http://www.timesstar.com/Stories/0,1413,125~11080~2065949,00.html


Inferior stadium has Schott on rampage


OAKLAND -- The chill at Network Associates Coliseum on Monday night was only matched by Steve Schott's latest cool expression of disdain and disgust for the place. The Net's obsolescence is becoming an obsession to him, much like the one Bob Lurie once carried for Candlestick Park.

The Oakland Athletics owner doesn't even try to temper his remarks regarding the park. He hates it. He loathes it. Even on opening night, he couldn't resist taking a few more choice shots at what he perceives to be a wholly unsuitable home for his two-time defending AL West champion club, not to mention a city government he views as unconcerned about the state of the stadium's rapid deterioration.

"It's difficult when you see a decent crowd here and you see people waiting in long lines at the concessions, you see people not being able to get around, you see the traffic backed up, you see deferred maintenance just about everywhere you go," Schott said before the A's 2004 debut against Texas. "You'll see it tonight. It's an issue, especially with all the new parks opening up, that to stay competitive -- I'll say it now and I'll say it again -- we need a new park."

With no solution even on the drawing board, let alone in sight, Schott sounds increasingly frustrated that things aren't moving along more swiftly toward that end. Even though he still has a large lease window in Oakland to get a new ballpark built somewhere in the Bay Area -- the A's could conceivably play at the Coliseum through 2010 -- he seems troubled by the total lack of urgency locally and baseball's unwillingness to grant concessions on South Bay territorial rights.

For the time being, to be sure, Schott's fairly trapped. He isn't proceeding as if he's handcuffed, however. While being admonished by the commissioner for his latest ruminations about Santa Clara County, he at least won a promise from Selig to come to the Coliseum as soon as possible and see for himself just how awful it has become.

Selig has gone on record several times in recent years about the Coliseum's inadequacy. During his last visit to the Bay Area in February 2003, he pronounced, "That stadium cannot produce enough revenue for (Schott's) team to be competitive and keep the players that they want to keep. That's just a fact of life."

Reminded of that comment Monday night, Schott smiled and said, "He said that without even seeing it. Now when he comes out here and looks at it, I would hope that opinion would be reinforced."

Apparently, Selig has not been inside the Coliseum since the 1989 World Series, so he hasn't seen it since it was enclosed with the football stands in center field. Schott knows for a fact he hasn't been here in nine years, because the commissioner hasn't visited since he and Ken Hofmann bought the club in 1995.

Pretty amazing, considering Oakland has made the postseason four straight seasons, that Bud has still managed to duck us. Maybe he's afraid the A's would stick him up on Mount Davis to underscore their dissatisfaction.

"I'm not going to take him up there," Schott mused. "I've been up there once before, and I'm afraid of heights. I had to hold onto the railing as I walked up to the very top. I couldn't wait to get back down."

Schott had hoped to get Selig here for opening night -- too bad, considering the 54-degree first-pitch temperatures -- but the commissioner was too busy this week. Sigh, for one thing, he has to help open the new ballparks in Philadelphia and San Diego. But he will be here in April. A good bet is during the three-game series against Anaheim starting April 23, considering it's the only home series on the schedule this month after the initial six-game homestand.

Just to make sure the commish doesn't miss any of the horror once he does arrive, Major League Baseball's president and chief operating officer Bob DuPuy will be in town Wednesday for what Schott termed a "preview tour." DuPuy will report back details of his findings to Selig, something of an advance scouting report.

Asked what he hoped these visits from Selig and DuPuy would accomplish, Schott wouldn't venture a guess. He's leaving it to our vivid imaginations.

"It certainly isn't going to hurt us any, that's for sure," he said. "The subject came up because he said I was beating up on the Giants all the time. I said, 'Look, I didn't start it.' But I also told him, 'You have to come out here and see why I have reason to complain.' I don't want to be called a whiner, but the officials here in Oakland don't have to play here. So they think it's a perfectly fine facility. They're not in any rush to do anything about it. And they've got their own monetary issues."

Is there any long-term hope at all for Oakland? Schott did say that his venue development point man, Lew Wolff, would be meeting with local officials in the next couple of weeks to see if there has been any progress. He wouldn't speculate about any other ballpark site possibilities.

"That gets back to the issues about where it might be in the Bay Area, and I'm not supposed to talk to you about that," Schott said sarcastically.

Bet that he'll talk to the commissioner about it, though -- perhaps even plead -- once he finally has a private audience with him. Schott needs leverage to accomplish his dream and Selig may be the only person who can grant it.

Carl Steward can be reached at

(510) 293-2451 or by e-mail at

csteward@angnewspapers.com