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OAKLAND, Calif. -- Los Angeles developer Lewis Wolff, who
was hired by the Oakland Athletics in 2003 to help find a new
stadium, will decide in the next three months whether he will
exercise an option to try to buy the team. "He is in the process of exploring that option," said Sam
Spear, a senior consultant for the A's who spoke to Wolff on
Thursday. "He believes that in the next 90 days he would have come
to some conclusion of either a purchase or non-purchase of the
team." Steve Schott and Ken Hofmann bought the A's jointly in 1995 with
Schott serving as the managing partner. "Whatever deal (Wolff) works out, he wants Steve Schott to
remain as part of the ownership," Spear said. Even if Wolff decides he wants to buy the A's, there would still
be hurdles to overcome. He would need to agree on a price with
Schott and Hofmann and be approved by Major League Baseball. Wolff, the team's vice president for venue development, had been
helping the team evaluate possible location alternatives available
in the Bay Area for a new ballpark. Schott has repeatedly said the only way for the small-market A's
to remain viable is to get a new stadium, which commissioner Bud
Selig has also said is key. Schott has said he would like to move
the franchise to San Jose, but the San Francisco Giants own the
rights to that area. While many of the A's competitors play in ballparks that
generate huge streams of revenue, the A's share an older stadium
with the NFL's Oakland Raiders and would like a baseball-only
facility. Wolff is a former part owner of the NBA's Golden State Warriors
and the NHL's St. Louis Blues.
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