tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.comments2023-10-16T03:27:54.609-07:00new A's ballparkMarine Layerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13515986023439927575noreply@blogger.comBlogger9992125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-23199533840678313962011-11-30T16:34:43.160-08:002011-11-30T16:34:43.160-08:00NorCal Davea second agoWhy is it the A's keep ...NorCal Davea second agoWhy is it the A's keep looking south when they could move to Sacramento. Raley Field stadium is really very nice and could easily be expanded to except MLB capacity in one offseason. No big dollars needed to build a new stadium, when you can expand an existing facility that is only 11 years old. <br />Currently it has a capacity just over 14k but by adding a double deck outfield seating horseshoe to close in the currently open outfield, you could add more than 20k seats easily. <br />This is a beautiful downtown ballpark with rapid transit in place and 2 or 3 major freeways intersecting nearby to offer access to all bayarea residents from the north, the south and the Oakland bay regions. <br />Yes this would displace the RiverCats but they could move up into the northbay, maybe Santa Rosa or Rohnert Park who have missed having a minor league presence with the loss of the Pioneers and the Crushers from the PCL ranks. <br />So come on A's move on over to Sac and let's ROCK the Capital A's style!!!<br />GO A's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!NorCalDavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-39969323326820812942010-10-22T22:22:26.155-07:002010-10-22T22:22:26.155-07:00A local Oakland business group has been spearheadi...A local Oakland business group has been spearheading a movement to keep Raiders, A's and Warriors in Oakland at existing Coliseum/Arena site. Designs include demolishing Coliseum to allow for both a Raider(and maybe 49er) stadium and a baseball focused park. Concept would include connecting with Coliseum BART and new Oakland Airport Connector(OAC).<br /><br />If anyone has an interest to help support or contribute time to this very tall effort, please let me know.Es Lubbisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-49199298812787416612009-11-26T22:17:05.555-08:002009-11-26T22:17:05.555-08:00In case anyone has missed it...but Lew Wolff and J...In case anyone has missed it...but Lew Wolff and John Fisher have NEVER lost any money since they've had ownership of the franchise. This is a known fact. This is why they have such a sweetheart of a deal with with the lease at the Coliseum, the MLB revenue sharing, parking, concessions (including raiders games I believe?) and soccer games.<br /><br />They're obviously just lining their pockets with more money rather than investing back into the team itself to put quality back out on the field. Doing so would attract more fans and so on and so on....<br /><br />This is why Lew Wolff has NO business what's up ever owning a baseball team. He's clueless on how to run it. On top of that he just looks like an evil man with his fraternity "lover" selig. Now is this the face of a man you think you can trust???<br /><br />http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/content/Image/08-20-2009/Lew-Wolff.jpgAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-82281488425418677902009-11-26T21:42:07.980-08:002009-11-26T21:42:07.980-08:00For the last time:
1. Wolff is from Los Angeles, ...For the last time:<br /><br />1. Wolff is from Los Angeles, not San Jose. He does business in San Jose because it's good for doing business. Go figure.<br /><br />2. He was using the peripheral developments to fund a Fremont ballpark, not vice versa. He currently has no plans for condos at Diridon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-80741804120507163032009-11-26T20:53:07.996-08:002009-11-26T20:53:07.996-08:00Guys,
The idea here is to have the team be lousy...Guys, <br /><br />The idea here is to have the team be lousy in Oakland as they rebuild for a ballpark in San Jose.<br /><br />They want the Oakland fans to pay to watch mediocrity so that the corporate types in Silicon Valley can have a winning team waiting for them. Think about how humiliating that is Oakland fans. Think about how much Lew Wolff and Billy Beane value you as fans. They're willing to use us while they tinker with the product for the benefit of the South Bay.Navigatornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-41339701521608077262009-11-26T20:39:03.997-08:002009-11-26T20:39:03.997-08:00FC,
This is what I would have done.
