A group of San Jose City Council members wants to get moving on talks with the A's by proposing the A's be an agenda item for the March 24 session. Among the tasks associated with the item: commissioning a poll to gauge public support for an A's move, and a request to set rules for any formal business discussions with the A's.
What's interesting about this is that the three members involved - Nora Campos, Nancy Pyle, and Rose Herrera - aren't really considered part of the "gung ho" pro-A's faction within City Hall. That group, led by Mayor Chuck Reed and Council members Sam Liccardo, Pete Constant, and Pierluigi Oliverio, have apparently been talking informally with the A's and among themselves on how to tackle the situation.
The ever reliable SJ cheerleader, Mark Purdy, fired up the bandwagon as soon as he could. He even added a twist to his plea to MLB, requesting an economic study to determine what measurable adverse effects for the Giants would come out of an A's move to San Jose. A fair request, IMHO. And speaking of polls, a very unscientific Merc web poll shows that 72% of the over 1,000 respondents approved of the A's pursuit of San Jose. Another 9% conditionally approved the move based on the resolution of territorial rights.
Silly me, thinking we were entering another quiet period. Well, it'll be quiet for a couple of weeks at least.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
27 comments:
May be optimistic saying it's going to be a quite couple of weeks. Seems like San Jose was at the line with the engine running and they've now just stepped on the gas and gone to high gear. They want the team bad.
Too bad SJ will be spurned once again by territorial rights!
Wonder what Carney Landsfor thinks of all this?
Read comments on "yet another San Francisco Giants Blog". I bet most of my long time freinds in the SB feel the same way.
Carney Lansford has always been a Giants fan.
T-Rights are only an issue for the media. MLB/Selig has already put this non-sense to bed. There is a deal on the table - All Lew has to do is ask for it to be implemented. Sorry Giants fans - and sorry San Jose (soon to be Salinas) Giants.
This doesn't have to have a public vote, either in SJ or Santa Clara County. Lew doesn't want a public vote. He wants public support, but he doesn't have to use public money.
The only real issue is who will be the jurisdiction to champion the A's? San Jose or Santa Clara County. Santa Clara County Supervisors only need 3 votes, and they already have them. Cortese, Yeager, and Shirakawa are all San Jose guys - and all love the A's.
No referendum would be necessary, No NIMBYS county-wide.
A land swap between the City and County, quid-pro-quo, and viola, Diridon is owned and controlled by the County. In come the A's. Alternatively, it appears that at least 8 city councilmembers plus the Mayor are already on board.
$500 million shovel ready project, with the potential of Federal Transport funds due to proximity to HSR, CalTrain, and BART. All City Councilmembers will be on board within days - if not already.
what did carney have to say?
I thought he was a big supporter of Baseball San Jose a few years back. Now he's the Giants hitting instructor.
FYI,
Carney Lansford, former Oakland Athletic, was an original member of Baseball San Jose.
anon 9:26,
I won't go over to some Giants blog, but I can guess (based on your post) what is says: "All South Bay baseball fans our Giants fans, so the A's shouldn't move here, blah blah blah."
Tell me something: if you're a hard-core Giants fan living in the South Bay, tell me how the A's possibly moving to SJ will negatively affect your life. You know what, IT WON'T! You'll still be free to hoof it 50 miles north to see your beloved G's, they'll still be on TV, you can still sport your black and orange "SF" hat, etc.
For the record, I know a lot of hard-core Giants fans who are excited about San Jose possibly getting MLB downtown. I guess everyone's entitled to their own opinion (Love this country!).
anon 8:26,
You must have been under a rock for the past 3 months.
Anon 10:31---interesting post---on the surface it seems as if the land swap with the SJ and the county would be unnecessary as it looks like the entire SJ City Council is on board. Where it could come into play is to avoid the referendum requirement in SJ---but more importantly, a land swap with the fairgrounds may provide Lew with the development rights that he needs to support his private financing. Couple this with the possibility of the fairgrounds being a back up site for the '49ers if Santa Clara falls apart (although the SC site is better because of transportation) and you have some interesting puzzle peices falling into place-
Hopefully the stars will continue to align--and within a year we have official groundbreaking on Cisco Field in downtown SJ--
tony d. you are the laughingstock of the blogosphere.
anon 8:26
Quick comment on Tony D's post- being a Giant fan living in the South Bay I am a HUGE supporter of bringing the A's to San Jose---It won't change my allegiance and they won't be my first team of choice but my family will now have access to MLB games without having to drive 60 minutes one way or the other to get to a game--bottom line is we will see alot more baseball games than we do today--
Bottom line---GO GIANTS ....and GO SAN JOSE A's
tony- Actually the giants blog says "Give the A's the rights"
I love anonymous posters calling other people laughing stocks... good stuff.
