After spending the last couple of years working on plans to move the team to nearby Fremont, Calif., the Oakland Athletics announced on Tuesday that, due to complications, they were no longer considering the migration. Of course, just because the team has to stay in Oakland for now, that doesn't mean it is going to be there forever.The team would still like a new stadium, after all, and if they aren't going to get it in Oakland, they're going to look elsewhere. Somewhere like San Jose.
With the demise of the Oakland A's plans for a Fremont ballpark, San Jose - with a viable downtown stadium site, a big-city redevelopment agency and supportive politicians - emerged Tuesday as the Bay Area's leading candidate to snare the team.The city of Oakland has also said it's going to get "creative" in its attempt to keep Oakland in the city, but it seems that San Jose is more interested in the team right now, though that doesn't mean the Athletics are going to start packing their bags just yet.
But with the San Francisco Giants clutching territorial rights to Santa Clara County, the decision won't be up to San Jose, or the A's, alone. Major League Baseball may need to step in if Silicon Valley is to have the chance to flirt with big-league baseball again.
Before they start working on the details the city of San Jose would like Oakland owner Lew Wolff to buy the land and front the money for the new park near a pre-determined site. Even if Wolff approves of the site, he did just spend $80 million trying to get a ballpark in Fremont, and I'm not sure he's going to have enough money to do it all over again just yet.
