04.19.11
by

Isaac and Suke to take ballpark issue on today

Listening to the end of the Monty show, Isaac and Suke came on to tease that they were going to talak ballpark during some part of their 10-1 slot. Monty weighed as an Oakland-backer, saying that the team won’t be the same. Isaac talked about the difficult choices to be made about revenue for the future. Should be interesting, coming up.

Update 10:50 – Awesome call Jeffrey. BTW, still no Victory Court EIR.

Update 11:40 – I’ve liked the discussion so far. Isaac and Suke admittedly don’t know everything about the subject, but they’re giving everyone a shot to give their two cents. If they have people going with the crazy talk on the station’s Facebook page like “These guys are being paid by Wolff” they’re covering it well. It’s not an easy topic to cover and people tend to act more from emotion than pragmatism. Also – good call about the impact of redevelopment. It’s the lengthiest discussion on the radio about the A’s stadium issue ever, and I couldn’t be more pleased. Also, thanks for the plugs callers.

04.17.11
by

Townsend on 95.7’s 1-4 PM slot

From Joe Stiglich:

Chris Townsend to host show on 95.7 Mon-Fri from 1-4 p.m. Don’t know rest of the station’s lineup yet. #Athletics

and Susan Slusser:

Chris Townsend will be starting a 1-4 p.m. daily show on SportsRadio 95.7 FM tomorrow. #Athletics

That leaves the morning open and puts Townsend in a very competitive slot. More local programming coming? We’ll see.

04.17.11
by

San Jose City Council Session 4/28 Agenda

An agenda for the April 28 (9-12 AM) City Council Special Session was posted recently (PDF) at the City of San Jose website. The relevant stuff:

Note one of the focus items: HP Pavilion. Undoubtedly, the City and the Arena Authority are looking at what’s transpiring in both Sacramento and Anaheim and they’re using that information as a guide for a future NBA team pursuit, if/when the opportunity arises. Honda Center has more square footage than HP Pavilion due to having three concourses, but its footprint is slightly smaller than HP Pavilion (though there’s more room to expand in Anaheim). Should Anaheim get the green light for the Kings/Royals, the cost baseline will be set by the final, league-approved agreement between the team and arena operator.

Beyond that, the City Council is looking to approve the Draft Diridon Station Area Plan. The most recent version was released this month, so if you’re interested in the vision it’s worth a look. Keep in mind that this new transit hub vision isn’t going to get built until at least after the end of the next presidential term. With that in mind, the discussion is expected to be long-range, though there may also be some mention of the impacts of federal transportation funding cutbacks and $4-per-gallon gas.

There are a ton of interesting details in the plan, which if approved would be subject to a lengthy CEQA review.

  • The six-block area between the ballpark site and arena has a 130′ building height limit. That would make it higher than both the arena’s roof and probably higher than the light standards at the ballpark. The area remains small, but having 10-story buildings could make up for that somewhat. All of the development there would be commercial in nature.
  • The Central Zone, which includes the ballpark site and the six blocks between the ballpark and arena, would be slated for up to 140,000 square feet of retail, 1.14 million square feet of office space, 250 hotel rooms, and 920 spaces (all in garages).
  • Montgomery Street is the designated retail corridor and would be closed off to vehicular traffic for special events. Those scenes on Autumn Street outside HP Pavilion during Sharks games? They’ll be moved to Montgomery.
  • The only new venue-specific parking would be the garage north of HP Pavilion that was approved by the City last year. Additional mixed-use parking may be available should new office development occur in the industrial areas north and west of the arena. Total parking for both: 6,832 spaces, almost all of them in garages.
  • Residential development would be confined to the Southern Zone, south of Park Avenue.

It’s probable that much of this stuff won’t get built. The EIR process may dictate lower building heights, and the market for office space and retail may not warrant extensive building even a decade from now. Changes to the redevelopment may curb the scope of development in the area. Even so, city and community have been shaping this for the last three years and if San Jose is going to be less car-centric city, this is a huge step forward. That’s the point of defining a vision.

