Taken from the Chamber Advocate Newsletter, August 2006With less than two months to go in the season, this is about the right time for the machine to get going again. It was roughly one year ago that the Coliseum North presentation was made, and Wolff has publicly stated that he wants to have everything wrapped up by the end of the season.
The Oakland A's owner, Lew Wolff, will be the guest speaker at the San Jose Chamber's, Silicon Valley Buzz, on Wednesday August 30th.
He will discuss hot topics, including the future of baseball in San Jose and the possibility of securing a professional soccer team for Silicon Valley, etc, etc.
The Silicon Valley Morning Buzz will be held at Adobe in the Gallery Room, 345 Park Ave, San Jose from 8am-9:30am. The event is free for Chamber members and $15 for prospecitve members. For more information and registration, call (408) 291-5286.
What will Lew say to all those people who are by-in-large quite familiar and friendly with him? Will he drive a stake in the heart of San Jose's downtown ballpark dreams? Will he publicly say that the team's name will be changed to the San Jose A's? Will he completely confirm the Fremont project? In a summer that has generally lacked action on the ballpark front, the potential for news is huge. Then again, the man knows how to play the media game, so don't get your hopes up.
There was also an article on Wolff and his "remote" ownership of the A's from the LA Times.
23 comments:
It doesn't seem as though much of anything is going on regarding the site in Fremont. We have not heard recently of any progress (or lack thereof) in the negotiations with Cisco - I'm not sure why this would be so prolonged and hush-hush - it seems to me no news is not good news at this point. Not sure what positive news that Wolff could convey to SJ folks at this point in time. Last time I checked SF has rights to south bay and the commish has checked in many times in support of maintaining these rights. So there's now way Wolff can say anything positive or convey his intent for SJ at this time - so it might indeed to put the lid on SJ once and for all. My concern regarding lack of progress in Fremont is if/when talks fail, where does that leave the A's? My bet is out of the area.
I wondered what Lou was up to. Last time I saw him he was in that Geico commercial with Charo ... coochie coochie
I like your anti-Angels ideas. The A's? Personality? nooo...That's the real loss in my opinion of giambi and tejada. The A's are largely boring and that plays a big part in fan relations.
The coliseum won't be getting renovated but a new park should be built at the location if financially possible. The Raiders cannot be allowed to stop that.
You make a lot of ill-informed assumptions here, jrbh.
First of all, you present the Fremont rezone and a possible Oakland rezone as similar. Nothing could be further from the truth. Any Oakland site will require either the displacement of current tenants or large amounts of site remediation. That's not the case in Fremont. Plus, much of Oakland that is supposedly available is already spoken for in terms of other projects. Again, here's the challenge: Where is the Oakland site and how does it get funded? I've gone into significant detail on this and I can't make it add up, at least not to the tune of the $200 million or so in proceeds that would be necessary to make it happen.
Fremont has explicitly said it's not willing to go deep into the hole to fund any part of the stadium project. Some tax levy would be required to fund additional police and city services, but that's a matter of maintenance, not additional initial infrastructure. New property taxes from new mixed development - including the A's - should cover much of that.
Wolff's desire not to go the eminent domain route is rather refreshing. It shows his experience as a developer and his lack of willingness to get into a big political battle to get it done. He wants the path of least resistance and doesn't want to piss off community groups that he may rely upon in the future to get things done. Besides, what makes anyone think a stadium-based eminent domain project could work anywhere in the Bay Area?
Fremont vs. Oakland is not similar. Fremont is not under any pressure to rezone the land into housing. There's no directive or plan by the mayor to develop that land. Cisco/ProLogis have no way to push the process, therefore Fremont holds the cards.
On the other hand, Oakland has large swaths of land that have reuse potential, but are complicated by existing arrangements or market realities. Downtown/Uptown are spoken for. So is West Oakland. Same with the Estuary. If land that is already occupied is considered, developers will have to pay market rates. Wolff revised "offer" to pay a reduced rate for land showed how willing he was to make that kind of investment.
The $200 million is really simple. If it costs $300 million to build the stadium (low estimate) and Wolff/Fisher are willing to invest $100 million (they've been consistent on this) then the delta is $200 million. It will probably be more based on escalating costs. I'm guessing the $100 million will come from naming rights, upfront sponsorships, and some cash.
