The "long-disputed 10-year lease to allow" the A's to continue playing at O.co Coliseum "was finally settled Tuesday after co-owner Lew Wolff said he had accepted most of the changes made by city officials," according to a front-page piece by Kane & Jones of the S.F. CHRONICLE. The agreement, "however difficult, may also usher in an effort by Wolff to help develop the existing stadium site." But if he were to decide "to move the team outside Oakland, the lease allows the A's to leave as early" as December '17 by giving two years' notice. However, the team would "have to pay rent for any remaining years on the lease." The team is expected to pay Oakland and Alameda County about $20M "for use of the stadium over the next 10 years." The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority "negotiated with the A's for 14 months to reach a lease deal." The deal already has been "approved by the Coliseum Authority and Oakland's City Council and will head to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors next week for what is expected to be an easy approval." Due to the "recent changes, the revised lease may go back to the Coliseum Authority for another vote" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/23). In Oakland, Matthew Artz notes the agreement "gives the A's a measure of stability as the team remains blocked" by MLB from moving to San Jose. The deal "offers a window for Oakland officials to patch up years of testy relations with the team and make its case to Wolff that he should build a new ballpark at the Coliseum site." Wolff yesterday reiterated that the "strained lease negotiations wouldn't sour him on dealing with Oakland should he decide to move forward with a new stadium at the Coliseum site" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 7/23). Sources said that the lease with its opt-outs "boils down to a true three-year deal." In San Jose, Tim Kawakami reports stadium co-tenant the Raiders and a new stadium developer will "need at least that long to finalize a Coliseum City deal (if they ever do) that could push the A's out, and the A's get three years to figure out their next step" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 7/23).