04.15.11
by

The future of radio on 95.7

First, a couple of select quotes from around the industry. From the legendary Ben Fong-Torres:

“The A’s deserve a terrific radio signal to be on,” said Dwight Walker, VP and market manager for Entercom/SF. Weak reception “has diminished their exposure in the past.” He said “The Wolf” and baseball broadcasts are a good fit. “Baseball is the national pastime, and there’s no better place to put that than with America’s original music form, country.”

Before the A’s finalized their deal with KBWF, they needed a local station to air the Giants series and called on KFRC. “They needed the favor and we were happy to do it,” said Doug Harvill, Senior VP/market manager at CBS Radio.

KTRB is carrying on with a barebones staff and, now, without the A’s and Dito’s “Press Box,” which ended Friday. “We’re still programming the station,” said Barr, whose syndicated Sports Byline stable of talk shows fills many hours each day. “The station’s still in play. The A’s could still buy it. Maybe Entercom (which also owns KUFX, “KFOX,” which carries San Jose Sharks games) buys KTRB and puts the Sharks and the A’s on it.”

Next up, Inside Radio suggests that some of the programming could be provided by Sporting News Radio.

(Entercom) is looking to leverage a lot of the lessons it’s learned in Boston where sports WEEI (850) has been a dominant station for many years. WEEI VP of programming Jason Wolfe is working with consultant Rick Scott to develop the new San Francisco station’s line-up. They’ll also use network shows from Sporting News Radio.

My guess is that SNR will be used for the late night/overnight hours and weekends. It’s relatively cheap and a step up professionally from Sports Byline.

As mentioned as an update to the previous post, Sacramento’s Rob, Arnie and Sports Show will fill the 4-6 PM block. That’s important, because a lot of the time that programming will be preempted by A’s pre and postgame, plus games on the East Coast. This applies for the Sharks too. It’s a big deal because there won’t be a local host whose ego could be bruised by constant preemption, a la Damon Bruce.

The rest of the regular weekday lineup is up in the air. Surely some of the talent from Sports Byline wants in, especially Roxy Bernstein. Former KNBR host Larry Krueger, who is currently on Sirius satellite radio, might want a shot. I’m curious to see what Chris Townsend’s regular slot will be.

One thing we might see: one of the current local sports anchors on with a regular co-hosting gig. Here’s a list of current anchors on OTA and cable (CSN):

  • Larry Beil
  • Mike Shumann
  • Dennis O’Donnell
  • Kim Coyle
  • Raj Mathai
  • Laurence Scott
  • Mark Ibanez
  • Fred Inglis
  • Joe Fonzi
  • Greg Papa
  • Jim Kozimor
  • Mychael Urban

There’s also the possibility that some KNBR guys could jump ship such as Gary Radnich, who I believe is under contract at the moment. AN regulars have been calling into the Townsend’s show today. I could see AN radio as a weekly hour if it’s be done right. One thing you probably won’t hear: new A’s ballpark radio. I’m pretty sure that would be the most boring thing ever to disgrace the airwaves.

One side benefit of moving to FM is the availability of HD radio. Until now, the HD1 channel has carried the regular analog signal while HD2 had a Classic Country format. HD1 retains the normal FM feed. Anyone out there with a HD radio who can tell me what’s happening with the HD2 channel? Entercom could keep this as is or deploy different programming if they choose.

I’m geeking out right now. And on tax day, no less!

04.15.11
by

KBWF becomes Sports Radio 95.7

.

The new KBWF homepage

So, how do you like ‘dem apples?

Entercom switched KBWF‘s format from country to sports radio today, though the station is only playing loops of clips and sports-related rock right now. The Sharks will come along for the ride, though it is unknown if the Sharks broadcasts will switch over from sister station KUFX starting tomorrow, or if there will be a simulcast for the time being. Either way, this is FANTASTIC news for the A’s and anyone who wants an alternative to KNBR. It’s pretty horrible for the country programming folks with the old format, though that’s the way the business works. This will also allow KUFX to hone on expanding its excellent ratings in the South Bay to the Greater Bay Area. It’d be a good idea for Entercom to figure out a way to strengthen signal south of San Jose, as that’s a weak spot for KBWF right now.