There is a simple perspective that many people don't get about this. Forget site location for a moment. How is the stadium going to be funded? I see numerous accusations about the condo development being little more than a scam to line ownership's pockets, but has anyone thought to work the numbers on that? Sure, investors will make some money on it but it's not going to come immediately and it's not going to rain cash either. Much of proceeds from the sale of dev rights will be poured into stadium development. As a result profit that would come from the housing sales will be reduced. And since the housing units can only be sold for what the market can bear, profit projections will be governed by property values, possible market stagnation, interest rates - plenty of things that have little to do with actually building a stadium. If we hit a recession that actually sinks property values, the condo-financing plan could be DOA. In Fremont, the nice thing about the land deal is that it's not terribly complicated. It's one owner, a city approval, and no vote required per city charter.
If anyone out there is expecting the stadium to be funded PacBell-style, forget it. It's not happening. That would make the Bay Area the most financially risky market in MLB. Selig and the owners will not approve such a deal.
Now I agree that Wolff's timing has always been suspect. I've said this here and on OAFC in the past. But the fact is that it's only part of the truth. You can choose to only look at it from a "screw Oakland" view but you're putting blinders on. There are too many moving parts to focus on a single motivation.
I can agree with the "huge" tax bill if you can cite an estimate of such a cost, and tell me how it wouldn't be at least partly offset by the creation of new tax revenues in the area (over the existing land use).
I often wonder what breeds this "anti Oakland" inferiority complex. If it were possible to build in Oakland, it would seem to me that it would be the owners first priority. Why mess with a proven moneymaker? Oakland supporters are fond of shouting out that the A's make money in Oakland. If that's true, why would any owner challenge the status quo? I also cannot understand the reasoning of folks who can't see what is plainly in front of their face each and every time they attend a game. The Coli is a DUMP in a crappy area. I am not trying to antagonize anyone with these statements, I am merely pointing out what should be obvious. In their current environs, it is absolutely impossible for the A's to go head to head with their closest competitor....the Giants. OAKLAND HAS NO ANCESTRAL RIGHT TO THE A's. If they want the team, then they need to step up with realistic proposals. I am convinced that Wolfe has dealt with them in a realistic and honest fashion. Show the site and how it would be funded, with the understanding that it must be in an asthetically pleasing environment that will allow the A's to compete with ATT park. This is not to much to ask of someone who has shelled out hundres of millions of dollars and is willing to shell out hundreds of millions more. Wolf is walking the walk and talking the talk....with cash money. I will accept his credibility a lot sooner than I will some idiotic politician decrying the actions of "the man".
And exactly how is Oakland not "stepping up". Do you not remember when Oakland did get serious about getting a new park?, and they even created a ballpark task force? And what did Mr. Wollf do? He said, thanks, but no thanks! We will do this on our own! And by doing it on his own, he must've meant playing the victim in this and cry that Oakland has done nothing to help him, and eventually, all the pain and suffering he went through dealing with Oakland has forced him out of the city!. It's all one very unclever game. Sure, Oakland's mayor is not at all into sports. But there are serious city councilmembers who are serious about keeping the A's in Oakland.
Dont get me wrong, Lew Wolff seems to be a fantastic businessman with a great business sense, but that does not mean he's handling this situation the best. Sure, Oakland technically has no ancestral rights to the A's, but guess what, NEITHER DOES FREMONT, SAN JOSE, OR ANY OTHER FAME HUNGRY CITY TRYING TO GET A MAJOR LEAGUE TEAM!
BINGO....that is exactly what I'm talking about. If Oakland wants the team, then they need to step up and make a better offer. A CLEARLY better offer. I have yet to see a solid plan presented with the financial details in place. All I hear is, "Build it here....or over here". But they are strangely silent when it comes to money. And after everything is said and done....that's what it comes down to. There is no free ride. If Oakland wants the team, then they are going to pay for it....and thats the part that seems to be causing all the confusion. Rage about the reality of the situation all you want, but if Oakland is unwilling to pay, then someone else surely will. That's the price tag for being a "big league city".
All the more reason to make sure that the financing scheme works for all involved: team, outside investors, city. There's a decent chance that even if Fremont "wins" the A's that if costs skyrocket, the ballpark will never get built. At least at Fremont the acquisition is fairly simple and they can get locked into a good land price - something that can't be duplicated anywhere else in the Bay Area.
As for the freeway, check back in two years. 880 will be completely transformed (you have been following my posts on this, right?). Even though I've been away for much of the last three months, every time I come back there's a major change in that area.