Thanks Jeffery. I was just reading any news on the territorial rights, and ahppened to end up on the Giants Blog. As a matter of fact I'm an A's fan, grew up in San Jose, and HATE the Giants. This does not mean I hate my friends who are Giants fans, It actually adds to my love of the A's. I've grown up watching games with both sides. I don't remeber wanting to block the Giants from coming here, when they were about to move to Tampa Bay. My friends and most Giants fans are our NORCAL brothers. I find it hard to believe they are so GREEDY to want to shut the A's out completely(the blog comfirms that). Hell A's Fans have even better reasons to hate the Dodgers. The Giants fans arent going anywhre. Nor will they skip games at ATT in favor of A's games. More of the casual "walk up" fans probably already go to the Coliseum because of price and availability.
The Blog say essentially how I feel as a South Bay A's Fan. The Territorial Rights were a Goodwill Gift from Walter Haas, and as such should not be used in reversed to bend over the A's. The Giants will probably get Compensation in return. The A's gave them up for nothing. Maybe they knew having 2 teams in the Bay area was a good thing. Instead of the Tampa Bay Area. Carney was and probably is still a supporter of SB baseball, I just don't think he'd comment know that he's paid by the Giants. He should probably be one of the first numbers retired in the knew stadium.
Yes, San Jose has a good shot had landing the A's. The Major SJ Budget concerns worry me, Especially since the results from the last San Jose ball park election. The 49ers have landed the best site in The City of Santa Clara at Great America. Your NEW A'S BALLPARK site is the best and fair! Not like the homers at The Mercury News.
Larry
It's funny to watch so-called A's fans gleefully cheer-on the ridiculous territorial rights, which are a wholly unfair and unprecedented burden placed on the shoulders of the team they supposedly support. They obviously don't care about the team. They care about the perceived ego deflation they will suffer if the team's stadium happens to sit within a new administrative boundary. That is so pathetic.
blog has 1 owner and no posts ... very good sample size of south bay and giants fans, knuckle-heads.
The more SF Giants fans in the south bay say they welcome going to MLB games in SJ instead of or in addition to " hoofing it " 50 miles to AT&T Park to see their beloved Giants , the more Giants ownership will want to extract $$$ from the LW ownershio group !
anon 8:26-12:12,
Thanks!
anon 12:13,
Agree with your post 100%...you get it!
Jeffrey,
Oops, my bad! I'm a man who can confess I screwed up by assuming what was written at that blog. That's what 4+ years of getting pounded in the blogosphere will do to you.
anon 2:26,
It would be interesting to know the exact number of Giants season-ticket holders living south of, say, Palo Alto and residing in SJ proper. Seriously, if you "hoof it" 100 miles (round trip) 81 times per year to see the Giants, you will continue to do the same even if the A's are in town. My feeling is that there aren't that many season-ticket holders in Santa Clara County proper. And those that do hold them probably don't go to 81 games per year (probably sell most tickets online)...just to damn far, and Caltrain is currently to damn slow (baby bullets only operate during rush hour M-F).
When all is said and done, all party's will benefit from an A's possible move to SJ: Giants (from compensation), A's, MLB and City of SJ. Giants and A's fans rejoice!
What is pathetic is supporting a private enterprise's thirst for profits, at the expense of your local municipality (eg your money).
A pro sports franchise becomes part of the framework of a community. When your favorite deli moves out of town and re-opens 50 miles away you'll forget all about it...
