01.08.11
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CBA Talk 2011: A comparison of leagues

Three of the four major professional sports leagues have collective bargaining agreements which will expire later this year. In the NBA and NFL, discussions between management and labor have been contentious for at least the last year, with threats of work stoppages all too real and quite likely. That makes MLB an outlier, as there has been little tension in its ongoing labor discussions, even though its CBA will run out only a few months after the other two leagues’. The NHLPA authorized a one-year extension of its current agreement in the fall, allowing its CBA to expire after the 2011-12 season, but under the terms of the agreement, no further extension can be negotiated between the union and league. With Donald Fehr brought in to helm the NHLPA’s side of future talks, the players there aren’t looking to go soft at the table.

Before we get into the details, I’ve put together an overview of each league’s current CBA, sans drug testing details. Next week, each league will get its own post and in depth analysis. For now, take a look at the table and if any questions or corrections come to mind, throw them into comments. Every effort has been made to verify all of the data in the table, including each league’s CBA documents when possible. Still, there may be some issues with what’s reported, so here’s your chance to fact check. It’s also your opportunity to steer the discussion in a certain direction if you so choose.

I look forward to your questions and comments. Until then, enjoy the rest of the football weekend. My thoughts are with those who were senselessly hurt or killed at the Tucson atrocity today, and their families.

01.08.11
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San Jose selling $25 million of downtown property for ballpark

So, what was that we were saying about San Jose’s Redevelopment Agency being broke?

Well, it’s true. From an operational standpoint, they’re very close. From an asset standpoint, not really. RDA head Harry Mavrogenes authorized the sale of $25 million of property in the downtown core, or 11% of its land holdings. The Merc’s Tracy Seipel has the details.

Said Mayor Chuck Reed: “A lot of people have been wondering how we’re going to put together the transaction to do the land for a baseball stadium. I think this is an answer. And it’s a message for Major League Baseball — just in case they had any questions.”

In an interview with the Mercury News, Mavrogenes acknowledged that the governor’s proposal to eliminate redevelopment agencies could throw a wrench in the city’s plan to acquire the land for the ballpark.

He and the mayor said Friday that the agency’s land-sale plan has been in the works for at least a month. Reed added that the memo about the plan was prepared in advance of a discussion he has been trying to have with MLB Commissioner Bud Selig about “how we can finish the land deal.”

While the $25 million should cover the land, there’s still the cost of the Autumn Parkway project, which will probably exceed whatever is remaining (depending on how many corners are cut).

Interestingly, two of the properties are adjacent to Lew Wolff’s Fairmont Hotel. One is the parking garage underneath, while another is a small retail strip underneath the hotel’s annex, which has a McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant as one of its tenants. Two others are parking facilities. The final property is an undeveloped lot.

One way to think of how San Jose approaches redevelopment is like what Alan Mulally did with Ford several years ago. In what is now considered a highly prescient move, Mulally arranged for Ford to borrow $23.6 Billion to help aid the company in its restructuring efforts. GM and Chrysler chose to try to tough it out, and the economic collapse killed them both in the process. Instead of having to raise new bonds for every project while dealing with whatever the market conditions are at the time, San Jose has chosen to buy large properties early on with the idea of reselling them down the road – for profit or future project. While there is a legitimate argument as to whether or not this is how the RDA should operate, the fact is that San Jose has been in the position to make key moves when the time was right. Now they have assets they can sell as needed, and unlike Oakland, they don’t have to raise bonds or worry as much about the state impacting their timeline to raise bonds (also Oakland).

Does this mean San Jose is a done deal? Of course not. But it is yet another small yet consequential move that comes from a strategy borne of small yet consequential moves. Judging by the reactions of Wolff and Baseball San Jose head honcho Michael Mulcahy, they’re not small moves in the least.

