A Bay Area investor group led by Andy Dolich, hailed as
a "hometown dream team of prospective owners," won the
support of the Oakland Alameda Coliseum Authority to acquire
the A's in a 3-1 vote Monday, according to Laura Counts of
the OAKLAND TRIBUNE. The group, which also consists of CA-
based Save Mart Chair Robert Piccinini and ESPN/NBC MLB
analyst Joe Morgan, was approved after an A's attorney said
the team "was not willing to go along" with sending bids
from two competing buyer groups to MLB as earlier requested
by Commissioner Bud Selig. Elected officials "decided to
vote against" the recommendation of their consultants, Game
Plan LLC, whose Chair Bob Caporale "had advised" that a
group led by San Mateo business consultant Michael Lazarus
"would have the best chance" of being approved by MLB.
Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown made a rare appearance to support
the Dolich group: "I campaigned on the slogan `Oaklanders
first.' It's true that Modesto (Piccinini's home) is not
Oakland, but it's close." The Dolich group must now
"finalize its financial plan and partnership agreement, and
pass everything on" to MLB. The group has yet to receive
pre-approval from MLB to "gain access to the team's
financial documents" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 5/11). City Coliseum
Authority Chair & City Council member Ignacio De La Fuente
and a local delegation will visit Selig in N.Y. to lobby for
the group. The Dolich group said it would "put up" $50M in
equity. After paying $122.4M for the team, the group "would
be left with" $12.6M for initial team operations (OAKLAND
TRIBUNE, 5/11). In S.F., Rick DelVecchio writes that the
Lazarus Group told Game Plan it will have $42.6M in working
capital after paying for the team. But the Dolich group's
Piccinini was optimistic: "We are prepared to do whatever is
necessary to make this a success" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/11).
WHERE HAVE YOU GONE, JOE MORGAN? Dolich "acknowledged"
yesterday that it's uncertain whether Morgan will remain as
an investor, as Morgan is "concerned" his MLB broadcasting
contract would "conflict with his role" as a team owner.
But Dolich added, "Right now we anticipate he will be a
member of our group" (S.J. MERCURY NEWS, 5/11). Meanwhile,
Dolich said that Guy Saperstein, a partner in the Oakland
firm Saperstein, Goldstein, Demchak & Baller, will join his
group. The firm has handled "some of the largest and most
high-profile sex and race discrimination settlements in
history." Dolich: "Our group is financially strong and
growing stronger every day" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 5/7).
SALE NOTES: AZ banker Lyle Campbell, one of the Lazarus
Group's principal partners, believes the A's need a new
ballpark in Oakland and "hinted his preference" would be
downtown. Campbell would also replace GM Billy Beane with
partner Steve Stone (S.F. EXAMINER, 5/10). In Oakland, Carl
Steward questioned the role of Game Plan Inc. in the
process: "The Lazarus group was Game Plan's find all the
way. And while Game Plan has tried to maintain an impartial
front, it has become a fairly flimsy facade as the process
has progressed" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 5/9). In S.F., Matier &
Ross wrote on the Lazarus group: "What the out-of-towners
lack in local pull, they more than make up for in money and
connections with [MLB]" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/10).
