Time to think MLB?

J

JB_kings

Starter
Wishful thinking on my part... A nice plan B would be to offer 255 million to Lew Wolff and the A's to build a nice downtown stadium in the rail yard. No territory fights here and this town loves baseball more than the NBA. Not quite the corporate destination like San Jose, but then again they have been waiting for years for that and it's never going to come.
 
JB_kings said:
Wishful thinking on my part... A nice plan B would be to offer 255 million to Lew Wolff and the A's to build a nice downtown stadium in the rail yard. No territory fights here and this town loves baseball more than the NBA. Not quite the corporate destination like San Jose, but then again they have been waiting for years for that and it's never going to come.
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I hate baseball. No thanks!
 
rainmaker said:
I hate baseball. No thanks!
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With all due respect, you don't live in Sacramento, so this is for us locals who do. I would love to have the Sacramento Athletics! Then, we can get back onto a project to get another NBA franchise somewhere down the road - plus NFL, NHL, etc. Heck, I'd love to see us build up Sacramento State into first class NCAA Division One top tier - at least similar to what they have at Fresno State of all places.
 
JB_kings said:
Wishful thinking on my part... A nice plan B would be to offer 255 million to Lew Wolff and the A's to build a nice downtown stadium in the rail yard. No territory fights here and this town loves baseball more than the NBA. Not quite the corporate destination like San Jose, but then again they have been waiting for years for that and it's never going to come.
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I'm an SF Giants fan, no thanks.
 
rainmaker said:
I hate baseball. No thanks!
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It's not a choice of the NBA vs. MLB. It's a choice of nothing vs. MLB. The whole idea here is to spur the railyard development and create a destination there. Seems like the Maloofs don't want any part of that. So right now... it's nothing. The Maloofs have no intention of staying one more year here. Whatever they said this morning about not relocating and remodeling Arco is more lies to set up the city as the uncooperative party. They hired an antitrust lawyer. He's not there for just in case. He's there to expedite the move without NBA approval.
 
Livinthedream said:
How much does a baseball stadium cost? About $300 mill? Aren't we almost there already?
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Petco Park is a great park and it was about 450 million. So somewhere between 400-500 million excluding land. They even have a stadium design for the tight fit in San Jose that was about 12-14 acres. Lew Wolff has stated, "My goal and desire for the organization is to determine a way to keep the team in Northern California." Well, we might soon have a vacancy right here.
 
Baseball is BY FAR my favorite sport and Sacramento is a baseball town even if some people hate baseball on this forum. However, the A's won't be moved to our city for many reasons - objective and subjective.
 
PurpleHaze said:
With all due respect, you don't live in Sacramento, so this is for us locals who do. I would love to have the Sacramento Athletics! Then, we can get back onto a project to get another NBA franchise somewhere down the road - plus NFL, NHL, etc. Heck, I'd love to see us build up Sacramento State into first class NCAA Division One top tier - at least similar to what they have at Fresno State of all places.
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I'm local enough to drive to games and local enough to have been part of season ticket groups before. So why don't I get an opinion on this? So some "locals" are already giving up and asking for baseball? Not me.

I live in the same city as Jason Jones. How is that not local enough? Mitch Richmond used to drive from farther his entire first yr with Sac.
 
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NHL is a great league for mid-size markets and hockey is a fun sport but I am not sure that we can compete with hockey-loving cities like Quebec City or Saskatoon.
 
JB_kings said:
Petco Park is a great park and it was about 450 million. So somewhere between 400-500 million excluding land. They even have a stadium design for the tight fit in San Jose that was about 12-14 acres. Lew Wolff has stated, "My goal and desire for the organization is to determine a way to keep the team in Northern California." Well, we might soon have a vacancy right here.
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Too bad they didn't make Raley Field expandable. A short sighted error by the powers that be.
 
Livinthedream said:
Too bad they didn't make Raley Field expandable. A short sighted error by the powers that be.
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The tight timeline and a pretty wet winter during construction caused them to take a few shortcuts on the expansion plans. I've heard that in order to upgrade Raley for MLB, it would have to pretty much be leveled.
 
While I'm not a huge baseball fan, I wouldn't mind this and would probably get back into the game. I used to be a Giants fan but have stopped following the game pretty much at all.

I also think a railyards baseball stadium would be absolutely amazing- great views of downtown, and Sacramento has pretty much perfect weather for going to games. Sac is also a baseball-loving community and I'm sure would pack the field.

At the same time, it's still just baseball. And it's not the Kings. It wouldn't make the pain of losing the Kings go away, but it would be nice to have another pro sports team in town.
 
1. I'm an A's fan! Way back to Reggie, Vida Blue, Joe Rudi, Campy, Fingers and even the Charlie O the mule mascot. Doesn't matter, enough fans of baseball and a home town team will make it work.

2. It's been a bad day and they way I process is to find other constructive ideas to fill my head. Otherwise I'll get sucked into that doomed feeling and that frankly sucks.

3. Said for many many years and will say it again, this town needs something downtown to make something special happen down there. If the NBA team we have is not interested, then good ideas need to adapt.
 
I'm a diehard Yankees fan. Wouldn't get any games except for them. Baseball parks are bigger and unless you plan on a dome then no extra events during the rain season. I doubt a baseball stadium would fit in the RR at the current location.
 