01.07.11
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Ads

I’ve added a Google Adsense widget to the second sidebar, replacing (for now) the usually inactive poll widget. This is a test to see if I can get enough ad dollars to offset some of the money I’ll be spending on gas for future San Jose and Oakland activities. It’ll run for a few months, then, who knows?

01.06.11
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KTRB purchase still possible?

There may yet be a future for the A’s and KTRB together. Chronicle beat writer Susan Slusser has the tasty news from the dead tree edition:

— According to two team officials, the A’s are deep in negotiations to buy radio station KTRB, which is in receivership. KTRB is expected to continue to carry A’s games, whatever the outcome of the sale.

and in The Drumbeat…

Also in today’s paper, I had a little snippet about the A’s quest to buy KTRB. I’m told that some progress has been made, and personally, I think it’s likely to happen, although it sounds as if the process of purchasing a radio station that is in receivership is an odd one. In fact, it sounds a lot like the Japanese posting process: from what I understand, bidders don’t know who they’re bidding against or what the other bids might be. We could know within a week. Let’s hope this goes better than the Hisashi Iwakuma business.

Even though it’s not a done deal, it sounds a lot better than what Rich Lieberman was reporting before Christmas. Crossing my fingers.

P.S. Compare the A’s plight to that of the NFL, which is close to a renewal of ESPN’s television rights for Monday Night Football, the NFL Draft, etc. The deal is potentially worth a whopping $2 Billion per year for up to a decade. Think about that. Each team would get around $60 million per year just from ESPN, which broadcasts only 17 games every season. The A’s 2010 payroll on Opening Day was just a shade over $58 million. Good luck to Roger Goodell on his quest to convince the public that the league is in financial peril.

01.06.11
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The Big Not So Easy

I’m multitasking this evening. On the plasma is basketball, first the Warriors and their furious 4th quarter comeback victory over New Orleans, and then Lakers-Suns. On one LCD monitor I’m watching the Microsoft/Steve Ballmer keynote address at CES. Some graphics are being put together on another screen for this post and a special project I’m working on. I’m watching my Twitter feed regularly, and I’ve got dinner in the oven.

Now, thanks to commenter Vince, I have to follow some new rumor about Larry Ellison’s interest in the NBA-owned Hornets. A blog entry by Forbes sports business guy Mike Ozanian indicates that Ellison could pursue the team with the intent to move it to San Jose. There’s a possible revenge/rivalry angle to the deal, as Ellison failed to buy the Warriors while the Lacob-Guber group put up the winning (and on-time) $450 million bid.

First off, let’s synopsize the Hornets’ situation. The team has struggled to get decent attendance in the post-Katrina era, despite having a decent team, a new arena, and a bona fide superstar in point guard Chris Paul. In three full seasons since returning from Oklahoma City, the team has averaged only 15,402 per game. This season, the Hornets average only 14,086 through 19 home games. Worse, the team has an out clause in its lease at New Orleans Arena in which it can leave the Crescent City if the team averages less than 14,213 during a 13-game stretch from December 1, 2010 through January 17, 2011. So far, the results aren’t inspiring if you want to keep the Hornets in town.

Someone may have to go out of pocket and buy 1,000 seats for each of the next two games to reach the target.

Hornets fans tend to respond to the schedule in a similar way to A’s fans do: show up for “event” games such as the Lakers matchup in the table above. Tonight’s crowd against a mediocre Warriors squad was a poor 13,532. Fans will have to average 15,428 over the next two games to reach the minimum 14,213 over the 13 games. Orlando should bring in a good crowd, Toronto most certainly won’t. Fans have gone as far as putting together 2-for-1 ticket deals to help get the count over the hump.

Last month I described the NBA’s purchase of the team from George Shinn an Expos-style deal. With the team bought for $310 million, the league and the other 29 owners stand to make a serious profit if the team does sell for $400 million or more. The league’s intent is to keep the team in the Crescent City, or at least that’s how it appears. Previous minority owner Gary Chouest was supposed to put together a group to buy the team, but his livelihood may have taken a hit after the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster. If a local buyer can’t be found – a process that probably won’t last more than a year – the Hornets will be up for grabs.

