Guy Saperstein's letter to Barbara Boxer mentioned a feasibility study at the Coliseum, which I had not heard of until that point. The cost of the study was around $500k, which the A's wanted to split with the Coliseum Authority. The JPA claimed they didn't have the budget to take care of their half, and the idea died right there.
But what was the feasibility study for?
It turns out that Wolff was interested in the Coliseum South site, which I had discussed here several years ago. The site includes the "Malibu" gravel parking lot and the now demolished HomeBase site. Lew mentioned that Schott didn't initially want to pay the $250k for the study but was convinced it was necessary.
Lew showed me something similar to the above picture, only it had the Coliseum superimposed and no ancillary buildings. The proposal was that the JPA would acquire the additional land (HomeBase), and the A's would contribute 50% towards the cost of the land. The Coliseum South concept was the proverbial A's hitter looking at a called third strike.
There's plenty more that we discussed during our nearly 90 minutes. We talked about on field stuff, the Quakes (it looks like you're getting a roof), and of course, the process of building anything in California. I thanked him for getting the CSNCA deal done and mentioned how I've gone to fewer games because of expanded HD (he replied "you're not alone"). On a side note, I was recently laid off, so I have to be more budget conscious. I gave Lew a good line he'll use in his discussions going forward, and I found out how much the A's received in revenue sharing recently: $32 million.
One more thing: Lew addressed the whole "firing the managing partner" rumor by saying, "I have my annual review due tomorrow. I'm writing it myself."
