Oakland Coliseum will remain A's home through '15
OAKLAND -- Any lingering speculation on the possibility of the A's playing their home games at San Francisco's AT&T Park next year was put to rest Monday.
The A's will continue to call the Oakland Coliseum home through at least 2015, as stated under a lease extension approved by stadium officials, 7-1, at a morning meeting.
The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority also approved a one-year lease extension for the Oakland Raiders, who have shared the facility with the A's since 1995.
This news comes just weeks after Major League Baseball demanded the A's be granted a two-year lease -- the Coliseum's powers wanted at least a five-year lease -- or be subjected to sharing the Giants' home at AT&T Park for the 2014 season.
"At the end of the day, it's not ideal, but it's progress," Alameda County supervisor Nate Miley, who is chairman of the Coliseum board, told the Bay Area News Group. "The big thing is Major League Baseball supports this, and I think it's important to have [its] support for what we're doing with the A's for the moment and looking toward the future."
According to multiple reports, the A's have agreed to pay $1.75 million annually not only as part of a yearly license fee but to also control concessions, which had caused pause during previous negotiations. That's more than double the total of their previous payment of $800,000 last season.
Still, this new pact does not dissipate the long-term concern of whether Oakland can keep the A's from leaving town. For nearly five years, the A's have been waiting word on the findings of a three-man committee appointed by Commissioner Bud Selig to explore potential locations for a new stadium.
All the while, A's majority owner Lew Wolff has pushed to relocate the A's to San Jose, going so far as coming to an agreement with the city for a future ballpark. But it won't be built unless the Giants give up their territorial rights to Silicon Valley, which remains a long shot.
Selig announced his retirement, effective January 2015, in September, and it was at that time he stated he plans to resolve the A's quest to move to San Jose before he leaves office.
"Look, you have one team that wants to move and the other team doesn't want them to move, and it's a very complicated situation," Selig said. "Before I leave, I'm satisfied we'll work out something.
"I'm not happy about it. It's an unfortunate mess. I wish there was an easy solution, but in truth, there is not an easy solution."
The A's have played at the degrading Coliseum, which Selig called "a pit," since 1968. It is the fourth-oldest stadium in the league and the only multipurpose stadium left to serve as a full-time home to both a MLB team and NFL team.