displays themselves should last the life of the stadium. Over 12 years at SAF@MH, it’s likely that the scoreboards were used only 500-1,000 hours per year.

Old displays at Denver stadium

Old display at Denver stadium

Denver would seem a prime candidate to get the scoreboards at a very good price. Why hated AFC West rival Denver? There are a few convenient reasons.

  • If the two north boards are put together into one board, the result is that each of the boards (north/south) measure 27′ x 96′. That would fit very nicely into the Coliseum’s existing scoreboard frames, which are about 40′ x 140′ not including the arched caps. Whether they’re each used as one contiguous display or split into two, it can work well while retaining static signage panels that currently populate the surround.
  • Since the both the Coliseum’s and SAF@MH’s old displays were manufactured by Mitsubishi’s Diamond Vision unit, it stands to reason that there will be some degree of interoperability.
  • Both the A’s and Raiders would welcome additional advertising opportunities on crisper displays.
  • SAF@MH’s monochrome scoreboards are also being replaced and even those would be an upgrade on what the Coliseum has.
  • As a secondhand product, the displays could be acquired at a significant discount, perhaps $1 million or less.
  • If the Coliseum is to be used for only 5-6 more years, it makes little sense to spend tens of millions on new displays.
coli-scoreboard_twilight-cropped

Current CRT video board and scoreboard system at the Coliseum

Seems like a decent idea, right? The difficulty comes when working among the Coliseum Authority, the Raiders, and the A’s. It would make sense to put something like this into a five year capital improvements plan. How it gets paid for, and how new revenues get divided, is the tough part. Divvying up signage revenue has long been a sticking point in the relationship, with the A’s getting the lion’s share of in-stadium revenue since the 1995 renovation. With all leases expiring, there’s a chance at a clean slate in negotiations. Would Lew Wolff forego an A’s-tilted ad revenue deal in order to get five fairly hassle-free years and opt-outs on a lease extension? Sounds like a deal point to me. It’s just a suggestion.

12.25.12
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95.7 The Game to become ESPN Radio affiliate

On Christmas Eve, 95.7 The Game announced that it will become an ESPN Radio affiliate starting on January 1. In the press release, parent company Entercom touted The Game’s coverage of the NBA, BCS, MLB, all through ESPN. It’s unclear which sports radio station in the Bay Area will carry Dial Global’s NFL national radio broadcasts. Both of the KNBR stations are signed with new Cumulus property CBS Sports Radio, leaving Dial Global/NBC Sports Radio on the outs. I had opined that The Game might hook up with NBCSR because of its somewhat cozy relationship with Comcast SportsNet, and because in the spring Entercom worked a deal with Dial Global to broadcast the NFL and NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Obviously that did not come to pass.

What will change? Well, if you’re sick of ESPN’s relentless self-promotion, prepared to be sickened even more by The Game. Periodic news and score updates should carry the branding. Interview segments will frequently carry ESPN reporters like Buster Olney and John Clayton. Overnight and early morning shows from the national ESPN Radio feed will be on The Game, including “Mike and Mike in the Morning”. Other short segments like Mike Tirico’s “SportsMinute” should follow. As for the actual lineup, there are no changes to the talent. After a bit of scheduling weirdness when Eric Davis and then Brandon Tierney left within weeks of each other, the lineup appears to have solidified.

  • 6:00 – 10:00 AM: The Rise Guys: Whitey Gleason, Mark Kreidler, and Dan Dibley
  • 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM: The Pulse with Matt Steinmetz [and a rotation of co-hosts]
  • 12:00 – 3:00 PM: The Wheelhouse with John Lund & Greg Papa
  • 3:00 – 7:00 PM: Bucher & Towny: Ric Bucher & Chris Townsend
  • 7:00 PM – 12:00 AM: Guy Haberman
  • 3:00 – 6:00 AM: Mike & Mike In The Morning (ESPN Radio)

