Oakland Mayor Pledges To Fight To Keep City's Three Pro Sports Teams In Town

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and other civic leaders "pledged Friday to keep all three of the city's professional sports teams in town," according to Henry Lee of the S.F. CHRONICLE. With the A's "eager to relocate to San Jose," Quan at a news conference said that Oakland has written to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, "reminding him that the city has two potential sites for a new ballpark." Quan also said that she is "working to keep the Raiders and Golden State Warriors from leaving." Oakland "owns the property surrounding the Coliseum and Oracle Arena near Oakland International Airport," and Quan said that the city "could build a convention center and shopping area on the site to surround a new ballpark" for the A's. The second potential ballpark site is "along the Oakland Estuary near Jack London Square." Assistant City Administrator Fred Blackwell said that the city "doesn't own the land outright, but could develop it quickly if given the green light" by MLB (S.F. CHRONICLE, 12/10). Quan said that "despite perceptions that Oakland is playing catch-up, her city can make" A's Owner Lew Wolff a "better deal" than San Jose. Quan: "San Jose is more broke than us." Meanwhile, San Jose Friday "was quick to add its interest in the Warriors." Mayor Chuck Reed: "We have room for them in HP Pavilion." Sharks Exec VP/Business Operations Malcolm Bordelon said the team would "be happy to explore options" with the Warriors, who last week revealed they have had discussions with S.F. officials about an arena near AT&T Park (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 12/10).

DOWN BY THE BAY: In Oakland, Monte Poole wrote under the header, "Oakland Facing Uphill Fight To Halt Sports Teams' Exodus." Poole: "Quan's vision for Oakland's Coliseum City is shared by many others, including some who own other pro sports teams or operate at the highest levels of the sports business. It's a noble goal that in today's economy, with the motives of today's owners, almost certainly won't be realized" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 12/10). In S.F., Al Saracevic wrote, "With no financing, architectural plans or commitments in place, Quan's comments rang hollow" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 12/11).

LEARNING PAINS: CSN BAY AREA's Ray Ratto wrote with Warriors co-Owner Joe Lacob "flirting with moving the Warriors to San Francisco," he "just gave his East Bay fans, who are already on edge about having one of the game's most nationally invisible franchises for most of the past 15-plus years, more reason to worry." Lacob is a "West Bay guy, he bought the team with a covetous eye toward San Francisco, and the idea of land by the bay never fails to put a glint in a wealthy man's eye." But he is "trading in all his remaining good will on two huge gambles, and if he is wrong on either, he will learn what [former Owner] Chris Cohan learned -- the public eye isn't always flattering." The first gamble is the Warriors "will win, and soon." The second is that Oracle CEO Larry Ellison "may view the Warriors' interest in San Francisco as the opening required to buy" a franchise and "move it to San Jose" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 12/9). In San Jose, Adam Lauridsen writes, "As Joe Lacob is learning the hard way this year, it takes more than talk and effort to assemble a winning team. It takes a long-term plan -- and despite all the talk about patience, I'm still not seeing signs of it developing here" (MERCURYNEWS.com, 12/12).