Experts: Giants' World Series success could boost chances for A's move to San Jose
- November 2, 2010
Oakland A's co-owner Lew Wolff has been engaged in an epic battle with the San Francisco Giants, who are fighting to block his team's move to the South Bay.
But this week, as the eyes of the Bay Area were upon Texas, Wolff has nothing but kind words for his local rivals.
"I don't want to take anything away from this World Series. It's too much fun for everybody,'' he said Monday a few hours before the Giants took the field against the Texas Rangers for the Giants' title-clinching game.
Yet it's hard to argue that the Giants' stock hasn't been this high for the better part of a decade. And the team's soaring popularity, especially over the past few weeks, has only cemented their image as the Bay Area's dominant Major League Baseball team.
Whether or not their invigorated stature hurts or helps Wolff -- who is hoping to persuade three-quarters of his fellow team owners to terminate the Giants territorial rights to the South Bay -- depends on who you ask.
Spokespeople from the Giants, MLB, and a special committee appointed by baseball Commissioner Bud Selig last March to study the A's options all declined to comment on the issue.
If Selig recommends a territorial change, it would go to a vote by the league's 30 team owners.
Likely to be included in the committee's report is an analysis of what kind of fan base shift might occur should the A's move to San Jose.
The Giants have insisted South Bay fans and corporate sponsors are crucial to their bottom line. Many San Jose boosters say those fears would be offset by the number of East Bay fans who would likely drive a shorter distance across the Bay Bridge to attend Giants games instead of hiking south.
At Sunday's game, Selig told a Bay Area News Group columnist a decision on the A's would be coming "hopefully in the near future."
At least one expert on Monday said the claim that an A's move to San Jose would hurt the Giants bottom line might be difficult to prove after the San Francisco team's handsome postseason profits -- not to mention the prospect of an even larger boost from ticket sales and sponsorships next year.
"To the extent that the commissioner's office would be concerned about the Giants' financial well-being if the A's were allowed to move to San Jose," said Andrew Zimbalist, a Smith College economist and baseball expert, "that concern would by allayed given the success the Giants have had."
Zimbalist estimates the Giants will net between $13 million to $16 million from their share of ticket sales and concessions for the postseason and World Series.
"The owners want it (a team) to be as economically successful as it can be," said Zimbalist of the A's proposed move. "And I think fundamentally that is what Selig is looking at -- if he think's it's a plus economically."
Roger Noll, a Stanford University economist who specializes in sports economics, agreed that the Giants' appearance in the Series "is more likely to help the other team (A's) than hurt them.'' He said the San Francisco team's thrilling post-season run will elevate local interest in baseball overall.
And Paul Staudohar, professor emeritus of business administration at Cal State East Bay, says the Giants' success will raise the stakes for the A's to provide a product that can compete for fans and sponsors.
"It will put a certain amount of pressure on the A's to try to rise to the occasion,'' said Staudohar. "It may provide some incentive for the A's to make a move and try to get into a new ballpark in San Jose.''
Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone, who like many South Bay fans is delighted with the Giants' performance, sees only a positive impact from the Giants in the World Series.
"Nothing but good can come from this,'' Stone said. "The enthusiasm of the South Bay fans should demonstrate to Selig, to San Jose and to Silicon Valley, the value of having a professional baseball team'' in San Jose.
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