Going forward, the best thing about the schedule is that Haberman’s show runs until midnight, allowing for extended postgame A’s talk, which will be driven in large part by the team’s success. Chris Townsend continues with the drive-time slot he has richly deserved. That won’t be enough to hold the interest of those who believe local radio is one Giant suckfest, but what are you going to do? Radio and TV ratings for The Game and CSNCA correlate directly with interest in the A’s, and when the A’s aren’t winning all that’s left are the hardcore fans. We’ll see if many of the fans who came back during September and October stick around this time. One thing’s for sure – as a presence The Game isn’t going anywhere for a while. Considering the nomadic existence the A’s lived on the radio prior to The Game, we can only be grateful.

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P.S. – Logo shown is an approximation. Hat tip to Bay Area Sports Guy/Ruthless Sports Guy for picking up the news first.

12.22.12
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“Temporary”

So what does “temporary” mean anyway?

For Lew Wolff, it means five years after 2013 spent at the Coliseum, followed by what he hopes is a smooth move to San Jose.

For Mark Davis, it means five more years at the Coliseum while a new Coliseum and village are built next door.

For the Coliseum Authority (JPA), it means… well, they haven’t exactly articulated what that means, have they? It may mean one new stadium, or two. It means having the Raiders and A’s pay more to stay temporarily at the Coliseum in order to reduce the subsidy Oakland and Alameda County currently pay to keep the place running. How much more? We don’t really know. It’s a delicate balancing act. In the previous post I alluded to Davis and Wolff not wanting significantly higher rents at the stadium, yet that’s exactly what will be required if the JPA is to reach its goal of offsetting costs better.

The Merc’s John Woolfork and the Chronicle’s John Shea have dug into the lease matter more, getting reaction from local pols.

Woolfork found that the lease extension talk started in July 2011, when A’s President Michael Crowley first requested a lease extension. With the negotiations going very slowly, the surprise is the MLB tried to help act as an intermediary in the discussions but was rejected by the A’s.

Shea’s big find was that Wolff, while preferring to stay in Oakland over a move to a “temporary home venue”, admitted that “there are options” for such a transitional home.

Those two new pieces of information are huge. Whether or not you believe Wolff is bluffing with the temporary venue idea, he just played that card. He’s thinking about it. And you can bet that he has at least one location in mind. It’s out of the standard team owner playbook. Many will feel that the A’s are locked into the East Bay thanks to territorial rights, and that more than anything should dictate how the A’s and MLB act. Most of the time, these positions are merely negotiating ploys to extract concessions. Playing the temporary venue card is a sure sign of desperation, which Wolff has displayed for some time. If it forces MLB to act on his request or the JPA to commit to a Raiders stadium that would remake the Coliseum complex (per the letter), it will have been well worth it. If it results in a “mutually beneficial” five year lease, it buys everyone time to figure out the next step.

There is a value proposition in play. In the short term (the length of the extension), the A’s will be averse to a lease that hurts their revenue position. For instance, the Warriors’ lease at Oracle Arena had the team pay $7.5 million for the 2011-12 season. That figure includes revenue sharing of club seat and suite sales, which helped finance the arena. The A’s rent for 2012 is $1 million, and they get to keep parking and some ad/concession revenues. If the A’s were forced to pay something closer to what the Warriors pay while giving up revenue, that’s up to a $10 million hit to team revenue, or -6% or so annually. Suddenly the lease extension isn’t just a matter of convenience, it’s a real question of cost-benefit. There is a point at which it costs too much to stay at the Coliseum, especially if there are no agreements on improvements to the old stadium such as scoreboards or even plumbing (those resources would be used on new stadia). I don’t think the A’s should get the sweetheart deal they’ve been on since 1995, but this seems like too much considering the age and state of the Coliseum.

That’s how the specter of a temporary home comes closer to being real. If the A’s are faced with having to forego $10 million in revenue each year for five years, would it make sense to invest that money in a different option? A temporary option?

