A's GM Billy Beane remains optimistic about new stadium
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Athletics general manager Billy Beane remains optimistic Oakland will get a new ballpark.
Someday, some way. He's not sure how it will happen, but hopes it occurs during his tenure running the club.
"Because like everybody else, as much as everybody else likes stability, I can assure you nobody wants it more than I do," Beane said. "I would anticipate it happening at some point."
Beane spoke on a conference call to discuss Monday's trade that sent reliever Tyler Clippard to the New York Mets for minor league pitcher Casey Meisner. The GM offered no specifics on a new ballpark other than to say, "maybe the environment is, maybe it's right." Beane noted it would make it "a lot easier to plan from a baseball operations standpoint."
Former Commissioner Bud Selig repeatedly said the A's couldn't sustain themselves in the run-down Coliseum they share with the NFL's Oakland Raiders. Last summer, the A's reached a 10-year lease agreement with the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority to stay in their current home.
The A's would like to relocate to San Jose, where the San Francisco Giants hold territorial rights. A's owner Lew Wolff has said proposed locations to build in Oakland aren't feasible.
