The Oakland City Council "has agreed to give" the A's
$300,000 a year, or a total of $1.2M, for marketing "in
exchange for an agreement" for the team to stay at Network
Associates Coliseum through 2004, according to Laura Counts
of the OAKLAND TRIBUNE. The A's "will match" the total by
paying the city and county back "if the team's ticket
revenues increase at least" $3M per year over the $14M they
earned in '99. Council President Ignacio De La Fuente: "We
have three years to increase attendance, bring in corporate
support and preserve the only game in town that is
affordable for working families." However, the Council's 7-
1 approval of the deal "means nothing unless" the Alameda
County Board of Supervisors "reverses its earlier
opposition." The city and county already gave the team a
$2.2M cash payment and dropped a $3.6M claim against the
team (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 1/20). Board member Gail Steele, on
why the Board is "unlikely to change its stance": "We are
not trying to make life difficult for the A's, but I'm not
sure the team really doesn't have the money to do this on
its own. We're the ones losing money" (CC TIMES, 1/20).