http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/8297550.htm


Posted on Sun, Mar. 28, 2004

S.J. A's an issue worthy of study

By Mark Purdy
Mercury News


The baseball season is nigh. Only a week away. The A's and Giants will be competing for attention all summer, clawing and attacking and recklessly slamming into walls without fear of criticism.

And those are just the owners.

To review:

At spring training, the issue of the A's moving from Oakland to San Jose was raised. Again.

And both Bay Area teams tried to block the plate. At the same time. Again.

Giants owner Peter Magowan stuck with his long-held contention that the Giants have territorial rights to the South Bay, said those rights were sacred and basically told the A's to eat pine tar and shut up.

In response, A's owner Steve Schott refused to do either. He said the territorial rights were hardly so sacrosanct and used the phrase ``crybaby'' while discussing Magowan's remarks.

It seems there's one thing on which Magowan and Schott are in agreement: The A's would succeed wildly in San Jose. If Magowan doesn't believe this, why would he utter a peep? The flip side of the argument is what's in contention: That the A's success would inevitably lead to the Giants' failure.

But is that true? Bud Selig, baseball's esteemed and perpetually harassed commissioner, attempted to throw cold water on the most recent controversy by saying that nothing was going to happen soon in terms of the territorial-rights issue. Selig stood up for Magowan, more or less, without shutting the door on Schott.

In other words, it ain't over. And if it ain't, then why shouldn't someone intervene with a new thought that would help bring clarity to the situation? Fortunately, that's my job.

To me, here is the most incredible aspect of this A's-Giants' controversy: No one in baseball has proposed the most sensible and sane way to help resolve the problem.

Namely, science.

Not test tubes and chemistry science. Marketing and statistical science.

Magowan seems to think his franchise would wither and die if the A's built a San Jose ballpark. Magowan claims the Giants sell too many tickets and luxury boxes to fans and corporations in the South Bay.

Fine. Why doesn't baseball commission an independent study to prove whether he's correct?

Obviously, I don't think he is. My theory is, having the A's move to the South Bay would be a huge boost to Major League Baseball in general -- and would either do no harm to the Giants, or possibly help them in the long term.

Here's why: There are roughly five million people living in the sprawling Bay Area. To maximize access for all those potential customers, doesn't it seem more logical to have two baseball teams in ballparks almost 50 miles apart instead of just 15 miles apart?

Of course it does. Did you know it's farther from SBC Park to downtown San Jose than it is from Dodger Stadium to Angel Stadium in Anaheim? What if the Angels suddenly proposed a new stadium within 15 miles of Chavez Ravine? Wouldn't the Dodgers be screaming bloody murder about their competition being too close? In the Bay Area, the Giants are arguing exactly the opposite. It's crazy.

Let's say the A's did move south. Many baseball fans in the East Bay and North Bay, finding themselves more than an hour away from the A's, would surely buy more Giants tickets instead. They would easily fill any empty seats created by Giants fans abandoning SBC Park for the new San Jose stadium.

Meanwhile, by relocating to San Jose, the A's would not just be appealing to new fans in the Bay Area's largest city. They would also open up the market in the growing Gilroy-Salinas area, plus the abundant Monterey-Salinas area.

The result: Combined attendance of the A's and Giants would increase. Major League Baseball already shares some revenue among franchises and is moving in the direction of sharing much more. So if the A's do better business, that means more money for all 30 franchises -- including the Giants!

What about the Giants' luxury-box issue, you ask? In spite of Magowan's statements, the team has never released a list of the companies that lease suites at SBC Park. So we don't know if Santa Clara County companies have their names on 50 percent of those leases, or 30 percent of them, or 10 percent of them. My hunch is, the number is far closer to 10 percent than 50 percent. But the Giants are a private company. They don't have to show us.

That is, unless Selig orders a study to sort out all this stuff -- and requests that the Giants and A's provide all relevant information. And when that study is done, we would have a firm idea of whether Magowan is right or wrong.

The key is, any such study must be independently conducted, by a respected company with national credibility. And it must be paid for by Major League Baseball. If the A's financed such a study, no one -- especially the Giants -- would believe the results. If the Giants paid for it, the A's would feel the same way. And if the city of San Jose paid for it, no one outside the city limits would believe it.

So this all must be baseball-driven. Let's hope baseball agrees and answers all the questions. Until then, don't believe most of what you hear about the territorial-rights hoo-ha. Don't listen to Magowan. And don't listen to any voices on the team's mouthpiece, The Radio Station That Owns Part Of The Team.

Instead, listen to the logical voices in your own head. Wouldn't it be healthier and more convenient to have more fans closer to our two local franchises? Playing in two gorgeous ballparks instead of one beauty and one dump?

Which makes more sense for baseball? Which makes more sense for the Bay Area?

Hear, hear! I've argued this all along, that the best bet for the A's if they want to stay in the Bay area, is move south, 50 miles away from the Giants, instead of being right across the bay only 10 miles away. Logical arguments all. The only solution that MIGHT be better would be for the A's to wind up in Sacramento, if they want to stay in NoCal, or - move to Portland!

Downtown Baltimore to
Downtown Washington D.C.
44 miles

Downtown San Francisco to
Downtown San Jose
48 miles

Downtown Los Angeles to
Downtown Anaheim
26 miles

(Information via Mapquest.com)

Applying the same rules across the board, mean Magowan and Angelos don't have an argument to stand on, but let's hope not, because our cause, in some way requires their position being upheld.
Moving the A's to San Jose would be a disaster for A's fans in the central valley where a large percentage of the A's fan base resides.
Salinas Monterey represents a little more than a half million.
On the other hand, the central valley, including everything from Sacramento to Merced, is well over 4 million. I-680, the only logical route from these areas to San Jose, is at a constant gridlock, meaning my attendance, like many others, will be history. Salinas-Gilroy-Monterey is not an equitable trade-off.
No, the only choice, is Sacramento, but Sacramento is smaller than Portland, and I for one am very tired of seeing smaller markets snag professional sport franchises.