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And the Valley and northern Mexico.
Money speaks, bull walks.Drayton McLane would never let that happen.
The Marlins would want Austin as part of their TV territory. Drayton McLane would never let that happen.
And the Valley and northern Mexico.
Money speaks, bull walks.Drayton McLane would never let that happen.
McLane tiene mucho dinero y mucho poder. No permite que los Marlins tenga este mercado. El equipo de Round Rock, que pertenece a los Astros, tiene mucha popularidad alli.
I agree, you are a moron.
You people in San Antonio are more gullible than the cows standing in line for the slaughterhouse.
Bien dicho
That's udderly ridiculous.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/s....12d3ed08.html
Baseball: Marlins tout S.A. at home
Web Posted: 04/12/2006 12:07 AM CDT
Tom Orsborn
Express-News Staff Writer
Ratcheting up his relocation rhetoric an hour before the Florida Marlins' home opener Tuesday, owner Jeffrey Loria called San Antonio a "very viable market" and threatened to move his team if it is unable to secure a deal for a new ballpark in South Florida.
"I need resolution, because there are other options," Loria said. "We need to act on those options — out of town."
Loria reiterated San Antonio remains the most serious suitor for the Marlins, who lost 9-3 to San Diego before a crowd of 31,308 at Dolphins Stadium, which has a baseball capacity of 36,331.
"Read my lips — they're serious," Loria said of County Judge Nelson Wolff, Mayor Phil Hardberger and other elected officials leading the charge to lure the Marlins to San Antonio.
Bexar County is proposing $200 million in hotel and car-rental tax money, pending voter approval, to finance a $310 million baseball-specific stadium for the Marlins. But the Marlins, who presumably would pick up the rest of the tab, say they can't begin negotiations for a memorandum of agreement with the county until Major League Baseball gives them permission to proceed.
MLB's decision reportedly hinges on whether it believes San Antonio has a large enough media market to support a team. It is unclear when baseball will finish its analysis of the market, but Wolff said he expects word sometime in May or early June. If baseball gives the Marlins the green light and a stadium deal is reached, the county would try to put the issue on the November ballot.
The Marlins, meanwhile, continue to study how much they could generate from a television deal with Fox Sports Network Southwest, Wolff said. Wolff also has met with local Time-Warner officials to discuss the possibility of San Antonio's largest cable provider working a deal with FSN Southwest to carry Marlins games.
"The only thing I know that the Marlins are doing at this time is the media thing, and you can't do that alone," Wolff said. "That has to be done in connection with Major League Baseball."
Wolff said he puts the odds of the Marlins coming to San Antonio at 50-50. Those numbers could improve if baseball allows the Marlins to broadcast games to Austin and northern Mexico and gives the team a share of territory held by the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers.
The San Antonio media market consists of 26 counties and includes 760,410 television households, ranking 37th nationally according to Nielsen Media Research. The Miami-Fort Lauderdale market ranks 17th with three counties and 1.52 million television households.
Media market size is important to owners because television contracts are among the main sources of revenue for baseball teams. The Marlins recently signed a lucrative deal with FSN Florida.
"(San Antonio) is going to come up short, no doubt about that," Wolff said, referring to the difference in market size. "But what baseball is trying to find out is where will San Antonio be five or 10 years from now. Is the market going to grow? Will it be better than Miami? Where is Miami going? Then you have the issue of Mexico."
Wolff said former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros, also a former Univision Communications Inc. executive, is working the Mexico angle. A Marlins spokesman said the team is "looking at every opportunity out there when it comes to television."
Although baseball would prefer the Marlins remain in South Florida, team officials say they can't do so without a baseball-specific stadium that includes a retractable roof. The final option year of the Marlins' lease with Dolphins Stadium is 2010.
Loria said San Antonio's interest in the team hasn't resulted in any new stadium-financing offers from officials in South Florida.
"I'm optimistic and hopeful that a new stadium will materialize," he said. "I'm basically an optimistic person. But some of that optimism disappeared in the last year."
Seventeen South Florida politicians attended the home opener as Loria's guests.
"I'm hoping we can get this thing moving along," Loria said. "I'm hoping to re-energize (South Florida elected officials). We all have to get together to make this thing happen — everybody who wants to save baseball in South Florida."
So, basically, SA is primarily being used as the foil to get what the Marlins really want - a fancy new stadium in FL. Surprise, surprise.