One more to consider: If you attended a Warriors home game this year, you probably noticed the lovely, brand new high-definition, center-hung scoreboard. It’s part of an $8 million improvement plan at Oracle Arena that was implemented to upgrade technology. Half of the project was paid for by the W’s, and the rest was split between the JPA and AEG, the new arena operator. The bidding process for a new operator for both the Coliseum and Arena included a requirement that the winning bidder pay for improvements at Oracle Arena. The vendor for the arena’s technology package? Cisco. For whatever reason, there was no request to make any additional improvements to the Coliseum. New anything at the Coliseum could help convince either of the tenants to stay.

12.21.12
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A’s ask for 5-year Coliseum lease extension (Updated to include Wolff’s letter)

At the end of the 2012 regular season, the Chronicle’s Matier and Ross wrote that the Coliseum Authority sent A’s owner Lew Wolff terms of a five year lease extension at the Coliseum. The purported catch was a $50 million exit fee should the A’s leave early for San Jose. Now the LA Times’ Bill Shaikin reports that Wolff has sent a letter to the Coliseum Authority (JPA) asking for – that’s right – a five year extension.

In a letter to the body that governs the Coliseum, A’s owner Lew Wolff agreed to keep the team in Oakland for at least five years “regardless of the outcome of our efforts to obtain a new facility in the City of San Jose.”

In the world of stadium negotiations, these are chess moves. It’s important to try to look multiple steps ahead. There are a lot of ways this could play out, though there is a complicating factor which I’ll get to in a bit.

First, as onerous as a $50 million early termination fee sounds, if Wolff is pushing back the opening date of Cisco Field to 2018 it’s not that big a deal, since Wolff won’t have any motivation to get it done early. On the surface, the JPA may be insistent on including the clause. Wolff may be just as determined to get it removed, simply because of the flexibility it provides. Why be encumbered by $50 million when you don’t have to be, and when historically that hasn’t been the case?

If there’s a threat, it comes in the form of something else Wolff alludes to.

“The A’s organization certainly prefers to remain in Oakland for the next five years rather than being forced into looking elsewhere for a temporary home venue. If possible, we should retain the 130 full-time jobs and the almost 800 union jobs that encompass a full baseball season, the fun of the A’s, and Major League Baseball in Oakland for five more years.

“I believe the A’s have a great deal to contribute to the area for the next five years, and even thereafter.”

“Being forced into looking elsewhere for a temporary home venue” is the threat. In August I wrote about the possibility of the A’s not being able to come to terms after 2013. It forces Commissioner Bud Selig’s hand. From the looks of things, MLB so far hasn’t been involved in lease discussions. This may force Selig to get involved directly, from negotiating the extension to figuring out a long term solution, which has been going on since Wolff joined the A’s in 2003.

Even if the parties (including MLB) only focus on the short-term, there is one other factor that comes into play: the Raiders. The Raiders have had more productive talks with the JPA regarding a lease extension, and something was supposed to be announced this fall, yet nothing has. The A’s currently pay higher rent than the Raiders, but the Raiders are obligated to share a small amount of in-stadium revenue annually, making their lease payment technically higher than their Coliseum-mates. Both the A’s and Raiders are keenly aware of each others’ desire to make whatever lease at the Coliseum as low as possible. Yet the JPA wants to rework the terms to help pay off more of the debt service and operating costs, which Bloomberg mentioned yesterday amount to a $17 million annual subsidy.

If the A’s are being asked to pay a $50 million exit fee, are the Raiders being asked to do the same? Are the terms on the table for both teams comparable, or do they favor one team over another? Neither owner wants to feel they’re being ripped off, and neither wants to feel locked in if it isn’t necessary. Strangely, the Raiders have more leverage than the A’s, since they could bolt for Santa Clara or even LA if things don’t work out. The A’s don’t have that luxury.

