So if he gets the team would this put a dent in moving the A's for at least 5 years?


A well-heeled Silicon Valley investor interested in a new downtown Oakland A's ballpark is gearing up to buy a half-interest in the baseball team with an eye on taking full control of the A's after the 2003 season, The Oakland Tribune has learned.
The young, ambitious venture capitalist, who wishes to remain anonymous while he assembles a group of investors to purchase the A's, plans to make a written offer in the next few weeks to buy out team co-owner Ken Hofmann, two high-ranking sources familiar with the potential deal said Thursday. That and this report from The Oakland Tribune's Robert Gammon

Hofmann has been rumored to be interested in selling his stake in the A's for the past few years. One source estimated Hofmann's 50 percent ownership is worth $70 million to $75 million.

The investor -- who one source said "loves downtown Oakland" as a site for a new A's ballpark -- and his group want to buy the entire franchise, but the other A's owner, Steve Schott, is not yet ready to sell his half.

Schott wants to hold onto his 50 percent share because he believes the A's are bonafide contenders to win the World Series in 2003, the sources said. The A's have made the playoffs each of the past three years, but have not won the Series since 1989.

Either winning the championship in 2003, getting a new stadium deal, or both, would dramatically increase the value of Schott's share of the team.

According to the proposed deal, Schott would remain managing partner of the A's through the 2003 season, the sources said. After that, the new investor -- who has not been linked with previous rumored sales of the A's -- and his group would take over.

"He thinks he can buy out Schott and he has the money to do it," one source said of the Silicon Valley investor. "He's young, he's ambitious, he's got a lot of money and he's got a good group behind him."

News of the possible deal to sell the team rekindled hope Thursday for A's fans who had all but given up on the idea of a new A's ballpark, which the A's and Major League Baseball have said Oakland needs to remain financially viable. Without a ballpark, some fans worried the team may eventually leave Oakland.

"That would be great. What a Christmas present -- post-Christmas," Lil Bartholo, head of the Oakland A's Fan Coalition, said of the possible team sale. "It would be a shot in the arm for fans."

A's officials did not return phone calls requesting comment Thursday.

Oakland City Manager Robert Bobb, the primary backer of keeping the team in Oakland and building a new downtown stadium, would not comment on the new investor or the possible sale of the team. That and this report from The Oakland Tribune's Robert Gammon

One source said Major League Baseball is aware of the Silicon Valley venture capitalist and may be willing to approve the deal. The league spurned the last serious offer for the A's in 1999.

The possible deal to sell the team would be the third in the past 17 months. In August 2001, Mandalay Entertainment of Hollywood almost bought the A's for $150 million. Then in July 2002, a deal to sell the team to Washington, D.C., investor Jonathan Ledecky for $170 million collapsed after Ledecky reportedly missed a deadline for making a $12 million deposit on the team. In both instances, the team denied the A's were for sale.

In addition, Schott said in spring 2001 that he wanted to relocate the A's to Santa Clara to a site next to Great America, but those plans were later put on hold indefinitely.

Now, sources say there may be a renewed attempt to move the team to Santa Clara if the new deal to sell the A's to the Silicon Valley investor falls through. Santa Clara has a new mayor who supported Schott's previous plans. Also, sources said there may be an interest in relocating the team to San Jose.

Hopes for a new downtown Oakland A's ballpark were just about abandoned earlier this month when the City Council, at the behest of Mayor Jerry Brown, decided to press ahead on a major housing project.

The Forest City housing development is to be built on the same site in "uptown" Oakland identified by respected baseball experts as the best spot in the East Bay for a new A's ballpark.

Brown and City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente have viewed the ballpark plan as just a pipe dream and the Forest City project as a key component in the mayor's plan to bring 10,000 new residents to downtown Oakland.

In addition, Schott and Hofmann failed to step forward and publicly support the uptown stadium plan, which, coupled with the mayor and the council's support for the Forest City deal, prompted ballpark proponents to essentially give up the fight for a ballpark in uptown.

"At the end of the day, it doesn't make sense for us to sit on the uptown site when the Oakland A's have expressed no more than a casual interest," Bobb said Thursday.

