The Oakland A's released a statement Wednesday, responding to various reports which surfaced over the weekend saying Major League Baseball was going to deny the A's their proposed move to San Jose. The Giants later issued a release Wednesday afternoon.
Oakland Athletics press release:
Recent articles claiming that Major League Baseball has decided that the As cannot share the two-team Bay Area market were denied by baseball Commissioner Bud Selig last weekend...
Currently the Giants and A's share the two-team Bay Area market in terms of television, radio, sponsors and fans. Last year, the Giants opened a specialty store in the middle of the A's market (Walnut Creek). At the time, Lew Wolff commented that he was fine with the Giants store and wished there was an A's store in San Francisco.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
RELATED: Ratto -- Giants, A's territorial rights saga takes new, confusing turn
Of the four two-team markets in MLB, only the Giants and A's do not share the exact same geographic boundaries. MLB-recorded minutes clearly indicate that the Giants were granted Santa Clara, subject to relocating to the city of Santa Clara. The granting of Santa Clara to the Giants was by agreement with the As late owner Walter Haas, who approved the request without compensation. The Giants we unable to obtain a vote to move and the return of Santa Clara to its original status was not formally accomplished.We are not seeking a move that seeks to alter or in any manner disturb MLB territorial rights. We simply seek an approval to create a new venue that our organization and MLB fully recognizes is needed to eliminate our dependence on revenue sharing, to offer our fans and players a modern ballpark, to move over35 miles further away from the Giants great venue and to establish an exciting competition between the Giants and A's.We are hopeful that the Commissioner, the committee appointed by the Commissioner, and a vote of the MLB ownership, will enable us to join the fine array of modern and fun baseball parks that are now commonplace in Major League Baseball.Stay logged on to CSNCalifornia.com as the A's-to-San Jose story develops, and be sure to tune in to SportsNet Central tonight at 6, 10:30pm and midnight for more on this story and all the day's news, only on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.