When I purch...FC,<br /><br />This is what I would have done.<br /><br />When I purchased the team, I would've come in with the understanding that I purchased the OAKLAND A's. I would have realized that if I wanted a ballpark for THE OAKLAND A's, that I would have to build that ballpark in Oakland. Period!<br /><br />Wolff bought the team with the idea that it could be relocated. He bought it as a commodity to be relocated at his whim. That's his first mistake. When you come in with that mentality, eventual failure in the market place is the only option.<br /><br />Also, I would have started by nurturing my existing season ticket holders. I would have promoted my team as a fixture in the community, reached out to corporations all over Oakland, the East Bay, and San Francisco. I would not have denigrated my venue or my home city. I would have worked with the City of Oakland on finding a site for my ballpark. I would have been excited to contribute to the economic growth of the city, realizing that it would benefit the Oakland A's in the long run. <br /><br />I would've gone to schools in Oakland and the East Bay and promoted the team to youngsters in the community. I would've also lowered ticket prices for kids and seniors and allowed them to sit in the third deck.<br /><br />Unfortunately, Wolff and Fisher think that baseball belongs to the wealthy and to the corporations. Baseball needs to come back to the people. Families, students and seniors need to be valued and cherished. People become fans as kids. Their first impressions at the ballpark is what will make them a fan for life.<br /><br />To be successful, you listen to your customers. You have to be loyal to your customers. The customers are telling this ownership that they want their team to remain in Oakland. So far, Lew Wolff thinks he's above the wishes of his customers. This is no way to run a business, or a baseball franchise.<br /><br />Lew Wolff's and John Fisher's biggest mistake was coming in with the idea that this was a commodity to be relocated. This is the essence of what has gotten us to this point. This is a mentality which has destroyed one of the better franchises in baseball. This negativity has to end.<br /><br />Happy Thanksgiving Oakland A's fans!Navigatornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-23490751968121207112009-11-26T20:26:12.884-08:002009-11-26T20:26:12.884-08:00FC, apparently you missed the memo on how the A...FC, apparently you missed the memo on how the A's can compete. In baseball jargon, it's called "Moneyball".<br /><br />FYI, the A's did compete from 2000-2006, and had solid players like Haren, Swisher, Blanton, Harden, Street, locked up in good contracts, and guys like Cahill, Doolittle, Desme, Weeks, Suzuki, Buck, Bailey, in the pipe (or soon to be drafted). Every one of them but Haren homegrown. You make it sound like the A's were in a state of disarray at the time Wolff began damaging attendance at the start of '06, and accelerating the pace each year since. Of course that's how Wolff and Beane have described it, but the truth is obviously that payroll had to be cut to fund the departure to Fremont.<br /><br />And now that the roster and attendance have been reduced to this point, and the team will focus on funding San Jose the next few years, don't expect to see anymore respectable teams for a while. I sure hope that one day, they will get out of this loop of sucking the life out of "baseball" operations in order to fund "real estate" operations, but I'm afraid Mr. Wolff will need to be out of the picture for that to ever happen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-71191393001556269362009-11-26T20:03:49.755-08:002009-11-26T20:03:49.755-08:00"You never know what your attendance will loo..."You never know what your attendance will look like on any given night because your walk up fans are unpredictable. "<br /><br />"Add to that, you have to deal with a farm system that because of poor drafting, has fallen on hard times. "<br /><br />FC - Do you even follow this team? <br /><br />a) walk up fans are unpredictable because most of them have no idea who is even playing on the team anymore. Casual fans are the first to check out during a rebuild.<br /><br />B) The only positive to trading away the few good players fans actually know, is that our farm system is now loaded. <br /><br />It's obvious the A's chose to rebuild during a time when the stadium issue hit the table, if this came up during a pennant run there would be zero discussion on SJ. Don't believe the hype because I think the A's are going to intentionally be mediocre for years to come or at least until the stadium issue is resolved...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-20724079457981570142009-11-26T19:22:44.164-08:002009-11-26T19:22:44.164-08:00"Alienating the fanbase with constant threats..."Alienating the fanbase with constant threats of relocating out of Oakland."<br /><br />You seem to think that the residents of Oakland make up the A's "fanbase".<br /><br />Bt that logic, the far more numerous residents of San Jose (about 2.5x as many as in Oaktown) would create a much larger fanbase for the A's.<br /><br />I'm not saying this is necessarily true, just pointing out the foolishness of your Oakland-city-limits provincialism.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-69286742246825069002009-11-26T19:10:06.437-08:002009-11-26T19:10:06.437-08:00Nav--do you seriously think that if Oakland had do...Nav--do you seriously think that if Oakland had done what SJ has done, find a great location for a ballpark, acquire the land, conduct an EIR and assemble community forums that MLB would have established a blue ribbon commission to look into the situation--who cares what Wolff says--had Oakland done this there would be no way in hell that Wolff or any other owner could even consider moving the team--to continue to blame Oakland's predicament on Wolff, Schott or anyone else is inane---Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-66400030103685767252009-11-26T18:45:55.610-08:002009-11-26T18:45:55.610-08:00I don't know if it's been posted yet, but ...I don't know if it's been posted yet, but here's a link to the entire SF Mag article:<br /><br />http://www.sanfranmag.com/story/now-pitching-for-san-jose<br /><br />Interesting read.Quannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-3760361892948683012009-11-26T14:04:21.534-08:002009-11-26T14:04:21.534-08:00Anon 10:40-
SJ pop density = 5758/sq mi.
