San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed is steering the Oakland A’s to his city.
Frustrated
after waiting 16 months for MLB Commissioner Bud Selig’s committee to
explore potential destinations for the Oakland ballclub, Reed decided
to make a dramatic move. He issued a proposal to put the privately
financed ballpark measure on the November ballot, with or without
approval from MLB.
Reed’s
hopes were that it might nudge MLB if they saw that a ballpark was
already approved, and Reed thought it would save the city money putting
the issue to voters in November. The nudge worked – at least providing
movement from MLB.
Selig
expressed disappointment in Reed’s premature proposal since the league
has yet to decide whether or not the team can move. Since then, however, MLB officials said they would help cover any costs of a special election, if needed.
On Thursday, Reed provided an exclusive interview:
In your heart, do you believe the A’s will eventually be in San Jose?
Yes.
Okay, that’s a good, quick answer.
The
economics of the deal are pretty powerful and I think when Major League
Baseball owners look at what is in it for them, they will see it is of
great value to Major League Baseball.
Right
now, the A’s in Oakland are a net drag on Major League Baseball in
revenue sharing in excess of $30 million a year. If they move to San
Jose, they will be a net positive. So that’s a million dollars to every
club basically in revenue sharing differential.
We also have
the highest household median income of any big city in the country. We
have a great corporate base here in Silicon Valley, a market that Major
League Baseball certainly wants to be engaged in. The economics of the
analysis are pretty strong.
Is Major League Baseball’s firmness that San Jose should delay voting on a ballpark a good or bad sign?
I
read it as a good sign because they offered to help pay for a special
election in the spring. That is some movement on their part. I take it
as a good sign.
Who in Major League Baseball were the recent conversations with and what’s the summary of how that conversation went?
It
was with the President of Major League Baseball, Bob DuPuy. He said
that they were very appreciative of the work we have done in San Jose.
They appreciate our enthusiasm. But that the commissioner had a
sequence and a process that he wanted to follow and the commissioner
thought that having the election in November would be disruptive to the
work that he is trying to do.
They understand there is a cost
factor in having a special election and that is why they offered to
help pay for a special election in the spring. So it was a cordial
conversation. I decided that the best course would be to honor the
commissioner’s request and let him do the work in the order in which he
wants to do it.
What is the current dialogue between you and A’s owner Lew Wolff regarding making this happen?
Lew
and I talk on a regular basis. His side of the equation is to work with
Major League Baseball and my side of the equation is to work here on
putting San Jose in the best position possible so when the commissioner
is finished with his process we’re able to move ahead.
Are you an Oakland A’s fan or a Giants fan?
I
have been a fan of both of those teams but I stopped being much of a
baseball fan in the last strike. So for me, I’m not a fanatical
baseball fan.
This is an economical development opportunity
for the city of San Jose. We’re talking about nearly a $500 million
private sector investment. Privately financed, privately built, privately
operated investment of $500 million will generate thousands of jobs and
millions of dollars of tax revenues for local government. We would love
to have additional tax revenues and additional jobs.
How much of an issue is it to MLB regarding the San Francisco Giants territorial rights?
The
Giants territorial rights were created in the early ‘90s when the
Giants wanted to move to San Jose. The A’s were happy to see them go –
because right now they’re five or 10 miles apart.
The
territorial rights belong to Major League Baseball and they can be
changed by the owners. It takes a ¾ vote of the owners to do that but
nevertheless I think it’s in Major League Baseball’s interest to do
that based on the economics of the deal. Obviously, it is a big issue
and the commissioner is very seriously considering it, trying to work
it out.
At this point, what is the biggest question mark for a possible move?
I
think the only big question mark is the territorial issue. Waiting for
Major League Baseball to decide whether or not to change the territory.
Are you confident that voters will embrace this and want a ballpark?
Yes.
As long as it’s privately financed, privately constructed and privately
operated, the voters are very enthusiastic about the possibility of
having a Major League team in San Jose.
PublicCEO Editor James Spencer can be reached at
[email protected]