A's Owners' Actions That Have Depressed Attendance Since 1995
(Steve Schott/Ken Hofmann 1995-2005)
(Lew Wolff/John Fisher 2005-Present)
A's fan attendance is often cited as a reason Lew Wolff wants to move the A's to San Jose. What's rarely mentioned is that, for the past 15 years, A's owners have constantly depressed attendance by openly courting the South Bay, insulting the A's home city of Oakland and threatening to move. This has turned off loyal A's fans from all over Northern California. Also, Wolff and previous A's owner Steve Schott never have given Oakland a real chance. To illustrate this, below is a timeline of A's ownership. It includes Web links to articles showing how A's owners have depressed attendance since 1995 through a mixture of PR snafus, poor marketing, tone-deaf public comments and bad business decisions.
TIMELINE
October 13, 1995 - Steve Schott gives his first interview as A's co-owner and promptly insults popular A's players Terry Steinbach, Mark McGwire and Rickey Henderson. “People come out to see their favorite players in the lineup, and how can you count on McGwire all the time? If he's only in there a third, half of the time, how can you count on him?” Commenting on Terry Steinbach, “What are we paying him, $3.5 million? And he hit what, .260, .270? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that's not what you want.” When commenting on Rickey Henderson, Schott accused him of being “mentally unavailable” at times. “We have to find out how hard Rickey wants to play; we'll have to see how many games he'll be in day to day, find out what we can live with.” In addition, after buying the team from Walter Haas at a discounted price with the stipulation that he keeps the A's in Oakland, Schott steadfastly refuses to commit to keeping the A's in Oakland. (S.F. Examiner, 10/13/95)
Oct. 22, 1995 – To save money, Schott and Hofmann fire popular A's radio announcer Lon Simmons, who had done A's play-by-play with equally popular Bill King for 15 years. Soon thereafter, the S.F. Giants hire Simmons to join their broadcasting team. Simmons is later awarded the Hall of Fame's prestigious Ford Frick Award for baseball broadcasting. (S.F. Examiner, 10/22/95)
Feb. 26, 1996 – At Schott's first Spring Training, general manager Sandy Alderson and A's players concede that Schott “got off to a bad start” with his negative comments the previous autumn. Schott further turns off the media by having a PR handler shoo him away from reporters during interviews. In the off-season, he also traded away future Hall of Famers Rickey Henderson and Dennis Eckersley and let future Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa leave the A's because Schott didn't want to pay his salary. (S.F. Chronicle, 2/26/96)
May 26, 1996 – A's co-owner Ken Hofmann publicly threatens to move the A's out of Oakland, and Sacramento's mayor openly pitches for the A's to move there. (S.F. Chronicle, 5/26/96)
May 18, 1997 – McGwire criticizes Schott for making comments to the media saying that Schott isn't sure the A's would still be in Oakland after the 1998 season. (S.F. Chronicle, 5/18/97)
July 31, 1997 – The A's trade away popular slugger Mark McGwire a few months after McGwire criticized Schott and Hofmann and accused the new A's owners of being too cheap to really try to win. McGwire said his unhappiness with Schott and Hofmann was the main reason why he would not re-sign with the A's after the '97 season. Columnist Scott Ostler writes that Schott and Hofmann “bought into a sport in which they couldn't afford to compete.” Ostler theorizes that the A's owners plan is: “Mac gone, attendance falls, owners turn their palms skyward and say, ‘What can we do?' and move the team out of Oakland. To Livermore, to Sacramento, to Saskatoon.” (S.F. Chronicle, 8/1/97)
Aug. 14, 1997 – The San Jose Sports Authority publicly approaches the A's owners about moving the team to San Jose. South Bay developer Rick Di Napoli is quoted: “If Oakland wanted to come here, I can't see how Major League Baseball could do anything about it.” Di Napoli is a longtime business partner of Lew Wolff. Presently, Di Napoli is an A's minority interest co-owner. (S.F. Chronicle, 8/14/97)
