Phil Matier: Who Pays The Price To Move The Oakland A's?
OAKLAND (KCBS) - Spring training is winding down, and what's become a springtime ritual in Oakland is happening again. A group of corporate CEOs are pitching to build a waterfront ballpark in the city, whether the A's are willing to play there or not.
The Port has entered a one-year agreement with the CEOs of Clorox, Dreyer's Ice Cream and developer Michael Ghielmetti to have them take a $100,000 look at building a ballpark. Could this happen anywhere but Oakland?
Notice, it's not a stadium. It's a ballpark, which sounds a lot friendlier for what would basically be AT&T Park with a view of shipping cranes. That could be why Oakland A's owner Lew Wolff has said he has no interest in bringing his team there.
The bigger question for fans in the ongoing waltz of where the fifth most profitable team in Major League Baseball, valued by Forbes at $465 million, will play, is why the A's can't just stay where they are.
Wolff wants a lease extension in Oakland, but nothing long term. Interestingly, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority is also negotiating with the Raiders, also not interested in a long term commitment since the A's already get a cut of the beverage sales at football games.
Whether the A's move to a waterfront ballpark in Oakland or to a new stadium in San Jose, the ticket price to watch a game will go right through the roof.