Just as the City of Oakland and Alameda County have to approve lease terms for Coliseum tenants, MLB has to at least informally green light any lease terms for the A’s. Selig will frown upon anything that looks like it’s trapping or penalizing the A’s, since a bad lease could negatively affect the A’s franchise value.

Maybe an A’s lease extension that’s agreeable for both them and the JPA will materialize quickly. Maybe not. If I’m reading the tea leaves on Wolff’s statement, though, he’s forcing the situation. And he’s doing it by not formally doing much at all.

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Update 2:45 PM – BANG got Wolff’s letter and posted it. I’ve copied the whole thing for your convenience:

December 21, 2012

To all concerned and interested:

I believe our organization has been and continues to be a positive member of the City of Oakland and Alameda County community.

Our policy regarding the JPA is to agree on the most mutually beneficial lease relationship to remain in the O.co Coliseum. To that end, we seek a lease extension that will allow us to remain here for the next five seasons. Our president, Mike Crowley, who has administrated our lease for the past 16 years, has full and complete authority to enter into a lease agreement that we hope will be beneficial to our fans, the City and County, and our organization.

Yes, we need a new baseball venue, and sadly, we have not found any path to one in the City of Oakland or in the City of Fremont. None of the three City of Oakland administrations that we have operated under has ever presented a realistic approach for a new ballpark to us. The lack of viable options here is not the fault of any public administration or private party, but rather is due to broader circumstances that impact the elements needed for a Major League Baseball venue.

Regardless of the outcome of our efforts to obtain a new facility in the City of San Jose, we would remain at our current venue for a minimum of five years. If an opportunity arises for the JPA to implement a new or renovated stadium for the Raiders or any other tenant, our lease would have a cancellation clause in favor of the JPA.

I stress that the A’s organization certainly prefers to remain in Oakland for the next five years rather than being forced into looking elsewhere for a temporary home venue. If possible, we should retain the 130 full-time jobs and the almost 800 union jobs that encompass a full baseball season, the fun of the A’s, and Major League Baseball in Oakland for five more years.

I believe the A’s have a great deal to contribute to the area for the next five years, and even thereafter. I further believe, and hope that having the benefit of a five year income stream and the jobs our organization brings in will be viewed as a benefit to the City and County. Simply, Mike Crowley needs an authorized party with whom he can negotiate and complete a new five year lease between the JPA and the A’s.

Thank you for any time and consideration you can afford this request.

Sincerely,

Lewis N. Wolff

LNW: sk

I have to reiterate that the JPA had sent the A’s lease terms before the end of the regular season, which Wolff obviously has not found acceptable, otherwise we’d have an announcement about a lease deal. The ball is now in Oakland/Alameda County’s court.

12.21.12
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Bills reach deal for 10-year lease extension and $130 million renovation

The Buffalo Bills announced that they have reached an agreement with Erie County and the State of New York to make $130 million of improvements to almost 40-year-old Ralph Wilson Stadium. The deal also includes a 10-year extension to the current lease for the Bills, which was originally scheduled to end next summer.

Oakland/Alameda County and the Raiders aren’t talking about renovating the Coliseum, they’re talking about a new Coliseum. If they were considering renovation, they probably wouldn’t be happy with the amount of public money that’s involved. Here’s how the whole deal breaks down.

  • $35 million from the Bills
  • $41 million from Erie County
  • $54 million from the State of New York

Improvements include a new scoreboard, changes to concession areas and gates and technology. $130 million doesn’t go as far as it used to.

A report in the Buffalo News digs deeper into the deal, and finds that the Bills can leave after year 7 of the lease by paying $28.3 million to buy out the remaining years. The report by Tim Graham also found an interesting loophole:

If a new owner bought the Bills and wanted to move them, then the county and state would have two remedies, as allowed by the lease agreement. The first is to file an injunction to prevent a move. If a judge declines to order the Bills to stay, then the Bills would have to pay $400 million in liquidated damages with the exception of a window after the seventh year of the deal.

