"Choose or Lose" is having an organizing meeting Wednesday at 5:30. It will be held at the Uptown Bar & Nightclub in Oakland. The purpose is to nail down the date for the group's first tailgate rally and other upcoming events. Unfortunately, I won't be there because...
... I'll be attending San Jose's Ballpark Economic Study, which runs from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday night. The session will be held at SJ City Hall, Council Wing, Room 120. Will it be truly academic or will it be an eye-rolling extravaganza? I'll report on it tomorrow.
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10 comments:
Marinelayer,
I thought the San Jose issue was DEAD!! Especially now with Fremont taking center stage and people in San Jose not wanting Major League Baseball (not to mention that San Jose is banned from having a Major League team).
The problem that is shared by both Oakland and San Jose, as I see it, is that Wolff probably isn't going to want to spin his wheels unless either city can come to him with a workable plan that won't take more than five years or so to develop.
If Oakland comes up with a site, is it something that will require emminant domain prosecution or a vote? I think either of these two things could render the offering dead in the water.
And San Jose has the added burden of removing the prohibition that MLB has placed on the A's moving to San Jose, and for what? Even if it came up with a location, are there significant benefits to be gained by going into Santa Clara County above what Fremont would offer? That's not likely, in my view, becase Fremont is already so close to San Jose. And, the A's moving out of Alameda County might very well cause them to lose fan base just by crossing that imaginary line.
Personally, I think Fremont is exactly where Wolff wants to be!
San Jose Athletics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
San Jose A's never, San Francisco Bay A's I can see happening.
Where's Marinelayer?
Frankly, I expect to see them remain the "Oakland" A's, at least for awhile. That will be the best way to retain as many East Bay fans as possible while giving an "olive branch" to the City of Oakland, whose cooperation will still be needed for a Fremont stadium.
The question is will a Warm Springs stadium be enough to attract South Bay fans and corporate support even with an "Oakland" name . If not, expect to see them renamed "Silicon Valley", "Golden State" ,"San Jose-Oakland"(can you see an "SJO" logo?), or just "San Jose"
As for an "Athletics of Fremont" permutation, that'll only happen if the city of Fremont insists. "Angels of Anaheim" happened only because "Anaheim" legally had to be part of the name. I wonder how long THAT will last?
I can't envision a senerio where Fremont is in the team name. In the stadium name, yes. But to put it in the team name would be overreaching and, frankly, silly.
And I think solving the transit issue will do more for keeping the current fan base than the "city" name.
Lew Wolf has already stated that he doesn't want to have the stadium named after a corporation whether it was in Oakland or else where. I am still almost convinced that if the A's move the team to Fremont that they will neither retain the Oakland A's name or the San Jose A's but will try to encompass the entire region with something along the lines of the San Francisco Bay A's.
jrbh - the stadium could be named something like Cisco Field of Fremont. I think it's a bit premature to say the transit issue is unsolvable. It's a tough one, but let's give them a try before discounting it out of hand.
anon - he has hinted at using a more regional name, so I wouldn't be surprised. I haven't heard that he doesn't want a corporate name on the stadium. Seems odd since that could go a long way toward covering his expenses.
Wolff will have a considerable period of time between inking a stadium deal and the first game played there. During that time, the A's will be trying to attract corporate support for everything from luxury suites to advertising.
It is during this period that he'll find out what's more important, having a stadium near the South Bay, or what the team is called. And if the name "Oakland" proves indeed to be an obstacle to corporate support, he'll make a change sooner rather than later.
Otherwise, I say he stays with the name "Oakland A's" for at least the first few seasons in Fremont. If the new fan base proves to be predominantly South Bay, he could call them "Silicon Valley"(or even "San Jose" if the majority comes from Santa Clara County)
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