Link to insidebayarea.com article

Fremonts attempt to lure As running into obstacles
Police coverage of ballpark would be costly for small city
By Chris De Benedetti, STAFF WRITER
June 5, 2006

FREMONT "” When the Giants play home games at San Franciscos AT&T Park, 18 police officers reportedly are stationed at the ballpark for security, and the number jumps to 24 when the rival Dodgers are in town. During a normal midday shift in Fremont, in contrast,
16 officers at most are deployed throughout the entire city.

Given that, if the Oakland As move to Fremont, which is suffering a fiscal crisis diminishing police and fire services, how could the city afford the necessary extra police deployment for 81 home games each season? In addition, who would pay for road improvements and infrastructure costs related both to a 35,000-seat ballparks construction and its annual maintenance and security?

The city of Fremont cannot pay out of pocket for those services, therefore we would have to be financially compensated in the negotiations, City Manager Fred Diaz said. And Mr. Wolff is sensitive to that. At this preliminary stage, Diaz added that he does not know what those infrastructure costs would total.

Despite slashing its budget by more than

$25 million and cutting more than 220 staff jobs in recent years, Fremont next year may have to dip into its reserve for the first time, according to the citys proposed 2006-07 budget report.

Officials blame Fremonts weakened financial condition for its decrease in police and fire services, resulting in higher crime rates and slower emergency response times. The citys roads also are deteriorating, city officials say, and the situation stands to get worse if buses are used on Fremont streets to shuttle fans between a stadium and BART.

If there were a significant amount of bus traffic on roads not designed for that, that could be an issue. But we dont know that for sure, City Engineer Norm Hughes said. Im sure its one of the things well look at as soon as a study is done.

San Francisco city officials and Staci Slaughter, the Giants spokeswoman, did not return phone calls for this story. However, the Police Departments overtime tab alone cost about $250,000 for officers deployed to the ballpark in 2005, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The Giants pay for interior police costs, and the city pays for traffic and security outside the ballpark, a police spokeswoman told the Herald.

Still, if Fremont could not afford similar costs, how much would the As be willing to pay to bridge the difference? City and As officials both say it is way too early in the process to tackle these key details.

There isnt a proposal before us yet, and any proposal would have a full environmental review, Hughes said.

Infrastructure costs fall under (the category of) financing for a stadium, which I dont think were prepared to comment on, As spokesman Jim Young said.

More than two months after As co-owner Lew Wolff announced that he was serious about possibly moving the team to Fremont, continuing talks with Cisco about the 143-parcel near Pacific Commons have yet to yield an agreement.

Negotiations are ongoing, and talks will continue in every aspect of the proposal, Young said.

If and when a land deal is cut, the team would have to file a development application with Fremont and then an environmental impact report would be issued for the Pacific Commons site, a process that often takes several months.

Meanwhile, a proposed utilities users tax may be placed on the November ballot to help shore up police, fire and street maintenance services, which Diaz recently described as anemic. The revenue generated by the proposed tax measure is not connected to a proposed Fremont ballpark, Diaz said.

Instead, the tax would be a sorely needed stopgap solution to current problems, such as the need to restore essential services to a basic and adequate level, city officials say. In addition, the tax measure would have a sunset clause of five to 10 years, to define for voters its expiration date.

And officials say they have made it clear to the As that the city is unable to pay for extra traffic and security needs that a new Fremont stadium would create.

Our police and fire departments are stretched beyond thin right now, and our services have been dysfunctional at best for years, Diaz said. All of (those services) will have to be paid for by the stadium deal "” thats the baseball village part of it.

Staff writer Chris De Benedetti covers Fremont issues. He can be reached at (510) 353-7002 or cdebenedetti@angnewspapers.com.

So we take from the Fremont situation that nothing is final until the two parties agree on all the issues.

And we also take from the San Antonio and Las Vegas processes (examples) that having good PR only gets you to first base.

PDX can't decide that a new major employer and free advertising for six month every year isn't worth investing in. I like our odds (no casinos please) once we decide that our great region is ready for a second professional team.

I hope its MLB.