As for San Jose I think the Diridon site is great, much better than Santa Clara. Transit WILL be the big issue for SJ. It is very hard to justify leaving the Coliseum site on transit grounds. BART to SJ is still fanciful and at least 10 years away (generous!). Diridon has the advantage of Caltrain and already being a bit of a transit hub plus it is well-located. Getting around the SJ area can be difficult with traffic.
maybe a bit too overzealous?
http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_11802474
you'll need a mercury account.
But the article basically says LW is concerned the wooing may be a little too much, too quick.
Here's the article btw - sorry for the length ML
"ReprintPrint E-mail Font Resize Yahoo! Buzz
A's owner to San Jose mayor: Hold off on lobbying baseball for team move
By Karen de Sá
Mercury News
Posted: 02/27/2009 04:09:15 PM PST
Fresh from announcing his departure from a long-planned baseball stadium venture in Fremont, A's owner Lew Wolff is feeling the love from San Jose city officials. But he now appears concerned the wooing may be a little too much, too quick.
In a dig-the-enthusiasm-but-don't-go-too-far e-mail to Mayor Chuck Reed, Wolff revealed: "Naturally my decision to cease our efforts in Fremont has generated a lot of calls, e-mails, etc. from your community and a number of others," Wolff wrote at about 8 p.m. Thursday. "I do not wish to seem disrespectful, and I always am delighted to take calls from elected officials and others, I would appreciate you letting those who wish to contact Major League Baseball officials that, as far as I am concerned, such contacts are not recommended."
As San Jose officials celebrate the possibility that a baseball stadium might be back on the radar after a failed attempt to woo the A's years ago, the decision now centers on whether league officials will address what has become the central obstacle to a local stadium: territorial rights. Santa Clara County has been granted to the San Francisco Giants, and it is baseball's discretion to amend those rights.
In his e-mail, Wolff added that he really is trying to focus on his "near-term" effort — spring training in Arizona and the World Baseball Classic. But he appears open to continued talks with the mayor, who has discussed the stadium issue with Wolff several times
Advertisement
Lifestyle aricles by: ARALifestyle.com
Invest in Your Home with a Kitchen Renovation
Sex Pheromones are Bending the Laws of Attraction
Credit Card Debt Help
ARALifestyle.com
over the last 10 days, and as recently as Friday morning.
"Lew has been pretty consistent that he's going to take a few weeks to decide what he does next," Reed said. "And right now there's nobody for us to negotiate with."
San Jose has a ballpark site all picked out and reviewed for environmental impacts, a 14-acre site near the downtown Diridon transit station.
The city's Rules and Open Government Committee will address next steps at a March 11 meeting, followed by a full council discussion on March 24. In the meantime, Reed said, the city will be building its fan base and pursuing corporate sponsors, looking at possible land acquisitions around the selected ballpark site and updating the environmental impact report.
"We have to start to prepare ourselves to be ready in the hopes that Major League Baseball will give us a look," Reed said. He added that while he's pleased council members are enthusiastic about the stadium prospect, at this point, the message is: Don't call baseball, they'll call us."
No one is asking you to support a private enterprise's thirst for profits at the expense of your local municipality. But thanks for mentioning it anyway. And if the A's mean no more to you than your local deli, you were never a fan and no one will miss you when you're gone.
daveinsm---overzealous in terms of business leaders and elected officials contacting MLB---but not in terms of getting polling numbers of residents support, property locked up etc.---SJ is in the position it is becasue it was "preparing for the future" rather than standing by waiting--they are in a good position--but they need to let Lew work the politics of MLB--which they have little influence over
Re: Anon 12:49 and Haas's grant of the T-rights back in '92, I think it was a little more business sense and less philanthropic than you make it sound. The A's would have loved to have the Giants in SJ rather than SF at the time. They would have received some of the corporate SF support that wouldn't travel 50 miles south, would have gotten much more of the North Bay market, and would have had more of a stranglehold on Contra Costa, northern Alameda County, and the Central Valley from Modesto north. Unfortunately, with the lack of corporate Oakland support and the hassle of traveling from points past Richmond and Concord to SF, the Giants have nothing to gain and everything to lose by the A's moving south.
Anon 4:54- not disputing your post but curious as to why the bay area is the only 2 team market that has specific territories defined for the teams---all other 2 team markets share the territory--why was the bay area different in 1992 and why should it be different going forward?
Post a Comment