OAK pop...Anon 10:40-<br /><br />SJ pop density = 5758/sq mi.<br /><br />OAK pop density = 7126/sq mi<br /><br />Much more densely built up? Debatable--both are built up at the city core. The easily developed SJ space is on the fringes--where no one is looking to build a ballpark.bbisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00883220143618857444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-53187636239400076822009-11-26T13:41:10.735-08:002009-11-26T13:41:10.735-08:00Anon 10:16
Okay, it's easy to criticize, let ...Anon 10:16<br /><br />Okay, it's easy to criticize, let hear what you would have done.<br /><br />You walk into a situation where you obviously need a new ballpark. You historically have some of the lowest attendance figures in MLB, yet your ticket prices are already on the low end of the scale. You never know what your attendance will look like on any given night because your walk up fans are unpredictable. As a result, you have to staff a section of the ballpark, hoping that you will breakeven on the cost.<br /><br />Add to that, you have to deal with a farm system that because of poor drafting, has fallen on hard times. You can't afford to go out and pay for high priced free agents, because you simply don't have the revenues to compete.<br /><br />Oh, and BTW, you are in a two team market, where the other team just built a gem of a ballpark, and they control something like 6 out of the 9 counties in your area.<br /><br />How are you going to boost your attendance and revenues in order to compete? How are you going to increase your corporate support? Where are you going to build your ballpark without alienating any part of your fan base? Are there any cities within your territory that have the political will to get a ballpark built in a location which will be successful?<br /><br />The floor is yours.FChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03537898254316163855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-63754572552976524552009-11-26T12:46:17.020-08:002009-11-26T12:46:17.020-08:00Oakland has had two owners from the South Bay who ...Oakland has had two owners from the South Bay who have publicly stated that they wanted nothing to do with Oakland. <br /><br />Schott told the Santa Clara City Council, "Our future is not in Oakland." Wolff, has told Oakland to get lost because we're too close to the Giants. <br /><br />You want Oakland to deal with an owner who isn't interested? Then you ask "What has Oakland been doing?" Oakland has been trying to no avail. The Oakland Fire Training Center, Howard Terminal, Oak to 9th, Coliseum South, all have been dismissed by Wolff. Oakland even paid 200,000 for the HOK study and architectural drawings. Again to no avail. <br /><br />The Oakland City Council has taken Wolff on tours of various sites. They've stated that the man showed no interest. It's much easier to develop a plan when you have an owner whispering sweet nothings into your ear, instead of an owner who gives the City of Oakland and 20,000 Oakland fans the back of his hand.<br /><br />If Wolff thinks "4,000 fans" is bad attendance, he needs to wait and see what the Coliseum will look like for at least three years as he plans his San Jose ballpark. There hasn't been a gathering of 2,000 people at the Oakland Coliseum since Charlie Finley was the owner. This guy is worse and we'll see record low crowds for a lame duck franchise.Navigatornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-83697847627021039812009-11-26T10:54:44.987-08:002009-11-26T10:54:44.987-08:00Actually what is stupid is to continually be the v...Actually what is stupid is to continually be the victim--and not hold your leaders accountable. Other more densely populated cities than Oakland have come up with ballpark solutions in a much shorter timeframe--the Colisieum is and has been the worst venue in baseball since the return of the Raiders in the mid-90's--that was 15 years ago and still no realistic identified site--<br /><br />Implying that Oakland should have an open ended pass on finding suitable land--now that is stupid!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-36790458725882576052009-11-26T10:40:52.664-08:002009-11-26T10:40:52.664-08:00Oakland is much more densely built-up than San Jos...Oakland is much more densely built-up than San Jose! It already has major league facilities taking up land. It has a lake and a bunch of high rises, a bigger airport, port operations, ongoing redevelopment projects, and other things it's trying to sort through to come up with a solution.<br /><br />A) It's stupid to think Oakland could find unused, underdeveloped land as quickly as San Jose<br /><br />B) It's equally stupid to think the greater difficulty is a justification to abandon the area<br /><br />C) The A's could currently be doing much better at the gate, while working on a ballpark solution, if the owner weren't pushing so hard to drive business toward his day job: developing property in San Jose.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-49167820126049680772009-11-26T10:16:46.024-08:002009-11-26T10:16:46.024-08:00FC, if you don't have a problem with an owner ...FC, if you don't have a problem with an owner taking a team from perennial playoff contender to perennial lost cause, and from a steady near-league-average attendance rate down to dead last in the sport, in a scant 5 seasons at the helm, that's fine. You're just different than anyone I know personally.