An unlikely chain of events would create this scenario. The key is the health of Bills owner Ralph Wilson, who at 94 is the oldest owner in the NFL and has had trouble attending games over the past couple of years. If the Bills were sold, it seems like the new owner would wait until the “window” or after the lease expires to make the move.

It’s unclear if the Bills will apply for G-4 funding from the NFL. No mention was made of the NFL’s stadium loan program in today’s announcement. It seems possible that the Bills chose to go the cheaper route to avoid having to pay back the loan (no matter how small) when the team is sold, which is the current rule.

Bills CEO Russ Brandon was careful to characterize the improvements as short-term, with an eye towards a new permanent home sometime towards the end of the extension.

“The investment, while significant, is modest in contrast to building a new stadium or engaging in a major retrofit, far less than what the interest alone would be on a new stadium over the term. We look forward to the opportunity to execute this plan and to join Governor (Andrew) Cuomo and County Executive (Mark) Poloncarz as we work toward a shared vision for the future of the Buffalo Bills beyond the term of this deal.”

This eliminates the Bills as a Los Angeles relocation candidate, which is no surprise as they weren’t high on the list anyway. While Bills fans and local pols should be pleased by the deal, let’s not make more of it than what it really is: kicking the can down the road.

12.21.12
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Santa Cruz Warriors Arena Ready To Go

The D-League Santa Cruz Warriors held their first practice at Kaiser Permanente Arena in downtown Santa Cruz on Thursday. Their inaugural home game at the arena is sold out. They have a mascot – a sea turtle with a vaguely familiar ninja look. Blake Griffin’s less-talented brother, Taylor, is a starter at forward. And the Warriors lead their division despite not having played a home game yet. All of that has created a great sense of anticipation as the first game is played at KPA on Sunday.

The “tent arena” will hold just under 2,500 fans, smaller than any of the NCAA Division-I arenas in the Bay Area. Individual tickets are priced from $15 to $35, with more expensive courtside seats apparently already sold out for most games, if not the entire season.

While the debate over the fiscal soundness of the arena deal will continue in politically hyperactive Santa Cruz, the other big issues are how long the novelty of having a pro sports team in Santa Cruz will last, and what happens when that novelty fades. For now, there’s some real excitement about the Surf-Dubs. For that, congratulations to the team and Warriors ownership. They got it done quick and had real partners in the City of Santa Cruz and the Seaside Company. Without that partnership, there’s no way the arena gets built in 100 days. I’ll be out there in the New Year to catch a game or two.

12.20.12
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FanFest 2013 on January 27

Today the A’s announced that FanFest will be held on Sunday, January 27, 2013, from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM. It appears that, like the 2012 event, the FanFest will be held mainly in Oracle Arena, with the A’s clubhouse in O.co Coliseum open for tours. It was a good setup, though lines tended to be long for autographs.

Tickets will be available to the public on January 11 for $10. Those who have placed a deposit on season tickets can buy tickets a week earlier, on January 4, for $5. Children 6 and under will be admitted for free.

The FanFest page warns that the event may sell out, which seems unlikely but with around 10,000 showing up for a team that at the time was pegged to lose 90+ games, interest should be greater coming off a blockbuster season. Oracle Arena’s capacity is 20,000.

I’m happy to pay the $5, but if there’s a blogger interview session like last January, I’m doing that (hint-hint, Adam Loberstein). New shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima is expected to attend. It would also be great if Yoenis Cespedes was available for the blogger session too. Remember that Cespedes was signed in February after FanFest, as he was working on establishing residency. Cespedes will be at FanFest, along with half of the bullpen including Grant Balfour, Ryan Cook, Pat Neshek, and starter Tommy Milone.

Now, if you’re wondering about the Coliseum stadium, you should know that an AMA Supercross event is scheduled for the stadium on January 26. That’s practically an annual event on the tour, which allows the Coliseum’s grounds crew to plant new grass for the baseball season during the downtime between the end of the NFL season and MLB Opening Day. The arena is holding a concert by the British band MUSE on January 28, the day after FanFest.

