Football
Associated Press 19y

LA developer considers buying Athletics

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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