The A's "appear resigned to staying put" at O.co Coliseum, and "are in negotiations" for a 10-year lease extension, according to Matier & Ross of the S.F. CHRONICLE. The deal calls for the team to make "nominal rent payments in return for the A's paying" for $10-$12M in stadium improvements. The improvements include "a new electronic scoreboard and a ribbon scoreboard between the first and second decks." A's co-Owner Lew Wolff said, "We hope to have (a deal) as soon as possible." He added, "The best thing would be 10 years -- we really don’t want to keep revisiting this." Wolff: "I am taking steps incrementally ... and having an extension in Oakland is what our next step is." Oakland City Council member Larry Reid, who sits on the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority, said that the deal "could range anywhere from" five to 10 years. Coliseum Authority member Chris Dobbins said that the board is "expected to take up the issue of the A's lease -- and its effect on the Raiders" at a meeting scheduled for Friday. Dobbins: "We want to lock the Raiders in before we make a long-term deal with the A's" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 4/16).