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-2658635571618116202009-11-26T09:46:03.110-08:002009-11-26T09:46:03.110-08:00Nav--the one thing that you can't dispute is t...Nav--the one thing that you can't dispute is that Oakland has done absolutely nothing to keep the team--no site, no EIR, no political leadership--no nothing---and how many years have passed by?<br /><br />SJ on the other hand, with no guarantees that they will even be invited to the dance, identified a site, completed an EIR, is acquiring the land, set-up community forums...<br /><br />So what has kept Oakland from having vision and leadership and doing all the things that SJ has done over the past 10 years? You can't blame that on Wolff or Schott or anyone else---but Oakland itselfAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-82378018895859586862009-11-26T09:21:51.720-08:002009-11-26T09:21:51.720-08:00You wouldn't believe the notes if you saw them...You wouldn't believe the notes if you saw them, Nav. Nothing's convincing you and that's fine.Marine Layerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13515986023439927575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-22679386550467068632009-11-26T09:06:54.806-08:002009-11-26T09:06:54.806-08:00I can't say I have too much of a problem with ...I can't say I have too much of a problem with what Wolff has done during his time of ownership. My only problem with him though is that he's probably not the best person to have out front speaking for the organization.<br /><br />I think Wolff is better at being a behind the scene type of guy. I don't think he's used to having to deal with trying to please a fan base. His candidness at times gets him and the organization in trouble.<br /><br />Say what you will about Larry Baer, Carmen Policy and Greg Jamison, but these guys are articulate, and they get/got it done.FChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03537898254316163855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-89612474550847528162009-11-26T08:58:41.325-08:002009-11-26T08:58:41.325-08:00Marinelayer,
There is no defending Wolff. I'...Marinelayer, <br /><br />There is no defending Wolff. I'd love to see those "notes." The fact of the matter is that the Oakland A's are owned by one carpetbagger from San Jose and another from San Francisco. What chance has Oakland ever really had since Walter Haas sold the team?<br /><br />This team has been rumored to be moving every single year since Schott bought the team. How do you engender loyalty and long-term confidence from your fanbase while running a franchise with a one foot out the door mentality? They've been to Santa Clara City Hall and told them "Our future is not in Oakland." They've been to Fremont City Hall and spent 28 million trying to build a ballpark down there. They're now basically sleeping at San Jose City Hall holding hands with Chuck Reed and Larry Stone. For Oakland, Lew Wolff has only "notes."<br /><br />Well Lew, you know where you can put your notes. Oakland A's fans aren't buying.Navigatornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-995304052660633462009-11-26T08:29:10.589-08:002009-11-26T08:29:10.589-08:00NERD POWER!!!!NERD POWER!!!!Jeffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14086938574207856042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-68771926164924683352009-11-26T06:52:20.022-08:002009-11-26T06:52:20.022-08:00In the past, A's attendance has not been bad.
...In the past, A's attendance has not been bad.<br />Pre- Fremont and Wolff, our average attendance was around 27,000, under Schottman. Our attendance can be good, as long as we put a god team on the field, and an owner that isn't negative.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-35962559815461554492009-11-26T01:50:53.748-08:002009-11-26T01:50:53.748-08:00The non-sellouts I was talking about were this yea...The non-sellouts I was talking about were this year. Not exactly sure what the exact attendance figures were for the Yankees and Sox games, but when you factor in that a good number of those in attendance were actually Yankee and Sox fans, the picture looks even more pathetic. Fail to see how opening the upper deck would have help.<br /><br />The A's were looking to move years before the upper deck was tarped, so the arguement that they did it just to drive attendance down holds no water. The tarps were put up because the upper deck was a losing proposition for the A's. They were spending more to keep it open than they were receiving in ticket sales. <br /><br />As far as the dumping of players, I'll agree that it probably hurt interest in the team when it created a disconnect between the fans and the players. This is something which Beane probably didn't see coming. However, the moves were necessary, given that the farm system was in bad shape. I don't think for a moment that it was a plot to intentionally drive attendance down.FChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03537898254316163855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11432525.post-7240573035253425582009-11-26T01:19:27.179-08:002009-11-26T01:19:27.179-08:00FC, the A's did sellout 12 times in '06, t...FC, the A's did sellout 12 times in '06, the first year with a 35k capacity, and that cost the A's at least 100,000 tickets. Those tickets would have increased attendance that year, instead of decreasing. And Wolff promptly seized on the attendance decline (he created) in his announcement the team was moving to Fremont. So, since then you've got the team dumping it's best players, anchoring last-place, AND leaving town... Not exactly textbook sports marketing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com