I am a Giants fan but would welcome the A's to Sacramento anytime of the day.
If the city can support a minor league team and watch the team become one of the better AAA teams in recent memory, I am sure the city can support a MLB the same way.

Now, my first comment should be taken for what its worth, since I currently live in Las Vegas, but if I ever do decide to move back to the Sacramento area, I'd love to be able to watch professional baseball games live...Only been to a few in my life (a couple of Houston Astros games when I have been to Houston when my sister and brother in law were out there, and 1, yes that is the number 1, Giants game EVER...I think I am allowed a lot more baseball games down the road). I have been to a few River Cats games, the crowd has always been good when I have gone, so I do not see why the city can't support a MLB team...
 
Section 101 said:
I'm a diehard Yankees fan. Wouldn't get any games except for them. Baseball parks are bigger and unless you plan on a dome then no extra events during the rain season. I doubt a baseball stadium would fit in the RR at the current location.
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You can always build a bandbox :) Imagine Great American Ballpark in a desert-like hot and dry Sacramento climate :) We will have HR parades every game.
 
For what it's worth, I did a quick wiki search on ballparks with retractable roofs, most cost in the $500MM+ range, but Minute Maid in Houston was built for around $330 million, which makes me think there's no reason an arena couldn't be built in Sacramento for the same cost:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minute_Maid_Park

Hell, with the A's being unable to build in Oakland and facing territorial fights from the Giants for San Jose, it wouldn't shock me to see them sweep in and secure a stadium deal pretty quickly.
 
JB_kings said:
Of course. And this city was full of Warriors and Lakers fans before the Kings came. Besides they are in two different leagues, most can be a fan of both.
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Sorry I don't actually have anything against the A's. I actually root for them some of the time since like you said they play in different leagues. I just don't want to see the Kings replaced at all. I know that sounds stupid and overly sentimental, but basketball is my first love and if we build a baseball stadium instead of an arena that mean's we'll likely never get the NBA back again. I like baseball but the Giants and A's are close enough I don't need them to move to Sac. I want the Kings in Sac. I don't want another team or another sport. I certainly don't want to think of replacing them right now. I'm pretty sure the Magoofs are stuck here another year. As much as I hate those clowns, I still want to watch the team for the last year we have them and cheer them on. I still like the players, the draft and free agent process(although we won't sign anyone because the Maloofs are cheap, broke, hate Sacramento, and are scheming for Anaheim), summer league, etc. I don't even want to think about this right now, sorry man.

Besides, isn't Lew Wolff like the MLB's version of the Maloofs? Cheap, wants to move the team, won't sign good players, trades good players for more prospects, etc? I don't mean that as an insult. I actually like Cespedes and Weeks on your guys' roster. But this is just some of the complaints I've heard from A's fans.
 
BMiller52 said:
Sorry I don't actually have anything against the A's. I actually root for them some of the time since like you said they play in different leagues. I just don't want to see the Kings replaced at all. I know that sounds stupid and overly sentimental, but basketball is my first love and if we build a baseball stadium instead of an arena that mean's we'll likely never get the NBA back again. I like baseball but the Giants and A's are close enough I don't need them to move to Sac. I want the Kings in Sac. I don't want another team or another sport. I certainly don't want to think of replacing them right now. I'm pretty sure the Magoofs are stuck here another year. As much as I hate those clowns, I still want to watch the team for the last year we have them and cheer them on. I still like the players, the draft and free agent process(although we won't sign anyone because the Maloofs are cheap, broke, hate Sacramento, and are scheming for Anaheim), summer league, etc. I don't even want to think about this right now, sorry man.

Besides, isn't Lew Wolff like the MLB's version of the Maloofs? Cheap, wants to move the team, won't sign good players, trades good players for more prospects, etc? I don't mean that as an insult. I actually like Cespedes and Weeks on your guys' roster. But this is just some of the complaints I've heard from A's fans.
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My first Kings game I attended was October 25th 1985. So I am not taking today very well. To be clear, I don't think this is over yet. There is a larger chess match being played and I think the Maloofs backed themselves into a corner where the only successful outcome for them is to win in the court system.

I'm with KJ though, this town deserves better.
 
JB_kings said:
My first Kings game I attended was October 25th 1985. So I am not taking today very well. To be clear, I don't think this is over yet. There is a larger chess match being played and I think the Maloofs backed themselves into a corner where the only successful outcome for them is to win in the court system.

I'm with KJ though, this town deserves better.
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I agree with you for the most part. I just hope the Maloofs lose.
 
I've been an A's fan longer than I've been a Kings fan. Guys like Rickey Henderson, Dave Parker, Dennis Eckersley -- they were my heroes. Oakland has a long proud tradition of supporting major league baseball. As much as it rips my heart out to see the Kings likely leaving Sacramento, it would rip my heart out just as much to see the A's leave Oakland. I've more or less accepted that the day is coming eventually, but it still disgusts me that someone else would actively root for it to happen. I understand why and I don't begrudge you for it (at least I'll try to stay positive anyway). Different points of view and all.

So....I'll just stop there before I say something which will get me in trouble. :(
 
I think the way football's structure makes it more feasible to flourish here in sac. Baseball and basketball not so much. Football can succeed in small markets, i.e. Green Bay. I would give my left arm for an NFL team.
 
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