Public denials "aside," the A's and MLB "have all but
given up on Oakland -- and the team is already talking with
San Jose officials about a possible move south," according
to Matier & Ross of the S.F. CHRONICLE, who quoted San Jose
Mayor Ron Gonzales as saying he has already had "informal"
talks with the A's and "that it is clear the team has
decided it's time to move." Matier & Ross wrote that San
Jose is reportedly offering the A's a ballpark deal
"similar" to the one S.F. gave the Giants. Gonzales noted
reports that the A's "are hoping" San Jose and Santa Clara
"get into a bidding war" for the team, and said, "We're not
going to play that way. We've made a good proposal. If
they want to come here, then San Jose's (deal) is the one to
take" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/26). One league source, on Giants
Managing General Partner Peter Magowan claiming that an A's
move to San Jose would infringe upon the Giants' territorial
rights, said, "Do you really think that if the 28 baseball
owners see an opportunity both to have a thriving team
instead of a poor one, which is what Oakland is now, they're
going to care that Peter Magowan is crying about his
territory? What the owners care about most is to make money
instead of paying it out" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 6/26).
A'S HUGE MESS IN OAKLAND? Oakland Coliseum Authority
Supervisor Gail Steele, on a potential A's move: "We've made
huge commitments to keep them here. We've demonstrated that
the city and county want them to be here, but they don't
seem to want to be here. People forget how much money we
put into the stadium." In San Jose, Renee Koury writes that
the city of Oakland and Alameda County have "pumped" $20M in
to baseball improvements at Network Associates Coliseum,
given the team $11M to reimburse it for "inconveniences"
during the '95 reconstruction of the stadium and "paid out
about" $3M more to "modify the stadium to meet more demands
of the team." Settling a claim brought by the team, the
city and county "also agreed to waive" the team's $250,000
annual rent (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 6/27).