The Oakland City Council "failed Thursday to agree on a
settlement" of the A's $48M claim against the Oakland
Alameda County Coliseum Authority, "leaving the two sides
still bickering" before today's deadline for the team's
owners to decide whether to put the A's up for sale,
according to Renee Koury of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS.
Sources say the council "came close to agreement on a
settlement" that would "resolve" the team's claim for money
and keep it in Oakland until at least 2001. However, some
members "instructed lawyers to keep negotiating" because
they "still were unhappy with parts of the proposed deal."
As a result, the dispute remains "unresolved" with today's
deadline for A's Owners Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann to
"exercise a one-time option to break their lease at the
coliseum." The A's did not comment on "what action they
will take today" and said an announcement "probably would
come late this afternoon" (MERCURY NEWS, 10/23). In S.F.,
Matier & Ross write Schott and Hofmann believe that by
placing the team for sale, it "will give them more leverage
to decide their future. City officials, on the other hand,
are convinced it will only hurt the team's fan base, and
hasten the team's departure" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/23).