Jan. 22, 1998 – After overseeing a fire sale of popular players, creating bad PR for themselves with ill-advised quotes and putting a terrible team on the field which lost 97 games in 1997, Schott and Hofmann sue the city of Oakland and Alameda County for $48 million, claiming that the renovations for the Raiders' return to the Coliseum are to blame for bad A's attendance. (S.F. Chronicle, 1/22/98)
March 19, 1998 – While publicly courting San Jose as the future A's home, Schott and Hofmann commission a study on the viability of moving the A's to Las Vegas. (S.F. Chronicle, 3/19/98)
March 20, 1998 – Less than two weeks before the '98 season begins, a South Bay developer named Lew Wolff is quoted regarding the A's: “If I was going to pursue a ballpark, I would certainly do it in San Jose … and I would work through the mayor and the Redevelopment Agency.” (S.F. Chronicle, 3/20/98)
March 20, 1998 – The same Chronicle story says that Schott and Hofmann “are eager to move the team south” and are looking at sites such as San Jose State's Spartan Stadium and the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. (S.F. Chronicle, 3/20/98)
October 24, 1998 - Less than three years after buying the the A's, Schott and Hofmann want to sell the team. (S.F. Chronicle, 10/24/98)
October 27, 1998 – An East Bay group led by ex-A's marketing executive Andy Dolich and grocery store magnate Robert Piccinini offers to buy the team. (S.F. Chronicle, 10/27/98)
April 12, 1999 – A S.F. Examiner story states that the A's will move to the South Bay in a privately funded stadium if new owners don't buy the team within 10 days. Schott mentions two South Bay sites that would be “excellent locations.” The “deadline” passes without any changes. (S.F. Examiner, 4/12/99)
May 1, 1999 – According to an agreement made between the city of Oakland, the A's and MLB, a consultant called Game Plan LLC is hired to choose an ownership group to recommend to Oakland officials. Game Plan is expected to choose the Dolich/Piccinini group, who promise to keep the A's in Oakland. At the 11th hour, instead, Game Plan adds a second group headed by Bud Selig's Arizona neighbor Steve Stone and banker Lyle Campbell. (S.F. Chronicle, 5/1/99)
September 16, 1999 – Major League Baseball owners table the vote on whether to approve the Dolich/Piccinini group, effectively killing the ownership group's bid. (S.F. Chronicle, 9/16/99)
Oakland officials are shocked and A's fans are furious. (S.F. Chronicle, 9/16/99)
June 22, 2000 – Glenn Dickey writes a column with the headline,“Schott Ruining A's Fan Support,” in which he describes how Schott “last week … had the A's front office send off a treatise to baseball commissioner Bud Selig about the potential of the South Bay for baseball.” Dickey lamented the negative effect it had on East Bay fans, “once again undercutting the potential support for the team.” (S.F. Chronicle, 6/22/00)
June 26, 2000 – Matier and Ross write that “the A's and MLB have all but given up on Oakland -- and the team is already talking with San Jose officials about a possible move south.” (S.F. Chronicle, 6/26/2000)
March 21 & 22, 2001 – Less than two weeks before the 2001 season begins, Steve Schott attends a Santa Clara city council meeting and says he wants to move the A's to Santa Clara and needs time to convince Commissioner Selig to allow him to move there. (San Jose Mercury News, 3/21/01) Oakland and Alameda County officials respond again that they want to work with the A's on building a new ballpark in Oakland. (S.F. Chronicle, 3/22/01)
March 28, 2001 – A's MVP and free agent Jason Giambi flies in his agent Arn Tellem to agree to a long-term contract with the A's – 6 years for $91 million, a “hometown discount” for less money. But the A's suddenly balk at the fairly standard no-trade clause. Talks are off. (CBC Sports, 3/28/01)
June, 2001 – MLB Commissioner Bud Selig tells a Washington D.C. TV station that the A's moving from Kansas City to Oakland was “a horrible mistake.” (WCR-TV, Washington D.C., June 2001)
July 15, 2001 – Four months after contract talks fell apart, Giambi still wants to stay in Oakland for less money. But Schott admits that he's the one blocking Giambi's request for a no-trade clause, calling the fairly standard clause a “deal-breaker.” (S.F. Chronicle, 7/15/2001)
Aug. 1, 2001 – News reports that Schott and Hofmann are on the verge of selling the A's to a Hollywood producers with Las Vegas ties shock A's fans. The possible move to Vegas also floors Oakland city officials like City Manager Robert Bobb, who had met with A's owners just a week before about extending their Oakland lease. (S.F. Chronicle, 8/1/01)
