San Jose City Council member Sam Liccardo, whose district "includes most of the proposed downtown ballpark property" sought by the A's in a potential move to San Jose, "wants the city to sue the Giants" if they do not relinquish their territorial rights to the city, according to Mark Purdy of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. Liccardo's strategy, "if affirmed by his council colleagues, could be a game-changer." It would be a "cunning reverse twist on the Giants' own veiled (and nonveiled) threats to pursue legal action against San Jose and other entities if the A's are allowed to move south." Liccardo said, "The San Francisco Giants should become concerned about the threat of a lawsuit by the city of San Jose." He has said that the Giants "are not just standing in the way of San Jose's downtown reaching its full potential, they are costing the city real money." Liccardo: "We have an independent economic analysis." Purdy noted if the Giants lost a potential lawsuit from Liccardo, the team "could be liable" for $90M or more. Liccardo said of the legal costs to San Jose, "There are extremely qualified litigators, well-known attorneys, who are willing to take it on without a dime of cost to San Jose taxpayers." MLB four years ago "appointed the 'Blue Ribbon Panel' to examine the A's case for a shift southward," but the issue "remains stuck in neutral" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 3/3). CBSSPORTS.com's Dayn Perry asked, "Legitimate threat or hollow brinksmanship? It may not matter, since all that's needed is for the Giants to blink" (CBSSPORTS.com, 3/3).
