The Alameda (CA) County Board of Supervisors "has come
back to the plate" in talks to keep the A's in Oakland
through 2004, according to Brian Anderson of the CONTRA
COSTA TIMES. Board President Wilma Chan wrote a letter to
A's President Mike Crowley stating that the board "supports
keeping the team in Oakland but balked on several points" of
an earlier proposal. The proposal, which was approved by
the City Council on January 18, states that the A's "would
get $150,000 annually for marketing from both the city and
county to remain in Oakland" (See THE DAILY, 1/21), but
those funds are "tied to an attendance clause that allows
the team to bail out of the agreement by paying back the
money" if ticket sales goals are not met. Chan wrote that
the board wants an "absolute commitment" that the team will
stay until 2004. If a deal is made, Chan wrote that
"attendance benchmarks should be ditched because factors
like weather and the team's performance affect turnout more
than marketing." Crowley said that attendance requirements
were an "essential component to the deal." Crowley: "You
have to have attendance to be able to support a payroll to
provide for a competitive team" (CONTRA COSTA TIMES, 1/29).
In S.F., Rick DelVecchio writes that the effort to keep the
A's in Oakland "will require doubling" payroll and "filling
at least 7,000 more seats every home game." The team wants
to see increased local support and will approach "old-line
companies and technology startups for such items as" stadium
signage, suites and group seating (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/31).
HANGIN' 'ROUND THE BAY: In Oakland, Laura Counts
reported that the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority
has agreed to fund the Oakland Football Marketing
Association -- the group "charged with" selling Raiders
PSLs, club seats and suites -- $60,000 per month, "up to a
total of" $300,000. The funds would allow the Association
to "keep its doors open until funding is replenished" July 1
when the new FY begins. The Authority also voted against
increasing maintenance fees that PSL holders pay each year.
The fees started at $50 in '96 and can be increased $10 per
year, but the Authority has only increased them once.
Counts reported that the original 39,000 license holders
"have dwindled to less than" 28,000 (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 1/28).
