23 Baseballl’s m Baseball’s monetary onetary vvalue alue tto oS San an JJose ose is still debatable. d debat able. Jobs Jobs are are one but tthing, hing, b ut ac aactual ctual eeconomic conomic iimpact mpact another.. The state is another T st ate will likely likely have decide legality ha ave to dec cide the legalit ty of shell organizations o rgan nizations like like tthe he Diridon Diridon Development D evelopment Authority, Authority, as as well well as as schemes, Santaa Clara similar sche emes, such as Sant County’s off $ $4 million C ounty’s rrecent ecent ttransfer ransfer o 4m illion San Francisco 49ers pave tto o tthe he S an nF ran ncisco 4 9ers tto op ave the the way new stadium. w ay ffor or a ne o n w st adium. actions bee challenged Those ac ctions ccould ould b byy Br Brown moneyy needed b own to t recoup recoup mone in C California’s to make make a dent d aliffornia’ o ’s $26 deficit. billion defi ficit. proposal allows ““The The ggovernor’s overnor’s p roposall al llows for for off tthe actions a tthorough horough rreview eview o he ac ctions ccities ities have aand nd rredevelopment edevelopment agencies aggencies h ave been fast-b een ttaking akingg to sequester q and fast Evan ttrack rack ffunds, unds,” E van Westrup, Westrup, Brown’s Brown’s was sspokesman, pokesman, w as quoted quoted aass saying saying in in San a rrecent ecent article article in in tthe he S an Francisco Francisco Chronicle. law Chr onicle. “If “ violations of the la aw aare re ffound, ound, ssubsequent ubsequent action action can can be be cconsidered onsidered and/or pursued.” happens, Doyle h ens,” Do yle says saays y “If this happ laughing,, “i “it’s lawyers laughing it’s a la awy wyeers dream, dream, because b ecau use litigation litigattion iiss going going to to happen hap ppen fivee years. ffor or fiv o yearrs.” Redevelopment’s R edevelopment’s ggoal oall is is to to increase increase property Reed p roperty ttaxes, axes, aand nd Mayor Mayor R eed says says objective important that objecti ive is the most imp ortant a sports rreason eason to build b sports facility. facility. An byy C Convention, impact analysis anaalysis rreport eport b on nvention, Sports Leisure S ports & L eisure IInternational nternational ssays ays an annual average average of $3.5 million would bee ggenerated byy w ould b enerated for for tthe he city city b building a st sstadium. adium. addition jobs,, b both oth “In addit tion to the jobs cconstruction onstructio on and permanent, permanent,” Reed says, about R eed e sa ays y , “it ““it’s ’s rreally eally ab out the tax tax rrevenues. evenues. That’s T ’s a big plus in these That economic ec onomic times. t times .” Marcc Mo Morris, software Mar orris, a softw are developer developer stadium opposition who runs a st adium opp osition website called callled Better Better Sense San JJose, ose, says saayys the th he numbers numbers from from a citycittyballpark ccommissioned ommissioned b allparrk economic economic analysis aree misleading misleading.. impact ana alysis ar baseball ““A A baseb all team is really really just a business small busin ness with big publicity, publicity,” says. Morris sa ays ys. more difficult Am ore d ifficult iissue ssue tto o tackle tackle psychic and iiss tthe he p sychic an nd emotional emotional importance sports American imp ortance of sp orts to Americ an cculture, ulture, and an nd the the ccivic ivic pride pride that thatt can can surround surr ound a winning team. say “I guess I can can sa ay there there is a false pride, ccivic ivic p ride, because becau use iitt sets sets you you up up for for
KFL>? >LP K FL>? >L P >`XekjÊ >`XekjÊ dXeX^`e^ dXeX^`e e^ gXike\i gXike\i 9`cc E\lbfd ]fl^_k Xek`$ 9`cc E\lbfd ]fl^_k Xek`$ X kiljk kiljk jl`kj ]fi D`Zifjf]k ]fi )' jl`kj ]fi D`Zifjf]k ]fi )'' p\Xij % Kf _`d# YXj\YXcc `j X j\ \i`flj p\Xij% Kf _`d# YXj\YXcc `j X j\i`flj ^Xd\% blackmail in the future, future,” Morris says. saays y. ““An An owner owner ccan an say say if if you you d don’t on’t give give mee more m more money, money, a n new ew stadium, stadium, II’m ’m going to lea leave. ave.” Over Ov ver e time time,, though, San Jose Jose has h become A’s option. b ecome the A ’s only true option n. Oakland O aklan nd has hass just just begun begun developing developing aan n environmental environmental impact impact report, report, a prerequisite p rerequisite ccompleted ompleted years yearrs ago ago in in San Jose, Jose, and,, as Redevelopment’s Rede e velopmentt’s Mavrogenes Wolff M avrogenes points points out, out, W olff “made “made iitt clear clearr to to everyone everyone tthat hat h hee d does oes n not ot want w ant to build a facility facility in Oakla Oakland. and.” Local business are L ocall b i lleaders d here h here ar re cclearly learly o on n board. board. S Silicon ilicon V Valley aallley Leadership L eadership Group Group ssent ent a letter letter ssigned igned byy 75 local b local CEOs to Selig late last lasst yyear, ear, eendorsing ndorsing tthe he team’s team m’s relocation relocation San tto oS an n JJose. ose. Included Included in in that that group group were: wer e: Carol Carol Bartz Bartz of Yahoo; Yaho a o; Shantanu Shaantanu Narayen Adobe; N arayen of of A dobe; and an nd JJohn ohn Chambers Cisco, C ham mbers of of C isco, which which has has a $120 $120 million with A’s m illion deal deal w ith the the A ’s ffor or 330 0 years yearrs of naming rights if a stadium stadium is built. None off tthis has N one o his h as softened softened the the Giants’ G iants’ stance. stance. They’ve They’ve rruled uled out out a deal d eall for for giving giving up up the the tterritory. erritory. The The allow rreason eason is is cclear: lear: Why Why al llow the the A’s A’s Silicon to suck Silic on Valley Valle a y corporate corporate and when ffan an revenue revenue w hen a waiting waiting ggame am me ccould ould rresult esult in in a one-team one-team Bay Bay Area Area baseball market? market?
