A's lease negotiations getting interesting...

Collapse

Recommended Videos

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • SPTO
    binging
    • Feb 2003
    • 68046

    #1

    A's lease negotiations getting interesting...

    If i'm an A's fan i'd probably be a bit nervous about this.

    Oakland City Councilman Larry Reid says he doesn’t believe the A’s are bluffing in their threat to leave the city if they don’t get a 10-year lease extension at the Coliseum, and he pointed to a pair of possible destinations — Montreal and San Antonio, Texas.

    Reid said that was the word he got from the Coliseum Authority negotiators who have been working for the past 14 months to try to reach an A’s lease extension.

    “They have options,’’ Reid said.

    Both cities would have issues. San Antonio has a domed stadium, the Alamodome, that is used mainly for football. It has hosted baseball exhibition games the past two years, but its right-field fence was a mere 280 feet from home plate, at least 50 feet closer than the standard ballpark.

    Montreal used to have a Major League Baseball team, the Expos, who bolted for Washington, D.C., in 2004 — after the city refused to build a ballpark to replace Olympic Stadium, if that sounds familiar.

    Montreal has “already demonstrated their support of a professional team,” Reid said.

    A’s spokesman Ken Pries said he couldn’t confirm or deny whether the team was working up a Tex-Mex appetite or hankering for a home north of the border. He said the team was simply “sitting back and waiting to see what happens (with the Coliseum lease) and hoping for the best.’’

    Reid was one of two city representatives on the Coliseum Authority who ignored a council directive last week and voted to approve the lease extension without further modification. Despite the authority’s 6-2 vote, the deal must still be ratified by both the City Council and Alameda County Board of Supervisors.

    The supervisors appear ready to back the deal, but the City Council was still huddled behind closed doors late Monday trying to figure out its next move.

    Council members have been at odds over whether to approve the latest agreement or push for tougher financial terms, including a share of advertising proceeds from the new, $10 million scoreboard the A’s agreed to install. They also are demanding the A’s stay at least 4 1/2 years before they can terminate their lease, and they want to make it easier to cancel the team’s lease should the Oakland Raiders commit to building a new football stadium at the Coliseum site.

    The city’s muscle flexing last week prompted Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to jump into the fray, authorizing the A’s to seek a new home outside Oakland immediately if the current terms of the agreement aren’t approved.

    When asked if he thought the threat was real, county Board of Supervisors President Nate Miley said, “I’d put money on it.’’

    The question is whether the Oakland City Council believes that.
    Anybody from the Bay area have an opinion on all this?
    Member of the Official OS Bills Backers Club

    "Baseball is the most important thing that doesn't matter at all" - Robert B. Parker
  • BigBoi23
    MVP
    • Mar 2008
    • 1096

    #2
    Re: A's lease negotiations getting interesting...

    Wow, certainly sucks to have to worry about that with the way the club is playing.

    Comment

    • ShowTyme15
      LADetermined
      • Jan 2004
      • 11853

      #3
      Re: A's lease negotiations getting interesting...

      Personally I think they should leave. They have no fan support unless they are winning. O.Co is a DUMP(that's putting it nicely) and Oakland isn't exactly the greatest place on Earth either. (Anybody who has been to or lives in Oakland will know what i am talking about.)

      MLB needs to step up and let them move to San Jose otherwise they should relocate to a place like San Antonio or Portland. Hell move to Houston and save the Astrodome. (renovate it)

      Montreal would not be a good fit as Montreal presents a crumbling stadium and market which were utterly neglected by Major League Baseball for years. Which is exactly what they have in Oakland right now.
      Last edited by ShowTyme15; 07-08-2014, 02:50 PM.

      Comment

      • SPTO
        binging
        • Feb 2003
        • 68046

        #4
        Re: A's lease negotiations getting interesting...

        Originally posted by ShowTyme15

        Montreal would not be a good fit as Montreal presents a crumbling stadium and market which were utterly neglected by Major League Baseball for years. Which is exactly what they have in Oakland right now.
        Actually the Montreal situation is a lot better than it used to be and the way things went to crap there had far more to do with ownership than fans just staying away.

        scroll down to the feasibility study done by Warren Cromartie here
        Member of the Official OS Bills Backers Club

        "Baseball is the most important thing that doesn't matter at all" - Robert B. Parker

        Comment

        • Mabster
          Crunchy
          • Mar 2009
          • 7659

          #5
          Re: A's lease negotiations getting interesting...