Ozanian’s piece puts the figure to move the Hornets to San Jose at $450 million, though that includes an unspecified amount of compensation to the Warriors for invading their 75-mile radius. The last NBA team to encroach upon another’s territory was the Clippers in 1984, who moved from San Diego after six ho-hum seasons at the Sports Arena. While the Lakers were not adversely affected by the constant cellar dwelling Clippers, there’s no guarantee that the Warriors won’t be affected by a second NBA team in the Bay Area. It would be a shock if Lacob-Guber didn’t level a sizable lawsuit at the league, trying to protect their near half-billion dollar investment. The NBA may have the most hard-nosed commissioner in pro sports in the form of David Stern, but he doesn’t have an leaguewide antitrust protection in his back pocket as Bud Selig does.

And Ellison won’t be the only interested party. The aforementioned Ballmer (whose keynote at CES was not exactly riveting) is Seattle’s Ellison, a man expected to bring the Sonics back to life. Unfortunately for Seattle, the lack of what Stern considers an NBA-quality arena in place is a considerable hurdle for the Emerald City. At this point, Seattle is just as hostile to new public sports venue financing as California is. Kansas City remains a town with an arena but without a white knight to bring a team in.

The upcoming labor situation in the NBA could be a determining factor in terms of when and to whom the team gets sold. Both sides are gearing up for a lockout, and if it proceeds like the one that shortened the 1999 season to 50 games, the timeline could be stretched out a few more months. The league could wait until a new CBA is ratified, as the Hornets could be more valuable with greater cost certainty ingrained in the new agreement. Then again, they could try to sell the team as quickly as possible, though this isn’t a league that is hurting for cash.

All of this leaves San Jose is a strange situation. With the specter of another redevelopment fund raid looming, San Jose has to pick and choose where it spends. The quest for baseball has spanned over five years in this attempt alone and there is still no light at the end of the tunnel. While the land investment for a ballpark would have greater potential (2+ million visitors per year vs. 750k for hoops), an investment in the arena and land for a Hornets practice facility may be a more prudent way to spend RDA funds. Even in better fiscal times, I can’t see San Jose having the resources available to attract both the Hornets and A’s simultaneously unless Ellison or SVSE footed the bill for all necessary HP Pavilion renovations and the practice facility (around 3 acres) as well.

The corners are vacant due to an older, less flexible seating configuration

As for the state of HP Pavilion, I’ve said before that it’s a good arena, but as it stands currently it wouldn’t be in the upper half of venues in the league. The seating bowl ends would need dual-rise seating tiers to maximize capacity and sightlines for basketball. The technology would also help change from hockey/arena football configuration to basketball more quickly. Yes, I said arena football, as the Sabercats are due to return to the AFL this March.

The biggest change may be in the area most fans don’t get to see. NBA standards don’t just include seats and suites, they include locker rooms and related amenities. The arena’s facilities are good, but they’ll have to be expanded just to accommodate an NBA team properly. While the Hornets won’t need everything listed in the plan below due to a degree of overlap, you get an idea how much space is required to house a team.

Note the size difference between the home and visitor locker rooms

It’s hard to say where and how an arena expansion could occur. It’s been 15 years since I was last in the bowels, covering the Warriors as a stringer while the team played its lone season at then San Jose Arena. I fondly remember one preseason game in which press row was placed in the hockey benches for some reason. Anyway, while there is some flex space at event level, it’s unclear whether that would be enough to make all of the necessary renovations.

In the long run, the biggest winner could be San Francisco and the Giants. If the Giants are intent upon building a new arena in SF, they’d be able to play Lacob-Guber and Ellison & Co. against each other in order to get a good deal for themselves, whatever that may be. Of course, by the time they’d get to make the deal they probably won’t have RDA to help with cheap or free land. You can’t win ’em all, I guess.

