Watch CBS News

Oakland, SJ Mayors Trade Barbs Over Future Home Of A's

SAN JOSE (KCBS) - The Battle of the Bay continues, and it has everything to do with the elected officials in charge of the cities vying for the Oakland A's baseball team.

By all accounts, the rivalry is intensifying - last week, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan insisted her city is still in the team's future. She said Oakland can, in fact, finance a new ballpark. She went so far as to point out that San Jose is "more broke" than Oakland, a reference to Oakland's redevelopment agency being in what she considered to be a more financial healthy situation than San Jose's.

"It's irrelevant to the future of the ballpark," responded San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. "Because Lew Wolff and the A's are committed to building the stadium, paying for the stadium, and operating the stadium without any city subsidies."

According to Reed, the A's can be profitable in San Jose, which is why he believes the team wants to make the move.

"They'd move into one of the highest household income cities in the country, with a great corporate base, the capitol of Silicon Valley, and a great fan base," he pointed out. "The A's can be profitable in San Jose, they don't believe they can be profitable in Oakland."

KCBS' Betsy Gebhart Reports:

Finances, however, aren't the only hurdle the team would have to clear in order to move to San Jose. Major League Baseball would have to sign off on the transition because the SF Giants have territorial rights over the area.

(© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.