Well, this is going to make Lew Wolff’s San Jose quest more difficult: two groups say they want to buy the Oakland Athletics and keep them in Oakland. The groups, as identified by the San Francisco Chronicle, include a group that dropped out of the bidding for the Los Angeles Dodgers and another that incudes […]
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Oakland: One last gasp at keeping A’s
Oakland will take one last run at keeping the Athletics by paying $3.5 million on an attempt to persuade private investors to upgrade facilities at the Coliseum sports complex. The city will pay $1.6 million to JRDV Architects, Forest City Enterprises and HKS Sports and Entertainment to determine the long-term feasibility of the complex, which […]
Oakland bows out of Victory Court site for new A’s ballpark
Faced with a lack of redevelopment funds seized by the state, Oakland is dropping its plans for a new Athletics ballpark at Victory Court — leading the way for a move of the team to San Jose. Regular readers of Ballpark Digest have followed the issues posed to professional sports by the decision from the […]
Court ruling clarifies San Jose, Escondido ballpark statuses
With the California Supreme Court ruling yesterday that the state can indeed eliminate city and county redevelopment agencies, the fate of new ballparks in Escondido and the Bay Area became clearer. The California Supreme Court not only ruled that the state can eliminate redevelopment agencies — and recapture locally generated revenues in the process — […]
San Jose to sell A’s ballpark land at a huge loss
San Jose officials are so eager to land the Oakland Athletics that they’re willing to sell Lew Wolff land for less than half it’s worth on the open market. The deal would sell about five acres of prime downtown land for $6.9 million. San Jose paid $25.1 million for the six parcels of land over the […]
Bud’s retirement plan: Back to college in Madison
Curious about what Bud Selig has planned after retirement? He’s already set up plans to teach and write in Madison, Wis., conveniently near Ballpark Digest World HQ. The first pitcher of beer on the Terrace is on us, Bud. Selig is a UW graduate, attending the school the same time as Oakland A’s owner Lew […]
Oakland player plan depends on new ballpark
It will be an interesting offseason for the Oakland Athletics, as the fate of a new ballpark will determine whether the team goes into rebuilding mode or brings back established players to spiff up the franchise for a sale. The backstory, for those living in a cave the last few baseball years. Like many fans […]
Athletics, city close to Phoenix Muni lease extension
The Oakland Athletics will train at Phoenix Municipal Stadium and Papago Park Baseball Facility through 2025 under a proposed lease expected to be approved today by the Phoenix City Council. The lease adds 10 years to the current lease, slated to end in 2015. The Athletics train at the Muni and Papago Park and run […]
Wolff seeking upgrades to Phoenix Muni
Oakland Athletics owner Lew Wolff has been discussing with the city upgrades to Phoenix Municipal Stadium that would cost $30 million or so — “chump change” for what’s being spent on spring-training facilities in the area. That Phoenix Municipal Stadium needs some spiffing up is probably true: the latest upgrades nicely added a level of […]
San Jose rushing to acquire land for Athletics ballpark
The San Jose Redevelopment Agency is working to sell other city land and buildings to finance a purchase of the remaining parcels for a new Oakland Athletics ballpark, but initial bids came in lower than expected. The bids for the six properties fetched a total of $19.59 million in offers, below the $26 million the […]
Could Oakland bar A’s from moving?
An interesting legal theory is making its way through the Bay Area: that a clause in the Athletics’ lease for Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum could be used as a tool to keep the team in Oakland — at least long enough for a sale of the team or a San Jose deal to cool. Here’s the […]
Cal budget issues could alter San Jose, Oakland plans for A’s ballpark
A proposal by Gov. Jerry Brown to shut down California‘s 425 redevelopment agencies could have a huge impact on the Oakland Athletics, as both San Jose and Oakland are planning on using redevelopment funds to help pay for a new ballpark. Both cities are planning on using a redevelopment agency as a base for the […]
Beware folks peddling simple solutions to complex problems
Ken Rosenthal and Scott Boras say the solution to the financial issues faced by the Oakland A’s is simple: MLB should just let the team move to San Jose. But, alas, the solution isn’t all that simple, and the issue is considerably more complex than just appeasing Lew Wolff: it goes to the very financial […]