Check this out A's fans! I'm happy! Are you?

http://www.insidebayarea.com/breaking-news/ci_22241198/text-oakland-owner-lew-wolffs-letter-requesting-stay

Of course the A 's have to have a guaranteed place to play for 2013 season and beyond. This does not mean that Lew and the team won't keep on trying to move team out of Oakland. By the time this lease is over, we should know by then where the A 's will be playing.....Selig will somehow make a decision before his term as commish will be over. I am still seeing this team out of Oakland or even out of California, whether they are winning or not, especially when fan support remains as is (as expected). The last month of the season was indeed exciting..... It was a miracle and I do not believe 2013 will be the same. But I hope and want to be wrong....only, I could already see the angels wearing their halos for next season.

Fyi > I heard this from uncle townie when listening from his 95.7 sport talk show....

I am happy too knowing the A's are still in California next year and not move out or contracted.

Cheers!

The A's lease for the Coliseum is $1.8M total for 2012 and 2013 per this article:

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/sports/Oakland-As-Are-Homeless-After-2013-137701478.html

That is a pretty sweet deal (SF pays around $20M/yr debt service on their park). Wonder what the 2014-18 deal will look like? The Joint Powers Authority must be fairly inept, cutting a $900K/yr. lease deal for the A's and then there's the swindling that Al Davis laid on them. Bozos, big time.

I was feeling really good about our SP vs. the Angels SP until they traded for Jason Vargas. In my view, he is an exceptional arm and he owned us last season:

2-1, 2.18 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, .182 BAA

The Angels have definitely upgraded their entire staff including the pen.

I like our A's but last year was simply a miracle. I do not expect it to happen again.....and knowing the Angel's and Moreno wanting to win, I bet on them early in Vegas when the odds was not in their favor to win all especially the al west. Pujols, trout and Hamilton and their pitchers who really are not chop liver will now win it handily, i think. The mariners just got fleeced for swapping Vargas with Morales for sure..... I still hope the A's will grab a wildcard spot next season though.

Rush: Sorry, missed this thread when I posted another on the topic...

I think a 5 years is too short...

Make it 10 years or toss'm out - is my choice of a position for Oakland and the County to take

I say, no.... Shame on the A's for trying to stick up the city and county..

Sign a 10 years lease or hit the road Jack and don't come back, should be the Oakland and Alameda Co. approach... If the A's say no - then look sell the land or tear it down and make it a public park with plenty of big field sport sites or a bit of both.. With Soccer, Baseball you name it fields - Sports by and for people...

The current A's ownership has snubbed the city - who has tried to work with them in building a stadium here...

The A's ownership publicly has stated it wants to move to San Jose... I think Oakland should say, "Go for it A's, thanks for the memories and get the heck out now..

Time for the city and county to move on... The place paid for itself once over and more...

The Warriors are leaving... Looks like the Raiders are too ... Throw the A's out with them and good riddance..

Public monies spent on Pro Sports are a cancer on municipalities... Time for the ESPN types with their embarrassingly stupid jiggles and their phony patriotic hyperbole to pay for things themselves...

Oakland owes the A's nothing now!!!

Hey, I like the Oakland A's - Love'm really... But, I believe in tough love.. If the A's think they are too good for Oakland - (my always will be home town) - then I say, "there's the door and don't let it hit you in the behind on the way out"...

Also, reading the Wolffie's letter about made me puke.... Jobs right!!!... Inflated figures and most live out of town and take their paychecks with them when they go home...

More real Oakland jobs would come from using the property in another way...

Stuff it Wolff!!!!

10 years or bust for Oakland and the A's!!!!

The part about moving elsewhere??? Where is elsewhere, Lew???... A traveling road show.. HAHAHHAHAHHA.... LEW IS A LAUGH A MINUTE!!!!

The idiot Mayor Kevin Johnson would probably promise the A's the West Sacto 12,500 seat stadium (not in his jurisdiction nor county nor his stadium, by the way) to get them up there for 5 years... That idiot thinks closing libraries, kiddie parks, public parks and pools is better than not having a pro sports team... He and Wolff are made for each other...

Mexico City beckons, Lew..

Montreal is open...

Oklahoma City... 2 million in the metro.... Portland??? Honolulu???

The sunken diamond at Stanford - right you can't use that Lew - GIANT'S territory..

HOLD YOUR GROUND OAKLAND!!!!! A'S OUT NOW!!!! TELL THE SAN JOSE (from Lew's Letter) A's TO LEAVE NOW!!

