A's Co-Owner Remains Optimistic Of Move At Silicon Valley Conference
MOUNTAIN VIEW (KCBS) – A possible move by the Oakland A's to the South Bay was on the mind of business and political leaders in Mountain View on Wednesday.
A conference focusing on bringing professional sports franchises to Silicon Valley was held in the city and the keynote speaker was Oakland A's co-owner Lew Wolff.
KCBS' Matt Bigler Reports:
Wolff said he remains optimistic about a possible move, but is growing frustrated with the red tape and environmental lawsuits that have stopped groundbreaking on new projects.
"I'm actually pretty excited about continuing the process that baseball has set out," he said. "I know it's taken a long time but I think we'll get there one way or the other. That isn't frustrating me. It's frustrating me that it takes four years to get a soccer project approved, things like that."
Wolff is referring to the recently-approved San Jose Earthquakes Stadium.
San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed said the San Francisco Giants remain the major roadblock to an A's stadium in the South Bay, wanting to force the team out of the Bay Area altogether.
"It's anti-competitive. It's a violation of the law," said Reed. "But we'll wait and let Major League Baseball sort that out because ultimately, they have control over that."
Giants officials tell KCBS they are only opposed to the A's moving to Santa Clara County, where they claim territorial rights.
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