BB

I agree with Big Boomer in many ways, except sometimes it doesn't hurt to throw a public PR statement or show some muscle with potential teams. Mayor Potter and whom ever follows him will never allow MLB in Portland on their watch, he used the statement and will continue on. But, there are ways and means to go around these people and still achieve what is best for Portland. The clever political minded souls will figure this out (Ryan Deckert??) and PDX will prevail, but patience will be needed because we will be deep in the next decade when it does appear again. NFL and NHL will both be in PDX prior to MLB so the homework only gets busier and tougher.

The NHL I can understand, but what makes you think the NFL will get here before MLB?

The rivaly with Seattle; the West coast can support another NFL team, the great fall weather and a great following in the state of Oregon. Remember there are only 8 home games a year and they for the most part are on weekends, so the draw would be huge from Boise to Medford, the Valley to the coast and everywhere in between. SA, yes they are an option, but LA will not get two teams so why not pack 65,000 people into a downtown stadium 8 times a year and reap all the benefits!!!!

Oh, by the way, the Seahawks getting to the Superbowl really put the passion in the fans of the Northwest!

Sorry, another thought, UofO's stadium is more than capable of being a guest host for awhile until PDX's brand new vintage stadium is complete with the "Tonkin" face all over the place!

quote:

Originally posted by Rockstar:
Oh, by the way, the Seahawks getting to the Superbowl really put the passion in the fans of the Northwest!

Oddly enough, it barely made a blip here in Portland. Ratings were far below what was antisipated. Was very surprising.

I think the NFL would be wonderful in Portland. Didn't the old WFL and USFL teams draw pretty well here? However, with no stadium plan in the foreseeable future (Let's face it, even our baseball stadium plans are further along), and the NFL even less likely to expand than MLB, I don't see it any time soon. But if the ball got rolling for it, I'd be happy to have it.

(shifting gears)...

Here's where it gets interesting in Portland...

This is the last year of the contract with the Beavers and the Padres. Anyone wish to wager on whether the Rainers move to Portland?

How much longer on the contract between the Mariners and Raniers? I don't see the Raniers moving here, but I could see the Beavers being the AAA club of Seattle.

quote:

Originally posted by Portland Reds:
How much longer on the contract between the Mariners and Raniers? I don't see the Raniers moving here, but I could see the Beavers being the AAA club of Seattle.

Well, it would be the same thing. The players, obviously, would be from the Mariners system. So, it would be the Rainers' players called the Beavers.

The Mariners taking over in Portland and San Diego moving to Tacoma? I wouldn't take that bet. Despite the less-than-ideal conditions at Cheney Stadium (it's just old), I think the Mariners would prefer to keep their AAA team close, and it makes the most sense for them. I foresee Portland being with the Padres until we get our major league team in a few years.

Never said the Beavers would be going to Tacoma just that I would not discount the Mariners farm team being in Portland soon.

So where WOULD the Padres' AAA team go? Is this all just speculation or are there some "rumors" floating around out there?

Wasn't there some talk of Seattle moving there affilliation here a year or two ago?

quote:

Originally posted by framefive:
Wasn't there some talk of Seattle moving there affilliation here a year or two ago?

Yes.

quote:

Originally posted by BC in Newberg:
So where WOULD the Padres' AAA team go? Is this all just speculation or are there some "rumors" floating around out there?

Yes, and yes.

It would certainly help at the gate here, that's for sure.

I don't think it would help the gate much at all. Minor league affiliations jump around all the time, except in rare instances. It won't matter if the players we watch are farmhands of the Mariners or farmhands of the Padres - it is still MINOR league baseball, and Portland is ready for major league baseball. I wouldn't predict more than a 10% increase at most if we were affiliated with the Mariners ... but again, that's just one opinion.

Might make an interesting study to see how much a minor league team's attendance jumps (if at all) when a team changes affiliations to a more-local major league club - and how much it decreases (if any) when a team re-affiliates with someone further away.

I believe that if the Mariners move their AAA team to PDX, it will only make the process that much longer for PDX to land MLB. The Mariners will have a stronger argument and the fans on the edge here in PDX will be satisfied with seeing future and/or current MLB players right there at PGE Park. Let's not go further into the hole with our attempt to land MLB by allowing or wishing for the Mariner's AAA team, stay focused and don't get comfortable with minor league sports.