          There's so much to this saga I wouldn't even know where to begin. Here's some more fuel for the fire though.

          Last edited by Mabster; 07-09-2014, 08:52 PM.
          Oakland Athletics San Jose Sharks

          Comment

          • Bamafan3723
            THE Standard in CFB
            • Jul 2003
            • 7287

            #6
            Re: A's lease negotiations getting interesting...

            Originally posted by Mabster
            There's so much to this saga I wouldn't even know where to begin. Here's some more fuel for the fire though.

            http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/m...te-5607825.php
            Says you have to be a digital subscriber to read. Cliff notes?
            "The best thing about being a football player at Alabama...winning...winning." -Mark Barron

            Comment

            • Mabster
              Crunchy
              • Mar 2009
              • 7659

              #7
              Re: A's lease negotiations getting interesting...

              Originally posted by Bamafan3723
              Says you have to be a digital subscriber to read. Cliff notes?
              Strange. It was free this morning. Basically Raiders are in talks with the coliseum authority to tear down O.co next year so they can build a new football only stadium.

              Edit: Fixed the link too.
              Last edited by Mabster; 07-09-2014, 08:54 PM.
              Oakland Athletics San Jose Sharks

              Comment

              • TripleCrown9
                Keep the Faith
                • May 2010
                • 23696

                #8
                Re: A's lease negotiations getting interesting...

                I just hope that if they relocate, they keep the name and colors.
                Boston Red Sox
                1903 1912 1915 1916 1918 2004 2007 2013 2018
                9 4 1 8 27 6 14 45 26 34

                Comment

                • SPTO
                  binging
                  • Feb 2003
                  • 68046

                  #9
                  Re: A's lease negotiations getting interesting...

                  Originally posted by TripleCrown9
                  I just hope that if they relocate, they keep the name and colors.
                  I don't see why not, they've kept the name in every place they've played.(Philly, KC) The only way I see a name change IF they move is if they end up in Montreal as i'm pretty sure the people behind that effort will do everything in their power to get the Expos name back.
                  Member of the Official OS Bills Backers Club

                  "Baseball is the most important thing that doesn't matter at all" - Robert B. Parker

                  Comment

                  • ShowTyme15
                    LADetermined
                    • Jan 2004
                    • 11853

                    #10
                    Re: A's lease negotiations getting interesting...

                    Originally posted by SPTO
                    I don't see why not, they've kept the name in every place they've played.(Philly, KC) The only way I see a name change IF they move is if they end up in Montreal as i'm pretty sure the people behind that effort will do everything in their power to get the Expos name back.
                    That is possible. I can also see a name change if they make an agreement with the city of Oakland.............kind of like how OKC Thunder did when they left Seattle.

                    Comment

                    • kehlis
                      Moderator
                      • Jul 2008
                      • 27738

                      #11
                      Re: A's lease negotiations getting interesting...

                      Originally posted by ShowTyme15
                      That is possible. I can also see a name change if they make an agreement with the city of Oakland.............kind of like how OKC Thunder did when they left Seattle.

                      This scenario is nothing like the Sonics breaking their lease to leave Seattle. The city has no standing ground to make the A's change their name.

                      Comment

                      • ShowTyme15
                        LADetermined
                        • Jan 2004
                        • 11853

                        #12
                        Re: A's lease negotiations getting interesting...

                        While the situation may not be the same as OKC/Seattle there could be an agreement like that. I'm not saying that's what's going to happen I'm just saying it's possible cause anything and everything is possible in this day and age.

                        Comment

                        • k_mac
                          MVP
                          • Mar 2011
                          • 2059

                          #13
                          Re: A's lease negotiations getting interesting...

                          Originally posted by SPTO
                          I don't see why not, they've kept the name in every place they've played.(Philly, KC) The only way I see a name change IF they move is if they end up in Montreal as i'm pretty sure the people behind that effort will do everything in their power to get the Expos name back.
                          This is the only acceptable name change. I'd hate to see the A's go, but the only way I'd be okay with it is if we get to see these beauties again

                          Comment

                          Working...