26DrDeath

Dr.Death · @26DrDeath

16th Jun 2014 from TwitLonger

From a source under condition of anonymity I was given these talking points that will be delivered to Oakland City officials this friday

Please REVISE the terms of the proposed Coliseum lease extension with the A's, OR REJECT it. Why? Because it is a terrible deal for Oakland and Alameda County taxpayers.
The deal's terms are a lose-lose proposition for Oakland/Alameda County taxpayers. The reasons to oppose the deal include:
At this time, the extension is unnecessary and does more to risk that Oakland will lose the A's and Raiders than it does ensure that one or both franchises will be retained.
Calling it a "10-year lease extension" is not accurate. In fact, the proposed deal is really a year-to-year lease that the A's can sever ANYTIME, as long as they give a year's notice and pay off the remaining money left on the deal.
The A's don't promise to stay in Oakland and, actually, remain vocal about leaving.

After 12 years with the A's, owner Lew Wolff has proven he has no desire to stay in Oakland and any private or public comments he makes to the contrary should not be trusted.
The worst part of the proposed deal is that the JPA fails to protect taxpayers by promising to let the A's keep the $5 million in parking revenue that the A's owed taxpayers but never paid.
In return, the A's give one thing to the JPA and one thing only: they pay $10 million for a new scoreboard -- hardly worth giving away the store.
The A's and the city and county already have a lease in place that does not expire for another 18 months, making the rush to negotiate with Wolff unnecessary at this time. There is NO reason to reopen negotiations until a year from now, especially if this bad, unnecessary deal is the only alternative.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, if the Raiders and Oakland strike a deal for a football stadium at the Coliseum site, then the A's can break the 10 year lease, presumably with no buyout fee. This is one of the more cynical terms in the lease, as it pits one team and their fans against one another.
Curiously, this lease agreement asks Oakland to choose the A's OR the Raiders, when in reality there is no reason for an either-or choice to be made. In reality, there's no reason two stadium solutions can't be worked out for both the A's and the Raiders in Oakland.
This is a bad deal for Oakland and Alameda County taxpayers. Please revise the lease extension's terms noted above or reject it altogether.
In this election year, we will be watching closely the votes of each elected official who has a say in the approval or rejection of this deal.

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