Regarding the costs - it's amazing how much costs can be reasonably reined in when a project is privately funded. The new Yankee Stadium is being funded by bonds guaranteed by the State of New York. Wolff has effectively ruled out the pork barrel route.
jrbh, you're still avoiding my challenge. Where is the site, and how much will it cost?
Jrbh...
Dont understand your comment about the stadium in Anaheim
"some ridiculous place without the infrastructure to actually support a team, like Arlington, Anaheim, or, say, Fremont."
Have you been there lately??? I was there last week, and to say that Anaheim, and orange county in general doesnt have the infrastructure necessary to support that team is ludicrous (cant speak for arlington, havent been there).
I believe that one has to take a look at what Fremont will be in five, ten, twenty years. Again, Lew Wolf is a smart businessman, he's not going to stick the team where it's gonna flounder.
A's from Oakland to Fremont, within the same region (bay area, 30 or so miles away) does NOT equal
Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles (across the country 3,000 or so miles away).
Sacrilege Anon 8:47! The OAFCers will have you smoking a turd in hell for that blaspheme! Fremont, San Jose, San Leandro -- moving to these is no different than moving to the east coast. Or East Timor, for that matter. How can you expect these people to actually leave Oakland city limits (apparently for the first time in their lives)?
Just wondering, why are Fremont or San Jose fans better than Oakland fans? I want to know if Fremont or San Jose has more passion, more sports knowledge than Oakland? Also, do Fremont or San Jose fans show up in greater numbers. I always here how they will sellout. This is just pure conjecture. There is no proof to this for Fremont at least. At least for San Jose, the class A team is some proof, but I don't hear how San Jose supports them well. You can go to the costco right by San Jose Municipal and get free tickets. Also, it looks like San Jose is unwilling to build a new stadium for the Class A team.
Larry Reid, last August about Wolff's Coliseum North proposal:
"(I'm) willing to put my political career on the line to make this stadium a reality."
Does that sound like political will? Whatever it is, nothing has materialized as of yet. It's easy to trivialize something as hard to quantify as political will. There's a lot of capital required that frankly, no Oakland pol has been willing risk. See Reid's statement above. Or IDLF's belated site idea and empty threats. Or Nadel's saying that the issue isn't a winner.
Then there's the fact that it's taken several years to get Uptown started, just as it's taken several years to get the Army Base cleaned up and ready, just as it's taken O29 several years to get through the approval process. Easy? Maybe if we're talking about a single office tower, but not a large-scale development like a stadium.
It takes two to tango when it comes to Oakland, and what we have there are two wallflowers - the A's and the City.
I think this thread clearly illustrates what I've harped on before: Moving the A's out of Oakland will greatly impact the current fanbase.
Wolff may be a solid, proven businessman (Real Estate Developer) but he's not a proven, successful owner of a community-supported entertainment franchise. The business of marketing does not appear to be his expertise and he has made very poor decisions thus far if he genuinely intends to service the current fanbase for more than the immediate-term future. This is apparent and it's riled the City of Oakland as well as the fans in Oakland and the rest of the northern East Bay.
To successfully compete with the Giants is not impossible. The way to do this is to go after them in the same way that the Giants went after the A's after the McGowan group acquired the team. As you may recall it was a very friendly cohabitation before that change. The Giants owners are justified in their business decision because they have a large lease payment on a nice shiny ballpark riding on it. That park is of course worth a lot of money and the appreciation has probably eliminated the bulk of their intial risk. Having Bonds and his money/drama off the team next year will allow the team to re-focus its marketing and deliver a better on the field product. They are silent in this A's stuff because they don't really have much to lose. San Jose is rightfully their territory, MLB has backed that up and the A's have been trying to infringe upon that territory ever since Schott/Hoffman bought the team and picked up a San Jose tv network as their flagship.
The A's need to move CLOSER to San Francisco and create a greater perception of their team as a team representing the bay area. This needs to tie-in closely with Oakland's own efforts to remarket its city as such.
The A's have a strong partner in Oakland if they want to pursue the attention of the 6 million plus Bay Area. Ron Dellums was elected to do this for the city and the A's can be a major catalyst for this. If Wolff wanted to work with the city from this angle he would find that public support is not impossible it is merely a two-way street. Remember that Oakland has in the past ten years made efforts for the Raiders AND the Warriors and has not been repaid kindly.