Why should the people of Oakland and Alameda County be held hostage by some Smellybuck Billionaire - who refuses to invest in his ball club in Oakland??

Why facilitate a man who stated goal is to leave and until he does, refuses to offer up a the best baseball product he can????

OUT WITH YOU LEW!!!! NOW IS BETTER THAN LATER!!!!

GO SAVE YOUR MONEY SOMEWHERE ELSE, SAN JOSE LEW!!!!...

OAKLAND AIN'T YOUR PIGGY BANK!!!!

Vargas was like Seattle's Tommy Milone. A good #3 starter. A big step by the Halos. Trumbo now takes over the DH spot. I still see problems in their IF both offensively and defensively, but the Vargas trade makes them the favorites, IMHO.

I totally agree about Vargas. Didn't he have an 8 game winning streak last season?
I followed him because of my Baseball Fantasy. I should have picked him up but another guy in my league did.

He will probably have a better year with that potent offense behind him!

No worries buddy!

Your posts on this thread were very entertaining to read!

The A's will get back into the playoffs "One Way Or Another."

Signed,

Blondie

I agree! "Bozos big time!"

Now that Mark Davis is in control of the Raiders who knows what will happen.

Mark Davis = A BIG TIME BOZO!

It wouldn't surprise me if the Raiders get that billion dollar stadium in Los Angeles.

If I had my way I would put the A's in Jack London and then blow up the Coliseum and build a state of the art Raider Complex!

I think it would make sense for the Raiders to share the new Niners facility in Santa Clara. Not sure there's any money around for a new Coliseum.

It works for the Giants and Jets! It would work for the Raiders and Niners!
Not sure the fans of both clubs would agree.

I would go for that!

I agree the Angels look like division winners on paper. Texas may be a third place finisher. The Rangers have lost a lot of power.

The Coliseum Joint Powers Authority should respond with a contract offer like this...

$200,000,000 for 10 years guaranteed by a 400 million performance of contract bond paid for by the A's to include any and all costs for legal service incurred by the owners if the A's default; and for the coverage of all unpaid - interest, penalties and payments that are past due.. There is no escape from this contract if A's fail to occupy the Coliseum... The rent is due whether the A's play there or not...

Payments due annually at $20,000,000 on October 31th starting in 2014 through 2023... Any late payments are penalized 10% with a 1.5% / month interest rate on late payments added to the penalties and debt... The A's shall maintain the facility in an as found manner..

All current taxes on income and shares of revenue to the Coliseum owners - if any - shall remain in effect in addition to the above agreed to rent...

This is the last and final offer from the Coliseum Joint Powers Authority to the Oakland A's MLB Organization.. The A's will have 14 days upon receipt of this offer to agree to it in full or the CJPA will proceed with other plans for the Coliseum property.

The idea that the A's are only paying 1.8 million a year is a travesty perpetuated on the people of Alameda Co. and the City of Oakland... It can not even cover the cost of annual up keep... If the A's are the only occupant it would even be worse...

Wolff's arrogantly plans to build a 500 million dollar stadium in San Jose... While he expects at the same time the City of Oakland and the County of Alameda to subsidize all this with an egregiously low rent for their facility...

Time to pay up or leave.. Lew

GO CUT BAIT, LEW ... YOU ARE SCREWED

Save some of your anger for the JPA, as well. They don't seem to have our best interests in mind. The idea is that they negotiate the lease of the Coliseum for the benefit of the residents of Alameda County. The current lease deal is anything but. What was their motivation for such a sweetheart deal?

I don't think either of us would be so utterly incompetent as to sign a $900K/yr. lease agreement with the A's. Since it's not their money, they don't really give a sh*t.

Beane: JPA ???? enlighten me

I'm not saving my anger ... I've got plenty of it when it comes to Wolff his ilk

The Joint Powers Authority is the entity that cut the sweetheart deal with the A's. They sold us out pretty cheaply.

Leasing the Coliseum to the A's for $900K/yr for 2 years is incomprehensible. If you owned a nice rental property in the Oakland Hills that was worth a $5000/mo. 2-year lease would you lease it to me for $250/mo.? What's wrong with these guys? They're not screwing themselves. They have their nice bureaucrat salaries and retirement. They're screwing the citizens of Alameda County out of what should be $5 or 10 million a year in revenue. Maybe Lew greased them a little?