If you didn’t have a chance to go to the last FanFest, you really should go to this next one. The level of optimism in the building should be off the charts high. The event is also an hour longer this time around.

12.19.12
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News for 12/19/12

Update 9:00 PM – In case you missed it, the good folks at Next Media Animation in Taiwan posted their pithy take on the A’s signing of Japanese shortstop Hiroyushi Nakajima.

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News is fairly light, we’ll have to muddle through somehow.

  • After the summer defeat of multiple bills attempting to revive redevelopment in some form, another has surfaced in SB 33, introduced by State Senator Lois Wolk (D-Davis). The bill’s purpose is to create infrastructure financing districts, in which projects could get infrastructure such as roads, sewers, and other public facilities built. There is no stipulation about building stadia. Regardless, creation of an IFD could be an important piece of the puzzle as some stadium projects require utilities to be moved or other unsexy work.
  • The Dodgers are working with Fox Sports and Time Warner Cable on their ultra-rich upcoming TV deal. The sticking point is the structure of the deal, which has to work within the confines of a federal bankruptcy court’s decision to cap the Dodgers’ TV money subject to revenue sharing at $84 million. To work within the rules, the network may “force” the team to acquire an equity stake in the network, which would allow the network to pay an annual TV rights fee and a dividend. This is a similar arrangement to what the Giants and Yankees currently have with their respective networks. The Angels and Lakers are each paid a flat fee annually, which to date has been the normal arrangement. [LA Times/Bill Shaikin]
  • The cost of the mostly unseen renovations at Dodger Stadium will be $100 million. Key to this is expansion of clubhouse facilities, including the visiting clubhouse. [LA Times/Steve Dilbeck]
  • Robert Bobb may return to Oakland again, this time as the compliance director for the city’s negotiated settlement to prevent Oakland Police Department from falling into receivership. Bobb could potentially oversee all of OPD and report to federal judge Thelton Henderson on reforms being implemented throughout the department. Bobb was last hired by Oakland to fix its budget a few years ago. The position is meant to be temporary. [SF Chronicle/Matier & Ross]
  • Somehow the Oakland City Council had an hours-long discussion over whether to approve a dog park at Astro Park, and adjourned without making a decision. Think about it. A dog park created gridlock and indecision. [Oakland Tribune/Matthew Artz]
  • I don’t normally keep track of international soccer economics, but this was an eye-opener: Premier League champions Manchester City incurred a $158 million loss during the 2011-12 season. $113 million of that was transfer fees to buy players from other teams. That loss was actually half of the $307 million loss in 2012-13. Remarkably, the club is debt free because the owner, oil tycoon Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has funded all expenditures out of pocket since he bought the team in 2008.
  • CSN Bay Area/California’s Brodie Brazil took a tour of the under construction 49ers stadium, which is a third complete.
  • Unable to come to an agreement in the Nats-O’s struggle over MASN, MLB may be bringing in buyers for the TV rights for the two clubs. Remember that the whole point of creating MASN was to placate Peter Angelos when the Expos were moved to DC. Commissioner Selig probably has this mess in mind while considering what to do with the Giants and A’s. [Washington Post/James Wagner]
  • The Rays ballpark plan at Carillon is for all intents and purposes, dead. At least that’s what the developer who pitched the plan says. There currently is no plan in the works for a new ballpark within St. Petersburg, where the Rays are locked into a lease at Tropicana Field. [Tampa Bay Times/Stephen Nohlgren]
  • The Sacramento Kings have to commit to Virginia Beach by January if a deal to move there is to commence. [KTXL-40/Dennis Shanahan]
  • The Edmonton Oilers have a deadline of six weeks from now to reach a deal on a new arena to replace aging Rexall Centre. Like Virginia Beach, Edmonton’s arena plan has a nine-figure funding gap.
  • The Yankees are going with Ticketmaster instead of MLB subsidiary StubHub as its official ticket scalper reseller. They’re also instituting a price floor on resold tickets, because otherwise their normal first-sale gouging looks worse by comparison. [Deadspin/Tom Ley]

More as it comes.

