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A's extend stadium search exec's contract

Eric Young
8:16 AM PDT Friday

Oakland A's executives said Thursday they have granted a one-year extension to the team vice president charged with finding a site for a new baseball stadium.

Lewis Wolff was hired by owners Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann in November 2003 to locate a site for a baseball-only park. He was on a month-to-month employment agreement, but the new extension means Wolff will be with the team until at least next baseball season.

"The A's need a level playing field among the other teams in Major League Baseball in order to have some of the whistles and bells that allow revenue to pay more for players," Wolff said in an interview with the San Francisco Business Times after his appointment last year. Those whistles and bells include things like luxury suites and naming rights deals that are part of many new ballfields such as SBC Park in San Francisco.

The A's share Network Associates Coliseum with football's Oakland Raiders. Under their agreement, the A's keep concession and parking revenues but split money from naming rights.

Wolff co-founded Maritz Wolff & Co., a Los Angeles-based private investment fund that owns luxury resorts and hotels.

A's officials won't say how Wolff is progressing with his site search. Some executives in baseball have speculated that in addition to scouting out locations in the East Bay, Wolff will investigate sites around San Jose.

The San Francisco Giants oppose any attempt by the A's to relocate to the South Bay. When Peter Magowan and other investors bought the Giants in 1992, Major League Baseball granted the team territorial rights to Santa Clara County, meaning no other big league franchise may settle there.

© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.