A's Owner Says Team Close To Signing 10-Year Lease Extension At Coliseum
OAKLAND (CBS SF) - A's owner Lew Wolff appeared on Bloomberg TV Wednesday and said he expects the team to hammer out a lease extension in Oakland over the next few weeks.
"We're having some very good conversations with the authority in Oakland… we're close to a deal point," Wolff said. "It's going to be a ten year lease. We'll find out what happens during all that, I just don't know."
The team's current lease runs out after the end of next season.
During the interview on the 'Market Makers' program, Wolff repeatedly stated his intentions to stay in the Bay Area and continue the A's tradition in the area despite obstacles getting a new home built for his team.
"It's been very hard to try and implement a facility that's going to cost seven to eight hundred million dollars," Wolff said.
In discussing San Jose's lawsuit against Major League Baseball, Wolff said he doesn't support any lawsuits "unless they are really important."
MLB has stalled Wolff's plans to move the team to the South Bay over a territorial claim on the region by the San Francisco Giants. In February, that challenge to baseballs anti-trust exemption was fast-tracked by a federal judge. Some analysts think the case could eventually wind up at the Supreme Court.