Baseball: Wolff plans to give Marlins a deadline
Web Posted: 04/16/2006 12:00 AM CDT
Tom Orsborn
Express-News Staff Writer
County Judge Nelson Wolff said Saturday his patience is wearing thin over the length of time it is taking the Florida Marlins to say whether they will pursue relocation to San Antonio.
With that in mind, Wolff promised to slap a deadline on the team this week.
"We are not going to play this game too long," Wolff said. "We know the Marlins need to get a stadium deal done in Florida. They've made that clear. But they're going to have to burn a little midnight oil. We aren't going to wait on them too much longer."
A team spokesman did not return a phone message seeking comment.
Wolff declined to give the date of the deadline, saying he wants to talk to Mayor Phil Hardberger, District Attorney Susan Reed and members of Bexar County Commissioners Court before making it public.
"I'm working on what I am going to write (the Marlins), but I need to talk to some people here first before sending the team a letter," Wolff said.
Wolff wants to ask Bexar County voters in November to extend the hotel and car-rental taxes paying for the AT&T Center to raise $200 million for a proposed $310 million ballpark. He says he needs an answer from the Marlins soon because he faces an Aug. 15 deadline to put the issue on the Nov. 7 ballot and the county and team need to negotiate a memorandum of understanding before that happens.
But the Marlins say they need baseball's permission to enter into memorandum talks with the county and that baseball won't give them an answer until it finishes an analysis of the market.
On Saturday, a high-ranking official disputed that claim. MLB president Bob DuPuy said baseball already has a "good feel for the market" and is waiting for the team to notify MLB of its plans.
"No one is waiting for a green light," DuPuy said. "This is a fluid process. This is not a black-and-white thing where (baseball says), 'We are going to do it in such and such a date.' We are trying to get this done in the best interest of the fans, the Marlins and the game. We are going to let it play out.
"The press always wants to get to the end, and I understand that. But right now we are in the middle. It's a lava light and we will continue to watch it flow until it gets to the end."
DuPuy also said commissioner Bud Selig wants the Marlins to remain in South Florida but hasn't discouraged them from talking to San Antonio. The Marlins' final option year on their lease at Dolphins Stadium expires in 2010.
"We are mindful of what San Antonio's timetable is, but the commissioner's goal remains to try to get a stadium for the Marlins in South Florida," DuPuy said. "The commissioner has given (Marlins owner) Jeffrey Loria permission to review alternatives, and that is where it sits right now."
Told DuPuy's comments, Wolff said DuPuy indicated two weeks ago by phone that baseball would tell the county next month whether it would give the Marlins permission to pursue a move to San Antonio.
"He said, 'We will try to have something to you by May 15,'" Wolff said. "It seems to me baseball and the Marlins are using each other as an excuse for not getting something done."
DuPuy declined to say whether baseball believes San Antonio can support two major-league sports franchises.
"I will say this: We have not told the Marlins not to talk to San Antonio," DuPuy said. "You can draw whatever conclusions you want from that."
The Marlins ranked near the bottom of baseball in attendance last season. They say a new stadium with a retractable roof would give them a significant boost at the turnstile and strengthen their revenue streams. The team remains in talks with elected officials in Miami-Dade County, but it needs free land and an additional $100 million to close a deal.
"The commissioner has never wavered from his view that baseball should be in South Florida, but — and it's a big but — the team needs a new facility," DuPuy said.
[email protected]
Way to go Wolffman! I'm glad he said that and is setting a timetable. A city has to be willing to do a great deal to land a pro sports franchise but that doesn't mean you have to bend over and take the leverage chorizo from anyone. We have to deal with you. But you also have to deal with US!"He said, 'We will try to have something to you by May 15,'" Wolff said. "It seems to me baseball and the Marlins are using each other as an excuse for not getting something done."
San Antonio WILL eventually land another pro franchise. If not the Marlins then some other team. Maybe another MLB team. Maybe the Jags.
I totally agree, Hector. I am sick and tired of SA being used for leverage only. I don't see the Marlins leaving South Florida. I say they end up on Palm Beach County, they have already been offered a plot of land there for free to build on, and the cities there support them coming. It's just a matter of time, methinks.
Wolff to Marlins: 'Fish or cut bait' ... by May 15
Web Posted: 04/17/2006 12:36 PM CDT
Tom Orsborn
Express-News Staff Writer
Bexar County officials have decided to play hardball on the subject of a second major league sports franchise for San Antonio.
County Judge Nelson Wolff, the point man in discussions about the possible relocation of Major League Baseball's Florida Marlins to the city, said today he is imposing a May 15 deadline for the team to commit to a plan to move here.
