San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed can kiss the Oakland A's goodbye! Mayor Reed opened up and let fly the one sentence Lew Wolff and Major League Baseball don't want to hear: "Make us millions" or words to that effect, and "pay for your own stadium" or words to that effect.
I don't know what the guy was smoking but look, I want some. What the heck, they'll probably legalize it anyway! The bottom line truth is in this recession the A's want someone to pay for the stadium now, and they will kick in money when the economy gets better. That "someone" is the government, because the Athletics sure don't have the money to do it and have lost over $24 million on the effort to date. After all that, they can't be hungry to build a privately financed stadium at all, regardless of their statements now or next week beyond this post.
The Oakland A's are counting on a city to get stimulus money, but they'll have to stand in line behind the other needs of the public sector, especially if San Jose has to cut police and fire services.
Wolff, Major League Baseball and the San Jose pipe dreamers should just give up the fight and go home, or stay at home and save some money. The state of California's fiscal and economic picture is still so bad even the pigeons are sharing food with the locals, and they want to spend almost a billion to build a stadium?
Now?
Why do you think I quit the Oakland Task Force? Other than the stomach ache I was getting from the politics, I could see the hand writing on the walls of my Oakland Baseball Simworld. There's no way you can make a real stadium proposal pencil out -- pay for itself -- in this political economic climate, and anyone who argues otherwise is just plain nuts.
Period.
I don't know what the guy was smoking but look, I want some. What the heck, they'll probably legalize it anyway! The bottom line truth is in this recession the A's want someone to pay for the stadium now, and they will kick in money when the economy gets better. That "someone" is the government, because the Athletics sure don't have the money to do it and have lost over $24 million on the effort to date. After all that, they can't be hungry to build a privately financed stadium at all, regardless of their statements now or next week beyond this post.
The Oakland A's are counting on a city to get stimulus money, but they'll have to stand in line behind the other needs of the public sector, especially if San Jose has to cut police and fire services.
Wolff, Major League Baseball and the San Jose pipe dreamers should just give up the fight and go home, or stay at home and save some money. The state of California's fiscal and economic picture is still so bad even the pigeons are sharing food with the locals, and they want to spend almost a billion to build a stadium?
Now?
Why do you think I quit the Oakland Task Force? Other than the stomach ache I was getting from the politics, I could see the hand writing on the walls of my Oakland Baseball Simworld. There's no way you can make a real stadium proposal pencil out -- pay for itself -- in this political economic climate, and anyone who argues otherwise is just plain nuts.
Period.
Comments
What really bothers me as an Oaklander is when I see SJ ready with an EIR certified site practically ready for shovels and Oakland can't even get a solid team together to do the same...The fact that you quit the Task Force also makes me feel like there's no chance for the A's to stay in Oakland.
If you think SJ is a pipe dream, than you might be in for a rude awakening. Most cities would kill to be in the position Oakland is in, by only having to find a prepared site.
I've been fighting to keep the A's in Oakland forever and have been following this Wolff situation since the beginning, but Oakland needs to stop making excuses and get the darn ball rolling before its too late!