Bud Selig raises possibility of Oakland A's leaving Bay Area

quote:

---

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig says it's up to Oakland owner Lew Wolff to decide whether to consider additional sites for a new ballpark for the Athletics, leaving open the possibility of a move outside the Bay Area.

Speaking Thursday after a quarterly owners' meeting, Selig said there's no timetable for resolving Oakland's dispute with the San Francisco Giants. The Giants are preventing the A's from building a ballpark in San Jose, which is part of the Giants' territory.

Baseball has been reluctant to approve relocations. When the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals after the 2004 season, it was the first shift since the expansion Washington Senators transformed into the Texas Rangers in 1972.

Asked whether the A's would consider other relocation possibilities, Selig responded: "You'd have to ask Lew Wolff. That's really his decision to make."

Twenty-three teams have opened ballparks since 1989, and the A's and Tampa Bay are the only two teams still seeking new stadiums. Wolff would be allowed to consider other sites within the A's territory -- such as downtown Oakland -- but approval from MLB would be needed for a move outside the territory.

"It depends where they'd be. They could be all over the world, for that matter," Selig said. "They need approval. We have to go through an approval process. It just depends on where they're moving to."

Selig said last month he hoped the A's and Giants would resolve the matter themselves, but there's no indication that will happen.

"Both clubs yesterday made a presentation to the executive council, but there's nothing new other than that," Selig said.

He added that he can't provide a timetable and responded "no" when asked whether some kind of decision was approaching.

---