P.S. I would be remiss if I didn’t note how ironically bizarre it would be for the Ellison to send the Hornets to Oakland to play twice a season at the arena named after his company, while playing home games at the arena named after the company he just blew up publicly.

Also, Ellison has clarified (via the Merc’s Brandon Bailey) what his intent was with the Hornets:

“I did offer $350 million” for the New Orleans Hornets, Ellison told reporters, adding that he was “slightly outbid” by the National Basketball Association when the league bought the bankrupt team last month from owners George Shinn and Gary Chouest.

Ellison’s comments put a damper on the hope floated in a Forbes blog post that he planned to buy the team and move it to San Jose.

The prospect was warmly greeted by San Jose officials, intrigued with the notion of another pro franchise moving to the city, but Ellison flatly said the report was “not true.”

More grist for the mill.

P.P.S. An expansive article by the Merc’s John Woolfork about San Jose’s RDA just became available. The agency, which is the second largest in the state, pulls in $185 million in property tax receipts yearly.

01.03.11
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Jerry Brown: Killing baseball in Oakland not once, but twice

Update 1/4 4:00 PM – San Jose and Mayor Chuck Reed appear ready to fight Governor Brown in order to keep redevelopment dollars intact if Brown’s idea gets past a conceptual stage.

Austerity, thy name is Jerry Brown. As part of the newly sworn-in governor’s agenda to reduce the $25-28 billion state deficit, massive cuts are in store for social services, the University of California and California State University systems, and just about everything else that is state funded.

Robert Gammon thinks this is bad news for any Victory Court ballpark plans, since Brown is looking to eliminate redevelopment agencies as well. Remember that while $750,000 has been authorized for an EIR, nothing has been authorized or raised (via bonds) for further land acquisition or infrastructure work. That part, which is estimated to run $100 million or more, would be unavailable in as little as 12-18 months if redevelopment agencies were killed or if their tax increment funds were diverted to help shore up the budget.

Gammon is unclear whether Brown would try to fight this battle via legislation or some other method. Redevelopment can be viewed in two ways: generally bloated and ineffectual, yet also important for some ongoing smaller projects in many cities throughout the state. Since redevelopment money has more of an indirect benefit for citizens than, say, funds for Cal Grants or Medi-Cal, it’s likely to be less of a hot button issue, which could make it a more likely candidate for the chopping block. However, redevelopment agencies are empowered through Article 16 of the State Constitution, which makes it difficult to see how Brown could do it alone, unless he declared some sort of fiscal “state of emergency” early on in his term and tried to carry out his agenda via fiat. It’s possible that a bill to accomplish this could “sail” through the legislature, but would a referendum be required as well?

Also threatened are enterprise zones, areas designated by cities as economic incubators and eligible for tax credits as a result. Elimination of enterprise zones could raise the price tag on relocation since it’s likely that Oakland/ORA is looking at some of those areas as places where the existing businesses at Victory Court could relocate, with tax credits as an enticement.

Would Brown’s cuts have an effect on San Jose’s ballpark efforts? Perhaps. SJRA’s practice of landbanking has allowed it to use money it raised many years or even decades ago to help fund new projects. With the threat of Brown curtailing SJRA activities severely if not outright, it’s possible that they may see the writing on the wall and sell off various accrued assets to keep existing projects funded or to shore up the agency’s own budget. Better that than for the state to grab the land and sell it on its own, I suppose. Already, SJRA has redone the Airport West deal to suit Lew Wolff’s sliding schedule. They’ve also agreed to sell the long dormant Brandenburg site near downtown to developer Barry Swenson in order to finish a street grid/park project in the North San Pedro area. Going back to the process of killing redevelopment, imagine a June ballot in San Jose with a ballpark initiative and a statewide proposition to eliminate redevelopment agencies. Yikes.

