July 23, 2004
A's leak stadium pitch
According to a "confidential team report" obtained by the Oakland Tribune (presumably from team sources), the Oakland A's are looking at building a new stadium in the Oakland Coliseum parking lot, and offering about $100 million to the cause. Since a 2001 city study found that a new stadium at that site would cost $399 million, and costs only go up with time, that would mean at least $300 million in public money would be needed. "Obviously, the financing of this will be the trick because nobody wants to put any more taxpayer dollars into a stadium," said Alameda County supervisor Gail Steele, a woman with a knack for understatement.
If the report is to be believed, the A's appear to have ruled out moving to a South Bay city such as San Jose, no doubt because it would cost too much to buy out the San Francisco Giants' territorial rights. And in a classic deployment of the move non-threat threat, the report indicated that if a new Oakland ballpark isn't forthcoming, the team's owners would look to sell to someone who would take the team elsewhere, since finding a new local owner is "not logical, given current venue." Andy Dolich and Robert Piccinini weren't immediately reachable for comment.