Update: Relevant links:

It’ll be interesting to see what other content is brought in. Entercom’s biggest sports property is WEEI in Boston, which like KNBR is an ESPN-affiliated (but not operated) station. I would not be surprised if some of the WEEI talent came to SF as part of the transition. Unlike former KTRB parent Pappas, Entercom has the resources and reach to take Cumulus’s KNBR head on. They also have the enough inherent corporate bureaucracy to make running a station serious drudgery if they want. I’m looking forward to it.

More from Susan Slusser at The Drumbeat:

If this station picks up Stanford and if the A’s ever get permission to move to San Jose, Entercom might have positioned itself well as a South Bay alternative to KNBR. In addition, the A’s and Sharks have fan bases that feel particularly under-served by KNBR, so that gives 95.7 FM some hungry listeners from the get-go.

Walker tells me that listener studies show that 80 percent of those who listen to the radio stay on the FM side and never switch over to AM at all. He and Entercom believe there are plenty of sports fans in general who are listening to FM radio and who are currently under-served. SportsRadio 95.7 FM is calling itself the biggest large-market all-sports station in the country.

“We’ll be talking A’s and Sharks, two winning franchises that aren’t getting as much attention as they could,” he said. “But we’ll also be talking Warriors, Giants, Earthquakes, SaberCats.”

One other observation. To Ken Pries, Ken Korach and Lew Wolff: This is a damned good Plan B. Stations that switch to sports radio tend to be stable there as the content is cheap and limitless. Well played.

Update 2:10 PM – The first programming announcement is the addition of KCTC-AM afternoon drivetime show “The Rob, Arnie & Sports Show” to the 4-6 PM weekday block. KCTC, an ESPN affiliate, is owned by Entercom.

04.15.11
by

Phil Taylor on Mr. T & Byrnes show

New KNBR host Eric Byrnes filled in for Ralph Barbieri on the blowtorch’s afternoon drivetime show on Thursday. Byrnes and Tom Tolbert interviewed SI’s Phil Taylor, who is writing a feature for the magazine on how difficult it is to be an A’s fan amidst the Giants’ recent success (sounds like a must-read). The interview can be found here (MP3). The arguments coming from the three participants are familiar, and rather than selectively quoting them I suggest that you listen to the whole thing and then come back here and comment if you feel like it. The best comments will be excerpted and placed in this post.

04.14.11
by

Ron Burkle: Oasis or Mirage?

I’ve never met Ron Burkle, and I don’t know him personally. From what I’ve heard and read about him, I can tell you this much: He’s no Wally Haas or Mark Cuban. He’s a lot more like John Fisher. Like Fisher, Burkle is a middle-aged billionaire. Burkle tends to run in the Hollywood and pro sports circles more than Fisher, but his ownership “style” is similarly hands off as he is not a managing partner and he tends to defer decisions to the front office, based on his decade-plus tenure owning the Pittsburgh Penguins.

There’s also little chance that Burkle gets involved in the Kings-or-other-Sacramento-team business unless some new arena deal is part of it from the get-go. Burkle gritted his teeth along with Mario Lemieux as the Penguins plugged away season after season in the decrepit Civic Arena. They came close to selling the Pens to RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie, who most assuredly would’ve moved the team north to Hamilton, Ontario. That deal didn’t happen only because Balsillie backed away when he felt that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman interfered with the process. A deal to publicly finance what would eventually become CONSOL Energy Center happened thanks in part to visits by Burkle-Lemieux to Kansas City and Las Vegas, which scared Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania officials into acting. Burkle definitely wasn’t afraid to play hardball in the venue game. If Burkle is going to get involved in Sacramento, he probably doesn’t want to repeat that constant headache. If he does, well, he must be a masochist, especially considering Sacramento’s pledge of zero dollars towards a new arena.

The Pens aren’t Burkle’s only dalliance with major pro sports. When the NFL was looking to add its 32nd team, Burkle and Ed Roski (of City of Industry stadium fame) pledged a $300 million expansion fee for what everyone in the media assumed would be a new LA NFL franchise. Another consortium featuring Eli Broad and Michael Ovitz pledged $400 million. Then both groups were blown out of the water by Bob McNair’s $700 million bid, and the expansion team went to Houston. Burkle doesn’t appear to be attached to either of the competing LA bids this time around, so naturally he could devote some attention to keeping or resurrecting NBA hoops in Cowtown.