Aug. 25, 2001 – Santa Clara's City Council breaks off talks with the A's because they are angered at being surprised of news that Schott was in talks to sell the A's to a new owner. (S.F. Chronicle, 8/25/01)
Nov. 7, 2001 – Commissioner Selig announces that MLB intends to get rid of two struggling teams, the Montreal Expos and the Minnesota Twins. Even though the A's have made the playoffs two consecutive years, some speculate that the A's might be contracted, too, because of their year-to-year stadium lease. (S.F. Chronicle, 11/7/01)
Dec. 12, 2001 – Jason Giambi leaves the A's and signs with the Yankees. The contract terms are 7 years for $120 million, and a no-trade clause. (CBC Sports, 12/12/01)
March 12, 2002 – Glenn Dickey writes a column about the city of Oakland holding a fan rally followed by an Oakland City Council meeting where HOK Architects presented A's stadium plans, including one calling for a downtown Oakland ballpark. No one from the A's organization attends the Oakland meeting, nor do A's owners state any public support. (S.F. Chronicle, 3/12/02)
March 18, 2002 – Two weeks before the 2002 season is to begin, Bruce Jenkins writes a column about the widespread perception that MLB still might target the A's for contraction and that Selig is “… the A's sworn enemy, disgusted by their ballpark and convinced that the Bay Area is not a two-team market …” (S.F. Chronicle, 3/18/02)
March 31, 2002 – Steve Schott tells Gwen Knapp that moving to Santa Clara County is “a dead issue.” Yet, when asked about building a new stadium in Oakland, he makes no mention of Oakland's rally and council meeting held about three weeks earlier. Instead, he insults Oakland's leaders and their previous stadium deals, saying, “Basically, they're 0 for 2.” He also says public money must be used for a new Oakland stadium. (S.F. Chronicle, 3/31/02)
October 2002 -- During the 2002 ALDS versus the Minnesota Twins, the A's have the highest playoff ticket prices. When asked why the prices are so expensive, Schott responds by ripping the Oakland fans. Chronicle columnist David Steele, in turn, rips Schott for his comments, calling him “conniving” and “clueless.” (S.F. Chronicle, 10/9/02)
March 16, 2003 – Two weeks before the 2003 season begins, Schott announces the A's “can't afford” to re-sign their star player, Miguel Tejada, saying they “won't insult him” by making him an offer. Schott then links Tejada's departure to his need for a new stadium, saying he is looking at moving to Fremont or San Jose. He doesn't mention Oakland as a possibility. (S.F. Chronicle, 3/16/03)
April 13, 2003 -- Lew Wolff is announced as VP for Venue development of the Oakland A's.
Oct. 29, 2003 – The A's don't renew the contract of well-respected announcer, Greg Papa. The A's concede that money played a part in the decision. Later, the S.F. Giants hire Papa. (S.F. Chronicle, 10/29/03)
Feb. 5, 2004 – An article announcing that Schott paid for Santa Clara University's new baseball park also mentions that Schott and Hofmann have not ruled out moving the A's to the South Bay. (S.F. Chronicle, 2/5/04)
March 7, 2004 – Three weeks before the 2004 season begins, Schott tells reporter Bruce Jenkins he wants to move the A's to San Jose, but he blames the Giants for blocking the move. (S.F. Chronicle, 3/7/04)
April 2004 – Just before the 2004 season opener, Schott again threatens to move the A's out of Oakland. (Oakland Tribune, 4/11/04)
May 6, 2004 – Commissioner Selig visits the Oakland Coliseum for the first time in 15 years -- since the 1989 World Series. Selig says: “The A's simply cannot continue playing here.” Also: “You're only as good as what your area can produce in revenue.” He also questions if the area has the “demographics” to support baseball. (S.F. Chronicle, 5/7/04)
September 30, 2004 – MLB moves the Montreal Expos to Washington D.C. With the A's battling for a playoff spot at home, Schott uses the occasion to threaten to move the A's to San Jose. Schott says: “I think this opens the door for us to review the South Bay.” (S.F. Chronicle, 9/30/04)
Jan. 15, 2005 – The announcement that new owners John Fisher and L.A. developer Lew Wolff, who has strong San Jose ties, are buying the A's sets off rumors yet again that the A's are moving out of Oakland. (FieldofSchemes.com, 1/15/05)
