A's send mixed signals to San Jose about stadium

August 21, 2005
San Jose Mercury News

So, two weeks ago, Oakland A's owner Lew Wolff discloses plans for a new baseball park and it's got to have a BART station right next to it.

Hmm, doesn't that sound like the downtown area right behind San Jose's Diridon Station where a future BART stop has been planned? And isn't that same area being targeted for acquisition by the redevelopment agency?

And wasn't it convenient that the A's provided to the world renderings of the stadium-condo/hotel project they've proposed for a site in Oakland? A skeptic would say that made it easier for baseball zealots in San Jose to configure a parcel for the A's without violating Major League Baseball etiquette.

Fifteen years ago, baseball granted the San Francisco Giants territorial rights over San Jose, essentially giving the National League team veto power over the city's ability to obtain a team.

Undaunted, San Jose officials are quietly -- but unofficially -- preparing a potential site for the A's. The Aug. 16 agenda for the council's closed session shows council members discussed acquiring seven properties on South Montgomery Street as well as properties on Park Avenue and West San Fernando Street.

Paul Krutko, the city's economic development chief who supports getting a team for San Jose, dispels the notion that those properties are being exclusively earmarked for a ballpark.

``I want to be clear,'' he said, ``we are pursuing the acquisitions of those properties because in our plans, that is shown as a housing site.''

County Assessor Larry Stone, a leader in the drive to land a baseball team in San Jose, looks at it differently.

``If and when the south Diridon properties are assembled and acquired, that'll send a message to Major League Baseball and to the Oakland A's and the San Francisco Giants that San Jose is serious about bringing Major League Baseball to downtown San Jose,'' he said.

Stone is not dissuaded by the A's announced plans for a new Oakland park.

``Because you select a site over in Oakland, it doesn't change our posture or direction at all,'' Stone said.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/12438919.htm