This early on, it’s hard to say how the redevelopment battle will go. Agencies have their own lobbying group and there will be plenty of cities with large agencies who will be steadfastly against such a raid. Lawsuits would be almost guaranteed, as they would be from various other threatened state agencies. Most redevelopment agencies have some ongoing indebtedness, so what happens if their siphon is cut off? Default? Already, CRA is appealing a decision which approved Governor Schwarzenegger’s $2 Billion raid in 2009-10. We’re in for a bumpy ride, folks.

01.02.11
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Predictions for 2011

As promised, I’ve put up a second open thread post. This time, it has an actual purpose. I’d like to round up your predictions for how 2011 will go for the A’s. If you choose to participate, you won’t have to limit yourself to ballpark or off-field issues. You can go anywhere from stadium to statistics to starting staff to the stars of Moneyball. If it’s good, your prediction comment may end up in the body of the post.

The only things I ask for is for folks to keep it civil, and to keep your comments under 200 words. I’d like to be able to have more than one or two comments up here. You’ll only get one shot. As for me, I’ll only make one prediction this year: MLB will figure out a way even more completely hose the A’s than they already have.

And now your comments. From fc:

  • The A’s will finish wth 85 wins, but the lack of hitting will again land them in second place behind the Angels.
  • No real movement from MLB on the ballpark front as they wait for the EIR on VC to be completed
  • Frustration and delays will lead to San Jose giving MLB an ultimatum to make a decision or the city will move on beyond the ballpark. MLB’ s response will be that they are still waiting for the BRC to complete it’s report.
  • With the reality of a ballpark in San Jose becoming less likely, Wolff either looks to sell his interest, or Fischer asks him to step down.
  • Attendance will average below 15k.

jk-usa:

  • In late February, BS comes out with the BRC recommendation for VC. MLB also pays the 750k for the EIR, which relieves IDLF, but who still steps down his City Council position.
  • The A’s battle the Angels all year and squeeze out the division by 2 games with 90 wins. Texas and the Giant’s fall flat, plagued by injuries, and finish 3rd with 77 games a piece.
  • Gio Gonzalez has a monster year, going 19-8, including a no-hitter, and is runner up for the Cy Young
  • Attendance is improved big time over last year, at just above 2 mill, with hope for the fans for a better future in Oakland
  • The team is put up for sale to a local group in the off season, led by Bob Piccinini, George Zimmer and one of the Warriors owners. Dolich and Reggie jump on board too. MLB actually approves them this time at the winter meetings.
  • LW and BB cash out and move on their merry way. One retires form baseball forever, and the other joins the Bosox as GM.

cuppingmaster:

  • Next Owner’s Meeting will be a “yes” vote for SJ, with Oakland continuing to work on the EIR just in case.
  • Oakland threatens to pull the Coliseum lease after 2013; MLB negotiates one-year extension in lease plus option year.
  • Enticed by LA, Al Davis throws his hat into the ring for the proposed downtown AEG stadium
  • Rich Harden makes 25+ starts in the 5th starter role
  • Josh Willingham extended for 4 years, 40M
  • Brett Anderson makes less than 20 starts and suffers season-ending arm injury in July
  • Coco Crisp injures himself in ST, again starts less than 100 games for us
  • Conor Jackson plays more than 75 games
  • Tyson Ross’ elbow explodes

doctorK:

  1. We will have another year of pointless back-and-forth arguments between the Oakland-only and SJ-or-bust proponents on this blog.
  2. Bud Selig will continue to suck as a decision-maker.
  3. Geren will still suck as a manager.
  4. Brad Pitt will suck as Billy Beane.
  5. The A’s will not suck on the field, and will beat the Phillies in a 7 games in a major WS upset (I can dream, can’t I?)
  6. The Bay Area media will somehow ignore the A’s, instead, they’ll concentrate on the compelling story of the Gnats finishing 3rd in the NL West (but being in contention up until the last week of the season).
  7. MLB will require all teams not playing in NY or Boston to have off-days whenever the Red Sox and Yankees play each other.
  8. MLB will announce during the AS break that in 2012, there will be 162 Yankees-Red Sox games.
  9. Derek Jeter will be the most over-paid ballplayer in history.
  10. Halos Heaven will strengthen its position as the festering bunghole of the baseball blogosphere.
  11. ESPN and Fox Sports will continue to suck the soul out of our national pastime.