12.18.12
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Gameplan: Outside Northern California

Update 4:52 PM – Twitter follower @edwardjohnCA pointed out Peter King’s recent Monday Morning QB column, in which he rules out any team moving to LA in 2013 due to the short time required to make progress on the temporary and permanent stadium deals.

Los Angeles

That big city to the south has all of its ducks in a row.

The company trying to build Farmers Field, AEG, also has substantial holdings in Downtown LA, so they have a vested interest in making the project work. The biggest obstacles are the NFL (and one or two teams) and the fate of AEG, which could be sold for upwards of $8 billion. It’s expected that AEG will be sold whole instead of piecemeal, the better to maintain the integration and cross-promotion among its various groups.

A 45-day window for NFL teams to apply to move to LA starts on New Year’s Day. The NFL is in no hurry to approve any moves, and the new CBA ensures that no team will lose money thanks to nearly $10 billion in annual revenue and extensive revenue sharing. The league may want to wait for the AEG sale process to shake out before deciding what to do next, which may mean that no team will be granted a move (and could be discouraged from applying) in 2013. Should a team like the Chargers or Raiders decide they want to be a first mover, the opportunity is there.

2013 will mark a full decade since the Super Bowl has been held in Southern California, and 20 years since the game was hosted in LA. Much of the renewed effort in Atlanta, and Miami is to maintain those cities’ slots in the Super Bowl rotation. AEG’s LA bid shows its interest in entering the fray. It’s a major risk/reward proposition, but considering the ungodly amounts of private capital that are showing interest, there are a lot of rich folks who feel it’s worth it.

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San Diego

The election of Bob Filner as the next mayor could end up being the death knell of pro football in SD. Filner has shown no interest in opening the city’s wallet for the NFL, even using that stance as part of his election platform. Chargers brass has shown patience so far, but they may be relegated to working with Chula Vista or another suburb. San Diego needs champions in both the public and private sectors to pull off a stadium deal. So far there’s no indicator who those champions are.

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Baseball stalking horses

For now, all of the major relocation candidate cities (Portland, San Antonio, Charlotte, Las Vegas) are busy attending to other things.

  • Portland has a mayor uninterested in pulling the necessary strings, and the city allowed its MLS franchise to displace its PCL team, probably not a feather in the city’s cap when dealing with The Lodge.
  • San Antonio is focused on bringing its Texas League (AA) team closer to downtown. Meanwhile, ticket sales for the two exhibition games at the Alamodome are said to be brisk. San Antonio is clearly a market that’s too big for AA, yet is small for MLB.
  • Charlotte broke ground on its AAA ballpark, which will bring the IL Knights back across the border from Fort Mill, SC to uptown Charlotte. In committing to the Knights, the city appears to have accepted its stature as a AAA, not MLB, market.
  • Las Vegas gets a sports facility plan every 4-6 months, so watch this space. Recently, all of the pitches have been focused on everything except baseball. UNLV has a football stadium plan. There was a private multi-stadium plan. Now that Oscar Goodman has retired from his prominent Vegas mayoral post (replaced by his wife, no less), active pursuit of pro franchises has practically dropped to nothing. A 10-year lease extension for the PCL 51’s to stay at Cashman Field was signed in October. Like Charlotte, Vegas too may have accepted its fate for now.

The last decade has taught cities and observers one valuable lesson about MLB: they have to pay (big) to play. Most of the small and mid markets were shown little interest outside of providing competition. The cost to build a venue and the lack of public funding for venues have become the biggest obstacles to bringing in teams. Who could’ve predicted that 20 years ago?