In 1988, four arenas opened around the NBA: ARCO Arena, The Palace of Auburn Hills, Charlotte Coliseum, and Miami Arena. At $70 million, the Palace was the most expensive to construct and has retained its value and ever since. ARCO’s flaws have been readily apparent to anyone and everyone. Charlotte Coliseum was too big and lacked forward-thinking amenities, whereas Miami was far too small. Miami replaced its arena barely a decade later. Charlotte lost its team and was only granted one when a new arena deal was struck. The Palace and ARCO are the only ones left standing, with ARCO the one that should be replaced. If NBA basketball is going to stay or come back to Sacramento, the biggest issue will always be the arena situation. It doesn’t matter if the hero is Ron Burkle or Ron Burgundy.

P.S. Former Kings SacBee writer Mark Kreidler notes (on ESPN.com) that combined TV/radio revenue for the Kings is around $11 million annually. That’s terrible for a major pro sports franchise and shows how dire the arena problem is for the Kings and the Maloofs.

04.14.11
by

Waiting for the Victory Court EIR

Yesterday I sent an email to Oakland CEDA Deputy Director of Planning and Zoning, Eric Angstadt, asking for an update on the Victory Court Draft EIR. Angstadt has been the point man for the project. So far I haven’t received a response. Now it’s nice that we’ve got the regular season going to get our minds and eyes focused on the field instead of off, but someone had to ask. It’s the middle of April and there’s no word on when it’ll be released. Hopefully it’ll be soon. I’m dying to look at it, and I’m sure that pro-Oaklanders want something – anything – to help keep the December momentum going.

If you’re interested, click the link above and send in a request.

04.13.11
by

News for 4/13/11

Cal Baseball is safe for at least the next 7-10 years, thanks to relentless fundraising efforts.

Tonight marks the last NBA game to ever be played in Sacramento, at least for the foreseeable future.

As part of the new federal budget pact reached over the weekend, Congress is looking at numerous transit projects as low-hanging fruit for cuts including California’s High Speed Rail project and BART-to-Silicon Valley. It’s not enough to kill those projects, but it could stretch out planning while the projects try again for scarce federal funding in the future. BART-to-SV faces a lawsuit from a Milpitas industrial park owner whose access may be severely affected by construction of the line next to the property. The property owner wants an injunction against any further work until the issue is addressed.

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan is getting creative in figuring out ways to overcome the City’s $58 million budget deficit, which is $12 million more than when she came into office. In addition to a $80/year parcel tax, Quan is looking at short-term financing of the City’s retired police and firefighters’ pension plan. The Contra Costa Times’ Daniel Borenstein has a scathing critique of the pension refinancing plan and the City’s previous (largely failed) attempts to rein in the costs. The more you read about the plan, the more it looks like the Raiders’ Coliseum deal, full of overly optimistic projections and heavy on risk to the City. The current budget shortfall doesn’t have any material impact on any Oakland ballpark efforts, but decisions made now that could adversely impact fiscal feasibility down the road could have a huge impact.

OnMilwaukee.com has the first in a series of articles remembering the efforts needed and political battles waged to build Miller Park.

A study by the University of Toronto claims that the NHL is subsidizing numerous US-based teams and that Canada could support as many as 12 franchises (double the current number) thanks to high demand north of the border. I’d like to read this study before passing judgment.

A bill to authorize a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings has been introduced. However, it will not be heard until after April 26 and will have only a month to get through the legislature. Pundits are not giving the bill much of a chance of passing.

Two, count ’em, two ballparks are opening in Omaha over the next week. Werner Park, 9,000-capacity new suburban home of the Omaha Storm Chasers (AAA-Royals), seemed to be built in record time. TD Ameritrade Park in downtown Omaha, which is the new home of the College World Series, will host its first game next Tuesday when Creighton University hosts Nebraska (TV: CBS Sports Network/CBS College Sports). The 24,000-seat ballpark can expand to 35,000 for the CWS, though officials are quick to point out that even with the size, the ballpark is not a major league park.

