Giants, A's wrestle over San Jose

By Tracy Seipel
San Jose Mercury News

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Twenty years ago, the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A's faced off for baseball's biggest prize. But today, the players -- on the field and in the front office -- have changed, and so has the prize: Now it's Bill Neukom vs. Lew Wolff competing for the city of San Jose.

With their teams sitting out the World Series, both are looking ahead to winter, when baseball's 30 owners will meet to decide everything from TV deals to big trades.

As Wolff, co-owner of the Oakland A's, and Neukom, managing general partner of the San Francisco Giants, rub elbows, they'll no doubt be mindful that this same group of millionaires soon could redraw the Bay Area's baseball map.

With a three-quarters vote, baseball's owners can terminate the Giants' territorial rights to the South Bay and let the A's move to San Jose. But first, a commission appointed by Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig is studying the A's stadium options. That committee met last week with San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and other city officials who've been assembling plans for a privately financed $489 million ballpark.

Neither the city nor committee member Corey Busch would comment on the discussion, nor would Busch say when the group would issue a decision.

So Neukom and Wolff must wait.

The two contemporaries (Neukom is 67, Wolff is 73) are a contrast in styles: One has a legalistic view of the world, the other a pragmatic view. They remain respectful adversaries nevertheless.

"If we went to high school together, and they handed out diplomas by grade point, he would be home by the time I got mine," said Wolff of Neukom's intellect. "He's a very impressive person."

Likewise, Neukom calls Wolff "very smart and very, very successful. ... He's got a great sense of humor and a good, healthy perspective on life."

Both are known as shrewd professionals who have earned tens of millions of dollars in their respective fields.

Neukom, a 6-foot-4-inch attorney with a penchant for bow ties and suspenders, is a former president of the American Bar Association.

Wolff, meanwhile, is described by those who know him as affable and low-key. The St. Louis native is a longtime developer of commercial buildings and hotels.

Shorter in stature than Neukom, Wolff is fond of wearing a golf shirt and Windbreaker. "I waited all my life not to wear a suit and tie," quipped the A's owner.

Both Wolff and Neukom may know more in a few weeks when they attend an MLB owners' meeting in Chicago. League officials said it's unknown whether the territorial topic will be on the meeting's agenda.

But there is no rule against deal-making during breaks -- or afterward. Both men say they're not lobbying their fellow owners.

Still, many say the decision over territorial rights really lies with Selig, a college fraternity brother of Wolff's who encouraged the developer to invest in the A's.

Neukom, however, said: "The commissioner himself has said many, many times how fundamentally important territorial rights are for each of the 30 teams."

But Selig's committee may conclude that a move to the South Bay would make the most money for baseball's owners. MLB teams participate in revenue sharing, where the wealthiest teams end up supporting less lucrative ones like the A's. Team boosters are certain a move to the more demographically affluent San Jose would lead to higher ticket sales and end the team's taking subsidies from the revenue pool.

The Giants also are fighting to hold onto that affluent South Bay fan base, as well as the profitable advertising deals, sponsorships and club suites the team has secured at AT&T park with high profile Silicon Valley companies.

One source close to MLB, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the issue, stressed that whatever Selig does will be based on what is best for baseball, not his friendship with Wolff.

Other league observers said they would not be surprised if Selig ultimately cuts a deal between the two teams that gives financial concessions to the Giants. In that scenario, the A's might be required to pay their Bay Bridge rival handsomely -- perhaps a larger share of television rights for a period of time.