Most fans and ballpark supporters in the past few months came to believe there could be no new A's stadium in downtown unless the team was sold. Now, the new Silicon Valley investor could be exactly what they had longed for.

One source said the new investor "loves downtown Oakland" as a site for a new ballpark. And uptown, which is mostly a parking lot, remains the only stadium spot in the area that makes any financial sense. A ballpark in uptown is estimated to cost at least $350 million to $400 million.

City Hall insiders, meanwhile, have speculated that Forest City may be losing interest in the uptown deal because of the ailing economy. Forest City also is said to want a higher public subsidy than the $60 million the council tentatively approved last week.

But De La Fuente said Thursday that while he would attempt to work with new A's owners, any speculation that Forest City will call off the housing deal is off base.

"Nobody is going to stop this deal -- no way," he said.

De La Fuente said he was aware of the Silicon Valley investor's interest in the A's, but is skeptical about any deal to sell half of the team now. He said it would make more sense for Schott to buy out Hofmann and then sell the team later if it wins the World Series. That and this report from The Oakland Tribune's Robert Gammon

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A's deny reports of franchises sale

A spokesman for A's co-owner Steve Schott on Friday rejected reports that a deal may be in the offing to sell half of the team to a South Bay investor, who then would take full ownership after the coming season. That and this report from The Contra Costa Times' Guy Ashley
"There have been no offers for the team and nothing to indicate there will be any offers in the near future," Sam Spear, a senior consultant for the A's, said in reference to a report published Friday in the Oakland Tribune.

"If there were a person who was serious about purchasing the team, I don't think that person would come forward now," before even talking to the A's ownership.

The name of the interested buyer has not been publicly disclosed, and Spear said he did not know his name.

Schott was out of town and could not be reached for comment, though Spear spoke to him by telephone Friday morning.

The report appears to be built on recurring speculation that Schott's fellow co-owner, Contra Costa County developer Kenneth Hofmann, wants to sell the team.

Hofmann will turn 80 in the coming months, and officials close to the A's say he has expressed doubts about keeping up with the rigors of owning a major league franchise.

But Spear, who spoke to Hofmann as recently as last week, said the A's co-owner has not made up his mind.

"Some days he feels it's time to share his portion of the team, some days he doesn't," Spear said.

Hofmann also could not be reached for comment. "Mr. Hofmann doesn't talk to reporters," said a secretary in his Concord offices.

A friend of Schott's, Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone, said reports that Schott might be willing to sell his share of the team after the coming season are plausible.

"I think Steve knows he's got the best team in baseball and he would like to continue to own his share of the A's and take at least one more shot at winning the World Series," Stone said.

Bringing in an outside investor now would enable Schott to maintain his control of the team for the coming season, while stars such as Miguel Tejada remain under contract, Stone said.

He said Schott indeed may be interested in divesting himself of the team in coming years, however, when many of the team's talented young players will be demanding significantly higher salaries.

Word of a possible sale of the team comes as officials in Santa Clara County reportedly are mulling a revived effort to lure the team to the South Bay.

The Santa Clara City Council last year voted to engage the team in talks about bringing them to the city to play in a ballpark that would be built on vacant land next to the Great America amusement park.

The council pulled the plug on the effort, however, when it was reported that Schott and Hofmann were in serious talks about selling the team to a group of investors based in Las Vegas.

As a result of last month's elections, a mayor who opposed talks with the A's was replaced by a city councilwoman who is one of the strongest supporters of bringing the team to the city.

The incoming mayor, Patricia Mahan, will be replaced in her council seat by Dominic Caserta, who said last week he would be interested in entertaining proposals to bring the A's to Santa Clara County.

The changes prompted another longtime councilman, John McLemore, to predict that plans to engage the A's will be revived soon after the New Year.

"I expect the city council will come forward with something in the next 90 to 120 days," McLemore said. That and this report from The Contra Costa Times' Guy Ashley

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Anaheim Angels 2002 World Champions

Washington State Cougars Rose Bowl Bound!