A word on the Giants-Dodgers-Bryan Stow situation. As much as it’s heartwarming to see the outpouring of support for Stow, who remains in a coma following his beating following an Opening Day game two weeks ago, it’s important to remember that wasn’t the first incident, and sadly it won’t be the last. Two months ago, 20-year-old San Carlos resident Taylor Buckley pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter three years after the 2008 “sucker punch” killing of Anthony Giraudo outside a Giants game at AT&T Park. If anything, I’m surprised these incidents don’t happen more often. I look back at all of the A’s-Yankees games at the Coliseum, the Giants-Dodgers games at both AT&T and the ‘Stick, and I remember multiple fistfights and fans tumbling down the steps. More often than not, security gets there in time to stop the truly tragic from happening. Unfortunately, all it takes is for someone to hit his head on the edge of a concrete step, or for some thug to wait until he’s out in the parking lot to be an idiot, and then it’s a tragedy. It’s brutal and senseless, yet the line between a small no-harm skirmish and a tragedy can be so small. I want to believe in the better angels of our nature. Sometimes it’s not easy.

Lastly, and on a bittersweet note, the baseball season in Japan is starting, three weeks late and a month after the earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant ordeal began.

04.10.11
by

Selig talks Realignment

While the local and national media have been distracted by the Mets and Dodgers financial woes and have used those stories to project all sorts of cockamamie schemes, the commissioner has been on a different wavelength altogether and barely anyone has noticed. Whether or not you believe Bud Selig, here’s what he said last week about contraction in an interview with Chris Russo:

“The only thing I can tell you about contraction is we haven’t discussed it at all,” he said. “I’m not sure where that came from. We have not discussed contraction at all.”

What Selig has been talking about is realignment. Selig hasn’t divulged how broad his realignment vision is, and it’s likely that too many owners are comfortable with the current divisional alignments that major changes would be approved. He has put out some interesting concepts such as “floating realignment” in which have-not teams could move from to/from the AL East in order to get more stadium revenue from the unbalanced schedule’s greater number of intradivision games. That concept never got off the ground, but here may be some wiggle room for realignment that could come from a very simple numbers argument. Feast your eyes on the following table, whose data comes from NY Times resident geek Paul Robbins.

The path of each team can be seen on Robbins’ Google Maps mashup. Certainly no owner, front office, manager or player is going to get sympathy from fans about the pain that comes with having to travel frequently on plush charter jets. Still, there’s something to the large disparity in travel miles from top to bottom. As you might expect, many of the West Coast teams accrued the highest mileage. But why did the A’s have the third lowest, and the Padres the fifth lowest? Why did the centrally located Cubs finish fourth highest while their crosstown rivals hit sixth lowest? There’s no single factor to blame as scheduling is as much an art as a science. However, you can rest assured that Selig has an idea what part of the solution is: realignment.

The big four major sports don’t realign their leagues on a whim. In every case over the last 20 years, realignment has come with a league expansion event. Changes based on mere geographical “friendliness” do not occur frequently. Before 1994, the NL West would’ve been better named “NL Other” due to having two teams in the Eastern time zone (Atlanta, Cincinnati) and another in the Central (Houston). The leagues/teams have absorbed highly variable travel costs as the price of doing business.

  • 2004 – NBA changes from four to six divisions. Adds Charlotte Bobcats to Eastern Conference’s Southeast Division. Moves New Orleans Hornets (previously Charlotte) to Western Conference’s Southwest Division.
  • 2000 – NFL changes from six to eight divisions after adding 32nd team, Houston Texans. Conferences’ Central divisions become North; South divisions are added.
  • 1998 – NHL changes from four to six divisions after the Hartford Whalers (Northeast Division) move to North Carolina to become the Carolina Hurricanes (Southeast Division). Newly formed Southeast Division also contains two recent expansion franchises.
  • 1998 – MLB expands to 30 teams, adding Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks. Milwaukee Brewers switch from American League to National League, leaving the AL with 14 teams and the NL 16 teams.
  • 1995 – NHL approves Quebec Nordiques (Northeast) move to Denver to become the Colorado Avalanche (Pacific Division). Both conferences have 13 teams.
  • 1994 – MLB changes from four to six divisions. Both leagues’ West divisions have four teams each, the respective Central and East divisions have five teams each.