““II u nderstand tthe he G iants aare re ttrying rying understand Giants to either get the A ’s to lea ave the ar ea, A’s leave area, which would b t inter est,, or bee in their interest, moneyy outt of the A A’s, Reed get some mone ’s,” R eeed don’t ssays. ays. ““But But I d on’t tthink hink iit’s t’s rright ight tthe he way they’re hostage. w ay the y’re holdingg San JJose ose host age.” Making more pressing M ak king tthe he ssituation ituation m ore p ressing bargaining iiss an n iimpending mpending ccollective ollective b argaining agreement agr eement at the end en nd of this season. Growing G rowing cchatter hatter sspeculates peculates tthat hat tthe he will 28 byy lleague eague w ill ccontract ontracct tto o2 8 tteams eam ms b Tampa Bay Rays eeliminating liminating tthe he T ampa B ay R ays aand nd A’s. Ass o one tthe he A ’s. A ne tteam eam eexecutive xecutive ttold old New York News, the N ew Y o ork Dailyy N ews, “How much m uch llonger onger ccan an n yyou ou eexpect xpect aall ll tthe he subsidize teams,, other teams to subsi idize two two teams with iin n ffutile utile ssituations, ituattions, w ith rrevenue evenue keep afloat?” sharing to k eep them m afloat ?” Contraction, however, C ontraction, how wever, seems unlikely facee of wave unlik ely in the fac o aw ave of lawsuits—from Players la awsuits—fr w om the MLB Pla ayeers Association A ssociation i i to host h cities ci i themselves. themselv h l es. Even San E ven S an JJose ose ccould ould ssue ue ffor or tthe he rright ight bring A’s tto ob ring tthe he A ’s tto o ttown, own, aalthough lthough officials have not ccity ity o fficials ssay ay tthey hey h ave n ot option. discussed that optio n. A’s won’t One thing is certain: certaiin: The A ’s won ’t Giants, due ssue ue tthe he G ian nts, nor nor vvice ice vversa, ersa, d ue tto o tthe he iimmunity mmunity from from federal federal anti-trust anti-trust laws la aws w baseball rreceived eceived e a century century ago as partt of an arcane dispute players’ par arcane dis pute over over pla ayeers’ prevent rrights. ights. MLB MLB rrules ules p revent clubs clubs ffrom rom because fraternity li i i b litigating ecause off the h fraternit f ity they the h y sharee as memb members league.. shar ers off the league block might bee tthe A sstumbling tumbling b lock m ight b he unpaid portion off tthe $170 million u npaid p ortion o he $ 170 m illion took from loan the Giants to ok k fr om Chase Manhattan AT&T Park. Manhat tan Bank to build A T&T T P ark. only way ““II tthink hink tthe he o nly w ay tthis his iiss ggoing oing tto o work politically w ork p oliticallly iiss iiff an n aagreement greement Baseball booster Larry iiss rreached, eached,” B aseball b ooster L arrry Stone believes. Lew Wolff S tone b elieves. ““Although Although L ew W olff doesn’t give do esn’t eexpect xpect to giv ve the Giants myy ttheory A’s pay aanything, nything, m heory iiss tthe he A ’s p ay down the loan.” meantime,, the m mysterious In the meantime yysterious Development Authority Diridon De velopmeent A uthority with no known eexists xists iin n a vvacuum, acuum, w ith n ok nown definitive plans.. While leadership or definit tive plans unlikely, possible u nlikely, iit’s t’s p ossible tthe he ccity ity ccould ould moree pr properties toss in a ffew ew mor p operties ffor o or protection One parcel p rotection from from the the sstate. tate. O ne p arrcel on San Fernando aalready lread dy iincluded ncluded iiss o nS an nF ernando Street, blocks S treet, ssix ix b locks aaway way ffrom rom tthe he proposed site pr oposed ballpark si ite but seen as a gateway ballpark. gate way to the ballp park. Meanwhile, Bay Mean nw while, South h Ba ay baseball wait, fans w ait, a and San JJose o rremains ose emains perched becoming p erched on the cusp p of b ecoming always wanted something it has alw wayys w anted to be—a city. b e—a major league cit y.