Jeffrey:

  • February- MLB announces the A’s and Giants have reached an agreement on sharing the entire Bay Area. Dennis Herrera announces the City of San Francisco will not file a lawsuit as previously threatened.
  • March- The A’s have an abysmal Spring Training record. Everyone has a horrible spring. Crush Carter starts the season in Sacramento. We all freak out.
  • April- Coco Crisp goes on a tear, and then tears something in the last week and misses every game up to the All Star Break. the A’s end the month a game back of the Mariners, tied with the Rangers and a game ahead of the Angels.
  • May- Daric Barton picks up the slack for the absent Ultrman, hitting 7 bombs and slugging .500, and Gio Gonzales goes 5-0 for the month. The Mariners start to suck and the A’s , Rangers and Angels stay tightly packed at the top of the division.
  • June- Ryan Sweeney (who has been playing Right Field while The Jesus moved to Center) is benched in favor of Chris Carter. San Jose passes a Ballpark referendum. Oakland files a lawsuit.
  • July- Chris Carter hits 12 HR’s while Brett Anderson has an ERA of 0.00 for the month. Coco comes back just as MC Willinghammer goes on the DL. The Angels and Rangers are witn a game of first, the A’s are in the lead.
  • August- With the A’s, Angels and Rangers battling it out for the division, Hideki Matsui is hit by a pitch and breaks his hand, Dallas Braden charges the mound on his behalf. Carter moves to DH and Michael Taylor, after having a huge bounce back year in Sacramento, comes up and bats .400 over his first 150 PA’s.
  • September- In a spot start, Tyson Ross throws 6 no hit innings. Rich Harden, Craig Breslow and Andrew Bailey each throw a no hit inning to complete the no-no. The A’s sweep the Angels in the second to last series of the year to move 1 game up on the Rangers with 3 to play. The Angels then lose 2 of three to the Rangers and Trevor Cahill shuts out the Mariners on the last day of the season to Bring the A’s their first playoff appearance since 2006.
  • October- After furious playoff battles against the Yankees and Twins, the A’s meet the Brewers in the least watched World Series ever. The A’s win in 7 when, after Brandon McCarthy throws 8 shut out innings, Mark Ellis hits a ninth inning HR and screams “UNICORN POWER!” as he rounds the bases. Oakland’s lawsuit is dismissed.
  • November- The A’s have three World Series parades. One in Oakland, One in Fremont and One in San Jose. The end of the third parade culminates in a ceremonial ground breaking at Diridon.
  • December- My wife buys me a sweet ticket package for 2012 as a Christmas present and we celebrate by drinking White Russians and quoting the Big Lebowski.

Jerry:

  • Oakland and the Vukasin family reach an agreement whereby the Vukasins support a ballpark at Victory Ct. in exchange for naming the new stadium “Peerless Park.”
  • At the urging of Senator Boxer, CalTrans and the feds agree to help finance freeway interchange improvements near Jack London Square using the argument that whatever is developed there will need improved access, thus allowing the EIR to get approved with no major legal challenges.
  • MLB finally issues its report recommending a new ballpark in Oakland.
  • Lew Wolff sells his minority share of the A’s to George Zimmer, and immediately signs a contract with Al Davis to find a new stadium for the Raiders.
  • Stomper is replaced by a real elephant from the Oakland Zoo.
  • A’s attendance breaks 2 million and the A’s win 89 games to win the AL West.

I’ll finish things off with a real (albeit small) prediction: Should the Oakland EIR progress past the draft stage, the two planned options/alternatives will be to A) use the entire 20 acres between Oak Street and Lake Merritt Channel -or- B) use only the land between Fallon Street and the Channel. No different site alternatives will be considered.