Wolff can work with Oakland to present an A's ballpark that is a boon to the city rather than simply a boon to his wallet.
I suspect the tune would change if he made even the slightest real-world movements in that direction. He is a master of the vague.
I suspect he will ultimately move the team out of the area when the opportunity presents itself.
Any rebuttals to JRBH's rantings can be narrowed down to four words:
You're full of s____ !
I don't know if you can really draw a comparison between Anaheim and any other location. Disneyland would seem to skew any arguments. Traffic in Orange County is perpetually snarled. I don't think a ballpark really affects it one way or another. By the way, I appreciate your honesty when responding to ML's challenge. I don't think you are correct, but I also understand why someone would be loathe to see their hometown team leave their city. I really believe that a park in Oakland that will compete with the Giants is just not possible. And everyone involved with logistics is aware of that fact. That to me is the real reason that there is so much apathy on the part of Wolfe and the city leaders.
Peter Magowan embraced San Francisco when his ownership bought the team. He said that they would work to secure a new ballpark in SF. He didn't say Candlestick was a crappy park and denegrate it like Schott and Wolff. He worked to make Candlestick more fan friendly by improving the ballpark food and building better LF bleachers.
If Wolff made this approach to Oakland, I could see something working out, but Wolff is an out of town owner who probably doesn't really know Oakland like Haas did. It's just sad that Wolff never gave Oakland a chance!!!!!
You know what Kevin, I guess SF showed a lot of love when they enclosed Candlestick after it was initially designed as a Baseball only stadium. By the way, the Coliseum was always intended to be a multi-purpose stadium.
Lew to speak at SJ Chamber. This is a man who a few months ago said that SJ "getting the A's" would help with the resurgence of Downtown San Jose. Combine this with the fact that San Jose's most powerful family, The DiNapoli's, are part owner's of the A's and real-owner John Fisher has money to burn...I don't think any stakes will be driven in SJ's heart next Wednesday, nor will any "lids" be covered once and for all. What will Mr. Wolff say to his close friends and long-time business associates? Looking forward to next weeks coverage!
Marinelayer,
I'm sure you read the Mercury's Business section on a daily basis. There was a huge announcement in today's Biz regarding Lew Wolff's speach at the SJ Chamber. Why did you choose to credit some SORRY soccer forum for the 411 on the speech?
The soccer forum poster got the scoop. If the Merc only mentioned it in the last 48 hours, they're late. Oh well.
No one here has answered why San Jose or Fremont has the better fan support? Also, can anyone speak about the San Jose Giants and how well they do? Oakland, when given a great owner like Walter Haas can succeed. Afterall, the A's set the Bay Area attendance record before the PacBell Park in 1990 with 2.9 million fans. Also, Oakland has a rich baseball tradition back to the PCL days of the Oakland Oaks. Oakland also has produced some fine baseball players like Rickey Henderson, Dave Stewart, Frank Robinson, and Willie Stargell. Sometimes people like to give the negatives about Oakland, but it also has its positives. It is apparent that Wolff is not down with the Town.
"No one here has answered why San Jose or Fremont has the better fan support? Also, can anyone speak about the San Jose Giants and how well they do?"
The latter first: The SJ Giants are a single A team. They play in a decent stadium and have good (not great) marketing. They offer a decent product at a very affordable price (often free, because they know attending fans will buy the great food and cheap beer.) It is a good family venue. But after all that, it is still a single A club, which is not much to get exited about for a community that has big-league everything close by. Comparing SJ Giants support to Oakland A's support is like comparing Casa De Fruta to Disneyland. Totally different products.
On the former: I don't think anyone has ever said that the South Bay has better fan support than Oakland. In fact, most observant fans would acknowledge that there is an ample fan base that would attend games in any location in the Bay Area. What LW and the A's are trying to accomplish is to maximize public (and corporate) interest in the product they offer by providing that product in a new stadium that caters strictly to the baseball fan and delivers the best, ie most marketable, experience to the casual fan, the prospective STH, and the Company Suite purchasers. Wherever that combination of product and venue can most realistically be built, with the greatest opportunity for additional return on investment through additional development opportunities, is where the new stadium will land. If renovating their current location were'nt hindered by the City's agreement with the Raiders, or a new location within Oakland held promise and feasibility, we should have no doubt that they would stay in Oaktown. That just doesn't seem to be the case.
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