OK, he finally came out and said it. - Transic

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Athletics Owner Wolff Wants to Move Team to San Jose (Update 1)

By Erik Matuszewski

Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Oakland Athletics owner Lew Wolff said he’d like to move the Major League Baseball team to San Jose, California, which would get $130 million a year in economic benefits from a new stadium, according to a study released today.

The A’s, who dropped plans to move to Fremont, California, this year, have the second-lowest home attendance in the major leagues this season and have been seeking a new stadium to help generate more revenue from suites, luxury seating, parking and concessions. The Athletics have played in Oakland’s Coliseum -- now the McAfee Coliseum -- since 1968, and are committed through 2010 under their lease agreement.

Wolff said San Jose is now the best option for the team’s new home. The city, which has a population of more than 1 million and is the 10th-largest in the U.S., is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Oakland.

“We’ve explored the Bay Area for a long time now and I think our only real option is downtown San Jose,” Wolff, chairman of Los Angeles-based developer Wolff Urban Development LLC, said in a telephone interview.

Wolff, 73, said he’s waiting to hear whether a move to San Jose would be allowed by Major League Baseball since the San Francisco Giants hold territorial rights to San Jose. Baseball spokesman Pat Courtney said a league committee is “in midst of work on this issue” and there’s no timeframe for a decision.

“We probably should be sharing the entire Bay Area, just like the other two-team markets in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles/Anaheim,” Wolff said. “They’re looking into it. A lot of things have changed. It’s really up to Major League Baseball to give us a direction.”

A’s Attendance

The A’s are averaging 18,022 fans a game this season, ahead of only the Florida Marlins. The National Football League’s Oakland Raiders also use the 63,000-seat stadium, which is owned by the city of Oakland and Alameda County.

The proposed 32,000-seat stadium in San Jose would be privately built and operated.

It would have the potential to generate 1,000 new jobs and more than $5 million a year in revenue for local governments, according to a report issued today by industry consultant Conventions Sports & Leisure International. Over a 30-year period, the cumulative economic effect would be $2.9 billion, with personal wages exceeding $1.3 billion, the study said.

“All that is really important in these tough economic times and we’d get baseball as a bonus,” San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed said in a telephone interview.

Reed, like Wolff, has encouraged Major League Baseball to waive the territorial rights issue. Giants spokesman Jim Moorehead didn’t immediately return messages.

San Jose is the best option “to stay in northern California and that’s what we want to do,” Wolff said. “We haven’t really explored other cities, nor do we want to.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 3, 2009 16:22 EDT