12.31.10
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San Francisco chosen for 2013 America’s Cup

Congratulations are in order for Gavin Newsom and the SF Board of Supervisors, who held firm and didn’t give away the farm in their winning America’s Cup bid. The City beat out stalking horse Newport, RI, who did not actually get its 2013 bid out in time, despite having the experience of holding the event throughout much of the 20th century.

72-foot catamarans will be the vessel of choice, and the races themselves will be held at the Golden Gate, with excellent views from North Beach, the Marina, and the Marin Headlands.

The upshot of this is that we’ve now gotten two glimpses into how Larry Ellison makes deals when it comes to his sporting interests. He plays hardball (America’s Cup). He doesn’t overbid (Warriors). And now that he and his partners will be investing $150 million on SF’s waterfront with the idea of ensuring that the event will continue to be held here every three years into the distant future, it seems unlikely that he’ll turn his attention to other potential sports endeavors, namely the A’s. Just in case you’ve forgotten, the sixth richest person in the world has, as part of his day job, gone double-barreled at HP and has also set his sights on just about every other enterprise heavyweight in the tech industry. So for those who want to keep thinking that Ellison will simply head over the bridge and become Oakland’s knight in shining armor, get real. He has other things on his mind.

12.24.10
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IDLF DUI WTF Open Thread

I don’t regularly go onto The Google and type in the terms “councilman dui.” After Oakland District 5 Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente’s arrest for an apparent DUI violation earlier this morning, I was curious.

The final tally: 61,800 results, most of them from media outlets. Included were a Hercules councilman’s DUI last month and an incident in which a Westminster councilman wrapped his Mercedes around a telephone pole in 2009. After lightly going over some of these incidents, it seems that all of the guilty properly lawyered up and got probation to the tune of 2-3 years, which may have included ankle monitoring. Could IDLF receive a better or worse fate?

This blog tends to stay away from profiling politicians, but IDLF’s dissenting vote (conditional as it was) earlier in the week makes this issue somewhat relevant. Rumors have been swirling about IDLF potentially taking a job within incoming Governor Jerry Brown’s administration, and this would undoubtedly have a negative impact on his chances. As for keeping his job at Oakland City Hall, it’s probably safe. IDLF is halfway through his current term, his fifth. None of the articles I skimmed in my highly unscientific review indicated that any of the offenders had to vacate their positions, as long as they didn’t maim or kill anyone in the process. I don’t mean for this to sound glib, that’s just the way it seems to shake out. On a personal front, the man has been through worse.

If you’d like to steer the discussion away from IDLF, by all means! Be my guest. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and be smart if you’re gonna imbibe. Get a designated driver, use public transportation or take a taxi.

12.23.10
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End of 2010 news

To celebrate the holiday season, the Marlins have sent out a virtual greeting card showing a time-lapse of the construction of their new ballpark. It’s scheduled to open in 2012. Impressive, right? Maybe not when you take a look at this cross-section (via Autodesk/Hunt-Moss), in which all of the luxury suites have been stuffed behind the plate:

Craig Calcaterra thinks Oakland is wasting $750k on the EIR study. His rationale at the end may be more spot on than you might think.

Jeff Moorad and partners finally completed their purchase of the Portland Beavers. The team will play in Tucson for at least the 2011 season, with the idea of playing in Escondido as soon as 2012.

The San Diego Reader’s business/finance writer, Don Bauder, considers Petco Park a failure and considers it a cautionary tale for those who may want a downtown SD football stadium for the Chargers.

At Biz of Baseball, Maury Brown has a slew of new articles:

Lancaster is adding solar panels to its ballpark, which will make it 98% self-powered.

The ballpark for the now relocated Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals) is already having the team move in, even though construction started only in August. Called Werner Park, the new digs are expected to open in April.