Phil Matier: Investment Groups Eye The Athletics
OAKLAND (CBS SF) - Two investment groups have reportedly expressed serious interest in buying the Oakland Athletics and keeping the team in its current home.
KCBS, CBS 5 and Chronicle Insider Phil Matier reports in Monday's Matier and Ross column that one of groups is from the Los Angeles area and is led by a financial services industry executive. The second group is led by a longtime executive from a high-profile Silicon Valley firm who owns a minor league baseball franchise.
Neither group was publicly identified.
The team's current owner, Lew Wolff, has repeatedly insisted the team is not for sale.
KCBS, CBS 5 and Chronicle Insider Phil Matier:
San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed also dismissed the reports. Reed, who is trying to lure the team, said his city offers a better economic environment for the team than Oakland.
The mayor said he spoke to Wolff over the weekend. He doesn't believe the owner has any plans to sell and wants to keep the team and move them to the South Bay.
"Until Lew Wolff and the A's ownership say they're interested in selling the team I think that's all just rumor and speculation," Reed said.
The San Francisco Giants have territorial rights in San Jose, and Major League Baseball has not yet ruled on if those rights will be challenged.
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