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Baseball leads lineup for San Jose task force
PLAN TO EVALUATE FACILITIES, LURE MAJOR PRO CLUB
By David Pollak
The San Jose Mercury News

San Jose's newly formed Sports Facilities Task Force put major league baseball at the top of its preliminary wish list Monday after getting a crash course in pro franchise economics.

The group of civic and business leaders meeting for the first time was bombarded with data on everything from NFL television revenues to NBA player payrolls. And it received a reality check from one of its own on the challenges ahead -- especially if significant public money is required to bring the A's 50 miles down I-880 from Oakland.

Using revenue bonds or a hotel-room tax to finance a new stadium could work, said attorney William Gates, a self-described ``sports nut'' who has been involved in negotiations to lure the Giants and A's to the South Bay for more than a dozen years.

Then he offered some cautionary advice:

``If you give the citizens of San Jose the opportunity to tax themselves to bring a team here, well, let me just repeat the words of a respected gambler, Amarillo Slim: If it comes up red 10 times in a row, you don't bet black. Please, let's do ourselves a favor here and not have any scenario that asks the people of San Jose to tax themselves.''

San Jose voters rejected the idea of a utility tax increase to build a stadium for the Giants in 1992. Two years earlier, voters countywide did the same to a Santa Clara stadium plan.

Based on contact with the A's last year, Gates said the team's owners, Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann, are considering only two options: Move the team or sell it.

The A's have wanted out of Oakland Coliseum since it was expanded to accommodate the Raiders in 1995. The team has hired Lew Wolff, a developer with ties to downtown San Jose, to be in charge of its search. Sites in Alameda County are being considered.

One potential obstacle to a San Jose move -- the fact that Major League Baseball has upheld a Giants claim to the South Bay as part of its home territory -- did not come up for discussion.

The task force was created by the San Jose Sports Authority and City Council last fall. It has been directed to evaluate existing facilities in San Jose and also formulate a plan for giving the city a presence in Major League Baseball, the NBA or the NFL as part of an overall economic development program.

Directors evaluated existing facilities in San Jose such as Spartan Stadium, whose future as a professional soccer venue is in doubt.

A Minneapolis-based sports consultant presented statistics showing how San Jose's demographics fare in comparison with other pro franchise locations. But there was uncertainty over how to define San Jose's area of influence.

Is it just Santa Clara County? Or does it stretch from Monterey to San Francisco?

``This is a unique market,'' said Craig Skiem of Conventions, Sports and Leisure consultants. ``It isn't Pittsburgh where there is a market and a team comes in or goes out. This is a market that has multiple populations and teams.''

San Jose City Manager Del Borgsdorf, who addressed the task force, drew on prior experiences in North Carolina. ``When we brought the NFL to Charlotte, we claimed everything from Washington, D.C., to Atlanta.''

Skiem's report showed that of the past eight baseball stadiums built, only San Francisco did it primarily with private money. The eight averaged $324 million in cost, with the financing two-thirds public.

The consultant's appearance at the task force's first meeting came without cost to the city, Borgsdorf said. But further market studies requested on everything from economic impact to likely corporate support would have a price tag.

But council member David Cortese said that private funds might be available to pay for the research.

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Contact David Pollak at dpollak@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5940.

"PLAY BALL!"

Hmm, very interesting. What really got my interest was this task force being interested in an NFL team. The Raiders might be a distinct possibility for San Jose.

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