March 31, 2005 – Lew Wolff and John Fisher officially take over as A's owners. In an article, San Jose booster Larry Stone lays out a detailed potential scenario: “Wolff could demonstrate that he tried to make a deal in Oakland and then say, ‘I tried. I have to look elsewhere.' We hope and believe that one of the places, if not the only place, is San Jose.” (S.F Chronicle, 3/31/05)
April 6, 2005 -- Oakland Tribune columnist Dave Newhouse interviews Lew Wolff. Newhouse: “With the close proximity of sports teams would territorial rights stand up in court?” Wolff: “I'll never know because I'll never test it.” (Oakland Tribune, 4/6/05)
August 2005 - Lew Wolff publicly announces his plan to build on the ambitious 66th Ave. to High Street stadium site, which requires 80-plus tenants to be relocated on hundreds of acres in East Oakland. Wolff says that a BART station must be near a new stadium and asks Oakland and BART to create a new station for his ballpark plan. (S.F. Chronicle, 8/12/05)
September 7, 2005 – Commissioner Bud Selig gives a speech in San Jose at the Commonwealth Club. Selig defends the concept of territorial rights. The event is emceed by South Bay baseball booster Larry Stone. (Newballpark.org, 9/8/05)
December 8, 2005 – Wolff makes subtle hints about moving the A's by saying he hopes the signing of Esteban Loiaza to a three-year deal improves fan attendance. “I hope fans who didn't support us in the past will start to,” said Wolff, who's been A's V.P. of Venue Development since 2003. “… I've got to find out how strong we are in the local market.” (S.F. Chronicle, 12/8/05)
Dec. 22, 2005 – The A's announce that they will cover the Coliseum's third deck with a tarp for all A's games “to create a more intimate baseball atmosphere.” It reduces stadium capacity by at least 10,000 seats and removes the option of cheaper seats for working-class fans. The A's also increase ticket prices in certain sections. (S.F. Chronicle, 12/22/05)
Jan. 29, 2006 – A's fans at the annual FanFest event give uniformly negative reviews in an article about Wolff's decision to cover the Oakland Coliseum's third deck with a tarp. (S.F. Chronicle, 1/29/06)
March 12, 2006 – Columnist Mark Purdy, an enthusiastic proponent of moving the A's to San Jose, proposes a “conspiracy theory” scenario that he hopes occurs. It goes like this: Wolff declares his intention to move to Fremont and calls them the San Jose A's of Fremont, but just before he finalizes the deal, he makes an 11th-hour deal with the Giants to allow him to move to San Jose. Purdy's idea is very similar to the theory publicly stated a year earlier by fellow San Jose booster Larry Stone. (San Jose Mercury News/Field of Schemes, 3/12/06)
March 30, 2006 – A week before the 2006 season begins, Wolff tells more than 200 people at a Fremont men's club that he is considering moving the A's to Fremont. (San Jose Mercury News/ Fieldofschemes.com, 3/30/06)
April 2, 2006 – On the eve of the 2006 season, Wolff tells Matier & Ross that he holds little hope that the A's will remain in Oakland. “It's a built-up area, and I can't ask them to do the impossible,” Wolff says. At the same time, Wolff is asking Oakland officials to give him a three-year lease extension at the Coliseum. The story's headline is: “Fremont A's? Las Vegas A's? Omaha A's?” (S.F. Chronicle, 4/2/06)
November 15, 2006 – Wolff joins Bud Selig and Cisco CEO John Chambers to announce their plans to move the A's to Fremont and build Cisco Field five miles from the nearest BART station. The team may be renamed “San Jose A's of Fremont” or “Silicon Valley A's of Fremont.” (S.F. Chronicle, 11/15/06)
January 17, 2007 – Wolff gives a presentation at the Fremont City Council meeting, asking them to “dream a little bit with me” as he lays out his vision for moving the A's to a ballpark village in Fremont. (S.F. Chronicle, 1/17/07)
October 23, 2007 – In an article with the headline, “A's will be gone from Oakland, co-owner says,” A's fans question Wolff's plan to move the team to Fremont after he gives a speech at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Wolff is quoted as saying, “We don't want to start pitting cities against each other, but it's out of the question we'll stay in Oakland.” (S.F. Chronicle, 10/23/07)