M E T R O S I L I C O N VA L L E Y | M A R C H 3 0 - A P R I L 5 , 2 0 1 1 | SA N J O S E . C O M | M E T R OAC T I V E . C O M
Stealing St ealing a Base Base
Kimberly N N..
“The ccommittee ommittee hop pefully hopefully h ass fi nished iits ts w ork, and and Bud Bud iiss has finished work, ccontemplating ontemplating h is decision. decision. T hat’s all all his That’s know, Wolff I know w,” W olff o told the Associated Associated Press. Pr ess. “I think it will be be sooner sooner rather don’t tthan han llater. ater. I d on’t tthink hink iit’s t’s aanother nother off. That yyear ear o ff.” T ff hat iinterview nterview took took place placce ago.. almost a yyear ear ago Conducting his behind C onducting h is business business b ehind doors closed do ors and at thee pace pace of a drawn-out meeting pitcher’s d rawn-out m eeting on on the the p itcher’s mound, Selig has m ound, S elig h ass cconsistently onsistently ssaid aid will that the ccommittee ommitttee t wil ll announce announce its once The rreport eport o nce iit’s t’s ccomplete. omplete. T he rreality eality hee aand Wolff iis, s, h nd W olff aaren’t ren’t getting getting any any aree in their late ’70s. yyounger—both ounger—both ar t ’70s. “It seems to me a great great legacy for for o be to have haave rebuilt rebuilt Bud Selig would be upgraded stadium or up graded the st adiu um of every every team in the league,” league,” says saays y Baseball San Mulcahy. JJose ose cco-chair o - chair Michael M Mulcah hy. “To “T To have team ha ave touched every every tea am rather than Barryy Bonds trial the stench of a Barr B wrong.” gone wr ong.” The Giants T he G ian nts ssteadfastly teadfaasstly rrefuse efuse tto o Santaa Clara County, ccede ede ccontrol ontrol of Sant C County, pre-existing cciting iting a p re- existing fanbase fanbasse and an nd the the potential millions p otential ffor or m illions iin n llost ost Silicon Silicon Valley and V aallley aadvertising dvertising an nd ssponsorship ponsorship rrevenue. evenue. Att 6 69 age,, it would be A 9 yyears ears of age be pass Neukom ballpark eeasy asy tto op ass N eukom at at the the b allpark across and think yyou’ve ou’ve just come come o across an eccentric ec centric senior citizen fond fo ond of bow bow ties and baseball. Neukom Neuk kom built a ffortune ortune aass tthe he llead ead general generall counsel counsel Microsoft, battling ffor or M icrosoft, b attling tthe he ffederal ederal ggovernment’s overnment’s aanti-trust nti-trust ssuits uits aagainst gaiinst software the softw war a e giant ffor or o more m e than mor 20 Hee u understands 2 0 yyears. earrs. H nderstan nds well well that that past 90 ffor or tthe he p ast 9 0 yyears, ears, Major Major League Leaggue Baseball has B asseball h as eenjoyed njoyed a rare rare sstatus tatus monopoly aass a llegally-sanctioned egally-sanctioned m onopoly defy tthat hatt aallows llows iitt tto od efy market-based marrket-based economics. ec onomics. ““Neukom Neukom iiss a sstreetfighter, treetfighter,” says says Larry Stone, Santa L arry S tone, S an nta Clara Clarra County’s County’s assessor.. “He “He’s attorney, assessor ’s an at ttorn t ney, and a damn one byy tthe way. No ggood ood o ne b he w ay. N o matter matter how about have h ow yyou ou ffeel eel ab bout tthis, his, you you h ave tto o admiree Bill N Neukom. admir eukom. He’s H ’s no dummy. He dumm my.” Stone S tone ttheorizes heorizes that that tthe he threat threat of of byy A AT&T Park li i i b litigation T&T T P ark k investors investors in e has h hampered Selig’s put h ampered S elig’s eefforts ffo ff orts tto op ut tthe he A’s A’s off MLB rrequest equest tto o rrelocate elocate to to a vote vote o MLB owners, percent will have o wners, 7755 p ercent of of whom whom w ill h ave favor league to vvote ote o in fa avor at a leag gue meeting. meeting. ballot measure have Ab alllot m eassure would would then then h ave to to bee appr approved byy vvoters, b oved b oters, most m likely lik kely e this November. Wolff wait. N oveember. All W o olff can can a do is w aait.