Many other relocations, such as the Minnesota North Stars’ move to Dallas or the Vancouver Grizzlies’ move to Memphis did not automatically cause realignment. The Washington Nationals naturally stayed in the NL East after they moved from Montreal. Divisional status quo also happened for the Houston Oilers-turned-Tennessee Oilers/Titans and the Cleveland Browns-turned-Baltimore Ravens.

TV convenience

The Texas Rangers would love nothing more than to leave the AL West and cut down the roughly 20 West Coast 9 PM CT start times their fans watching in the Metroplex have to endure every season. Unfortunately for the Rangers, no changes will happen just to placate one franchise. If two teams resist, then there’s a movement – especially if those two teams are the Cubs and Cardinals. In 1992 Fay Vincent initially pushed for a 1992 makeover in which the Cubs and Cards would be placed in the NL West, whereas the Braves and Reds moved to the East. It would seem unlikely that reverting to a two league, four division setup would gain traction, as there simply aren’t enough teams in the Pacific and Mountain time zones (eight team total) to deal with the problematic time shifts for the Central-based teams who would be stuck in the West.

Left: Existing leagues kept intact. Right: Geographic redistribution.

Selig frequently says that he tinkers with realignment concepts frequently while he’s traveling, much as you or I would. The conservative nature of The Lodge makes such tinkering more a mental exercise than anything, but it’s good to hear that he’s giving it some attention. The biggest problem Selig may be facing isn’t cumulative travel or TV time shifts. Rather, it may be the sheer number of teams. Prior to expansion in the 90’s and interleague play, the balanced schedule offered easy, predictable scheduling. Every team in your league was guaranteed to come twice every year. Once you add teams and reduce intraleague games by introducing interleague play, it becomes practically impossible to maintain a balanced schedule.

Top: Balanced schedule in AL. Bottom: Unbalanced NL schedule caused by expansion and interleague play.

It becomes more difficult once additional interleague series are added, since those will compete with intraleague or intradivision play for space within a 162-game season. Note that I’ve only allowed for two interleague series in this scenario. 14 teams is easy to work with, which is one reason why some have advocated for contracting two teams. It’s not a good reason given the big picture, but it’s not hard to see why it might be considered favorable – at least from a logistical standpoint. With 16 teams in 3 divisions, that oddball 6-team division will always complicate matters. MLB could add two expansion teams to make a 32-team league as I’ve wished for in the past, but there is absolutely no internal interest in expansion at this point so it’s a nonstarter. Nevertheless, 30 teams is extremely awkward.

There may be one admittedly strange way to smooth out scheduling and travel. That would be to keep the American League at 14 teams over 3 divisions while making the National League 4 divisions of 4 teams each.

AL remains status quo. NL switches to four division format.

A variant of the NL distribution has 12 intradivision games per team, which allows a bump vs. the “NL South” to 9 games, achieving parity with the other divisions and some semblance of a balanced schedule, if that is a goal. I wouldn’t expect the National League to do this because, as the more conservative of the two leagues, it just doesn’t seem like they’d be in a rush to introduce another pennant and an additional two teams to the playoff format. If the American League were doing this in concert it might make more sense. Since the AL isn’t expanding, the NL isn’t going to change. Regardless, the seemingly endless number of possibilities for realignment sheds light on how difficult it is to plan for MLB’s short and long term. For the fans’ sake, I hope that Selig can get the owners to at least honestly discuss the pros and cons of different scenarios. Surely there are practical ways to make realignment work for owners, players, and fans alike.

P.S. One thing you can’t expect from Selig and the owners: some form of a promotion/relegation system like the one used in European soccer. The delta of franchise values between MLB and AAA teams is much too vast for any owner to take such a risk. Many teams that have been relegated have never made it back and have even become insolvent, a phenomenon known in British soccer as entering administration.