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Wolff, San Jose leaders say deadline is looming if A’s are to move

If the Oakland A's are to move to San Jose, the time to ask voters to approve a ballpark plan is coming up — but there's no indication that Bud Selig is ready to tackle the issue.

If the Oakland A's are to move to San Jose, the time to ask voters to approve a ballpark plan is coming up — but there's no indication that Bud Selig is ready to tackle the issue.

Time, indeed, is of the essence: the San Jose City Council has until Aug. 3 to put a question on this fall's ballot asking voters to approve using city-owned land for a $465-million ballpark; the city would contribute the land, and Lew Wolff would finance the ballpark. Simple-enough proposition if you're a San Jose resident, but given the weirdness of the California political scene this year, passage is not a given.

Still, it may never get to that point if Bud Selig doesn't act on the recommendations of a committee he appointed to evaluate the Athletics' ballpark situation. The committee was formed 16 months ago and has reportedly completed its report; the issue is that nothing is being done with it. For the A's to move to San Jose, the team would need permission from the San Francisco Giants. Giants ownership has repeatedly said they are not interested in any deal giving the A's access to San Jose. And if the Giants can't be bought or persuaded by Selig, then there's no ballpark deal.

Which may be why Selig is not doing anything publicly to deal with this issue. If the deadline is missed, Selig has an out. The A's may be forced to stay in Oakland, Wolff may choose to build elsewhere (though there seems to be few cities hot for MLB anymore), or Wolff may sell. In any case, Wolff seems pretty pissed no decision has been made.

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