Oakland A's Lease Agreement Could Be Tweaked Behind Closed Doors Monday
OAKLAND (KCBS)— Oakland City Council is set to meet behind closed doors Monday to go over details of the A's lease agreement that was approved by the Coliseum board last Thursday.
The deal could go through some tinkering since both Mayor Jean Quan and the council president think it gives away too much to the team's owner, Lew Wolff.
Under the new 10-year agreement, the A's would pay a half million dollars less in rent in exchange for a new $10-million dollar scoreboard, which would stay at the Coliseum.
Last week, the Oakland city council members who are also on the Coliseum board were poised to torpedo the deal until a last minute email from A's owner Lew Wolf indicated that he had permission from Major League Baseball to move the team if he didn't get approval on the deal as is.
The board passed it, but now it has to go before both the city and county. City councilman Noel Gallo acknowledges the Mayor and the Council President have suggested re-working the deal due to economic and legal concerns, but he said the negotiators have said it's a good deal, they should listen to them.
"The mayor's not an expert at building and developing sports franchises or stadiums. We have to recognize the recommendations of those that are paying a good amount of money in terms of their recommendations and evaluate to move forward," said Gallo.
Monday's closed-door session of the full city council will be where they'll get the financial analysis of the deal and can either approve it, amend it or kick it to the curb.
