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May 13, 2009
San Jose: A's stadium must "make money"
The San Jose city council held its baseball stadium meeting yesterday, agreeing on a set of principles for any deal to lure the Oakland A's. First and foremost: The city won't pay to build or operate a stadium, and it must generate money for the city's general fund.
This is an excellent start in theory, but as always, its value will depend on how the city chooses to interpret its pledge. Mayor Chuck Reed, after all, has already indicated that land subsidies don't count as "paying for" a stadium, leaving open the possibility of the city taking on hidden costs. And as for generating money for the general fund, there are plenty of ways to fudge that as well.
That said, it still looks like A's owner Lew Wolff's preferred relocation site will be an uphill battle: Barring hidden subsidies, he'd have to find a way to raise $400 million or so to build a stadium, plus lord knows how much to pay off the San Francisco Giants for the territorial rights they were granted 20 years ago when they were trying to move to San Jose. (No, it doesn't make sense. It's baseball management — even Google thinks it must be fiction.) And first he'll have to get through umpteen public hearings, plus whatever demands the proposed "Diridon Station Area Good Neighbor Committee" comes up with. And that's assuming MLB's A's stadium commission okays a move in the first place ... we could be here awhile.
Something to consider for our friends in San Jose -
http://people.albion.edu/jhakes/pdfs/houses.pdf
or another
http://marketpower.typepad.com/market_power/2006/06/stadium_economi.html
and another critical summary - "The vast consensus of independent studies by economists (not those "economic impact" statements produced by proponents which amount to cheerleading documents) shows that sports teams and stadiums have no appreciable economy-wide positive economic impact."
REMEMBER THAT KEEPING THE A's FROM MOVING TO SAN JOSE IS NOT ONLY GOOD FOR OAKLAND, BUT GOOD FOR THE GIANTS TOO!! Let's Go Oakland! is a group of A's fans, business people, labor leaders, and government officials who are committed to keeping the A's in Oakland. But it's about much more than just building a ballpark. As part of a larger plan to build new hotels, restaurants, and cafes, a new destination stadium will attract visitors from all over the region. Like AT&T Park in Mission Bay did for San Francisco, our ballpark will be a catalyst to bring new investment and jobs to Oakland, kick-starting the next phase of our community's successful economic development. If you support Oakland -- if you support the A's -- we hope you'll stand with us. Sign our petition, and urge Major League Baseball and team ownership to keep the A's in Oakland! letsgooakland.com
Posted by OAKLANDathletics on May 17, 2009 07:28 PM