January 13, 2008 – Wolff tells reporter John Shea that if the Fremont ballpark plan collapses he wouldn't keep the A's in Oakland and that “we would have to leave the Bay Area.” (S.F. Chronicle, 1/13/08)
September 19, 2008 – During a question and answer period at an A's Booster Club meeting. Q: Did you make a sincere effort to stay in Oakland? Wolff: “I wish I had a lie-detector test. I spent two years making a sincere effort to stay in Oakland, …When a lot of you sue me for leaving, I think I can win the case because I tried.” Q: What will transit options be in Fremont? Wolff: “Instead of just saying, ‘If you don't have a BART station, you can't survive,' we're trying to figure out if we can. If we can, we will. If we can't, we won't. Of course, then we wouldn't be in California anymore.” (S.F. Chronicle 9/20/08)
September 21, 2008 – Columnist Ray Ratto echoes a lot of A's fans' frustration with Wolff over his comments to the booster club. Ratto writes: “And to alienate the fan base with a threat that he cannot carry out for the foreseeable future is just plain daft.” (S.F. Chronicle, 9/21/08)
February 21, 2009 – Wolff announces that he's halting plans to move the A's to Fremont. (S.F. Chronicle, 2/21/09)
March 13, 2009 – Lew Wolff sends a letter to Oakland officials saying he's “not interested in covering old ground” and will not work with Oakland for a new stadium. Wolff's letter was in response to a letter that Mayor Ron Dellums sent to Bud Selig, asking Selig to work with Oakland on a new ballpark. (Oakland Tribune, 3/13/09)
March 17, 2009 – Chip Johnson writes a column with the headline, “A's ownership giving Oakland the cold shoulder.” (S.F. Chronicle, 3/17/09)
March 27, 2009 – Less than a week before the 2009 season begins, Lew Wolff again tells a group of reporters that he wants to move the A's to San Jose. (S.F. Chronicle, 3/27/09)
November 29, 2009 – Matier and Ross report the annual A's Holiday Caravan will make seven appearances, with three of them being in San Jose and NONE in the team's hometown in Oakland. (S.F. Chronicle, 11/29/09)
December 2009 – An article by Steve Kettman features quotes from Wolff and co-owner John Fisher saying yet again that they intend to move the A's to San Jose. (San Francisco Magazine, 12/09)
January 18, 2010 – Billy Beane complains to Peter Gammons that the Oakland Coliseum is keeping him from landing free agents. “You start to wonder if anyone wants to play here,” Beane said. (MLB.com, 1/18/10) Less than 10 days later, Beane signs All-Star pitcher Ben Sheets to a $10 million contract. (S.F. Chronicle, 1/28/10)
January 28, 2010 – Columnist Mark Purdy again calls on Bud Selig to make a decision on the A's, saying that Lew Wolff is getting impatient for approval to move the A's to San Jose. (San Jose Mercury News, 1/28/10)
Feb. 5, 2010 – Peter Gammons has a follow up article on the A's stadium situation, this time raising the idea that the A's might be contracted altogether if they can't move to San Jose. (MLB.com, 2/5/10)
Feb. 6, 2010 – Oakland Tribune columnist Carl Steward criticizes Wolff and Fisher for canceling FanFest for the second year in a row. Steward calls the move “reprehensible” and he adds: “It's just another clear sign that the Lew Wolff/John Fisher ownership not only is ignoring the East Bay fan base but seeks to discourage it.” (Oakland Tribune, 2/6/10)
Feb. 8, 2010 – Longtime A's pre-game show host Marty Lurie leaves the A's to do the same job with the Giants. Lurie said he wanted to stay with the A's, but that the front office gave him no support when the team's radio station, KTRB, was non-committal to him. Columnist Lowell Cohn described the team's lukewarm response to Lurie as “strange and disappointing.” Cohn added: “I don't believe the A's understand what a treasure Marty is.” (Press Democrat, 2/8/10)
Feb. 18, 2010 – Lew Wolff is given the special honor of introducing San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed at the annual “State of the City” speech. Wolff and Reed both tell the 1,400 in attendance their desire to move the A's to Oakland. The 2010 season is just six weeks away. (S.J. Mercury News, 2/18/10)
April 6, 2010 – On opening day for the 2010 season, MLB executive Bob DuPuy visits San Jose's City Hall to meet with San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Lew Wolff. (S.J. Mercury News, 4/6/10)