This has "snowball's chance in h-e-double toothpicks" written all over it...-TCL

San Jose Business Journal article link

Pitch for baseball team hinges on fight for corporate dollars
Andrew F. Hamm
May 28, 2004

The biggest impediment to San Jose bringing in a Major League Baseball team is control over Silicon Valley corporate money, more than its fan base, baseball pundits say.

Any new stadium that would need to be built to lure a team would have to include massive amounts of Silicon Valley corporate money -- money that is now being shuttled to the San Francisco Giants in the form of corporate sponsorships and luxury suite leases.

The San Francisco Giants own territorial control of much of Silicon Valley, including San Jose and team officials say they will never relinquish control of the area.

Team San Jose, a public-private group formed to bring a team to the South Bay -- most likely the Oakland Athletics -- say those territorial rights can be overcome.

Three options include a vote to remove the Giants claim by 24 of Major League Baseball's 30 team owners; a lawsuit invalidating granting of that territory right by the then 26 team owners back in 1992; or a private compromise that would most like include a sizable cash payment to the Giants franchise along with other considerations.

"I think a compromise will go toward finding an amount of money to satisfy the Giants and maybe some shifting of territory rights" meaning the Giants may gain control over Oakland and other portions of the East Bay or North Bay, says San Jose Councilman Dave Cortese.

Oakland Athletics owner Steve Schott, a Santa Clara resident, has looked on with interest on the various proposals to move his team to the South Bay, be it in Santa Clara, San Jose or even Fremont.

Fremont?

"For a fan base and a corporate base, Fremont would work just fine," Mr. Cortese says.

That would require some kind of joint-power agreement similar to what rules the three-county Caltrain system.

However, Dean Munro, executive director of the San Jose Sports Authority, says anything other than downtown San Jose would be a no-go.

"No compromise. Fremont means nothing to us," Mr. Munro says. "The whole purpose is to stimulate our downtown."

Timothy Muller, owner of Lou's Village restaurant, simply drools at the prospect of 35,000 to 40,000 people coming to downtown San Jose every night for a ball game.

"You see a real difference when the Sharks are in town. Can you imagine another 85 dates? It would be terrific," Mr. Muller says.

The 18.7-acre Del Monte site located due south of the HP Pavilion and Diridon Station is the preferred site, Mr. Cortese says.

But who would come up with the $400 million to $500 million to build the stadium remains a mystery.

There has been speculation that Mr. Schott may be willing to kick in as much as $100 million for a new stadium (A's officials would not comment on that prospect) but San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales has said the city would not contribute much outside of land dedication and road improvements.

Which leads us back to local corporations.

John Heagerty, president and CEO of Coakley & Heagerty, who worked on the failed effort to bring the San Francisco Giants to San Jose in the late 1980s and early 1990s, says there is money in those Silicon Valley corporate headquarters.

"There is enough money out there. It just a matter of getting enough people involved," Mr. Heagerty says.

He also sees a positive in Mr. Schott's decision to hire Lew Wolff, a national hotel magnet with interest in two downtown San Jose hotels and other local property, to help locate a stadium site for his team

"Mr. Wolf is an exceedingly bright person who doesn't strike out," Mr. Heagerty says. "If he signs on, you know they are serious."

ANDREW F. HAMM covers sports business for the Business Journal. Reach him at (408) 299-1841.