Wolff said he will fax a letter to Marlins president David Samson this afternoon informing the team of the deadline.
"David knows it's coming," said Wolff, who spoke with Samson via phone today. "He understands."
Wolff tells the Marlins in the letter, obtained by the San Antonio Express-News, that: "We need to fish or cut bait by May 15."
The letter states: "There are only a few moments in the life of a city when political will and leadership are coupled with the financial ability to forge a public-private partnership to build a major sports facility for a relocating team. That moment now exists in San Antonio. It would be in the 'best interest of Baseball' for the Marlins to seize this moment.
"But as I state in my letter of March 12 there are time restraints. In order to leave adequate time to reach required agreements, find a suitable stadium location and organize a campaign, we need to fish or cut bait by May 15."
Bexar County has offered to ask voters to extend the tourism taxes paying for the AT&T Center to raise as much as $200 million toward a new ballpark for the Marlins.
To reach an Aug. 15 deadline to put the stadium measure on the November ballot, the county and the Marlins would need to forge a memorandum of understanding, Wolff said.
"We need to organize a campaign, select (a stadium) site and reach an MOU," Wolff said. "You need time to do that right."
Wolff said setting a deadline is the smart business move.
"I've been in business for a long time and have sold two companies," Wolff said. "I know this game a little. You need to get off the ship or stay on. They need to see if they can get (a stadium deal) in Miami and this sets a time frame for them to do that."
The Marlins need another $100 million in funding and free land to close any stadium deal in Miami-Dade County.
Wolff said the Marlins have told him a baseball stadium in San Antonio would cost $310 million.
[email protected]
baseball
Melissa! What's up, girl? You switched over to the astros yet?
The leverage game just goes with the territory. It's the nature of team "relocation". But the real problem is between the MLB and the Marlins. That's why i'm glad Wolff just came out and said it. TV market aside the Marlins still don't have a stadium deal. Let them work it out with SA out of the picture. SA has to leave itself open for other opportunities. If for some reason they can't work out a deal SA is the Marlins only real alternative and in that case SA is holding the aces. If SA is told thank you for playing nothing has been lost. The deadline is not just a good business move by Wolff but realistic. Site selection will be politically charged and that will take some months (hoefully by August 15). Then design and construction of the stadium is 2 to 3 years not including the selection of a design team. That would make the Marlins arrival at about 2010. Wolff's deadline is also partly based on the time frame the Marlins have on their current stadium deal.
Bull ! If SA were to get an MLB team your ass will be there. You and all the others who say baseball or who about wanting NFL instead of MLB. Your asses will all be there.
Shiiiiit, ain't happening! RANGERS FOREVER.Melissa! What's up, girl? You switched over to the astros yet?
Written by Rob Neyer: • This whole Marlins moving to San Antonio thing doesn't make any sense to me. For one thing, they keep talking about building a new ballpark for $300 million (with the county kicking in two-thirds of that). Really? The new Busch Stadium cost $345 million ... and that's without a roof, which I'm assuming is going to be a requirement in southwest Texas. And for another -- and here's the real problem -- unless my math is wildly off, the San Antonio market simply isn't large enough to support Major League Baseball. According to Nielsen, San Antonio ranks No. 37 in the U.S ... behind (among others) Sacramento, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Indianapolis; Charlotte, N.C.; Columbus, Ohio; and Salt Lake City. Perhaps it's simplistic to say the Marlins are simply using Bexar County for leverage, but I think that's exactly what they're doing.
http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insid...lid%3dtab1pos1
Yeah, before that pecker starts explaining why SA is not fit for MLB he should first learn something besides media rank.I'm assuming is going to be a requirement in southwest Texas
Hey you forgot to add Monterrey-Salinas, wey.........
(I know they're really referring to Monterrey, Ca)
Seriously I wonder how much Monterrey, Mexico would add to the DMA. It has to be a chingon addition. They could get El Pollo Loco as a sponsor.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/s....12506a94.html
Baseball: Hopes fade in pursuit of Marlins
Web Posted: 04/19/2006 12:00 AM CDT
Tom Orsborn
Express-News Staff Writer
One day after setting a May 15 deadline for the Florida Marlins to accept their offer to help fund a stadium, Bexar County officials expressed pessimism that the team is serious about leaving South Florida for South Texas.
Precinct 3 commissioner Lyle Larson, who this week warned local leaders against "groveling" in pursuit of professional sports teams, said he senses the chances of the Marlins moving here have diminished because neither the Marlins nor Major League Baseball seem inclined to reveal their intentions.
"Two weeks ago after we met with (Marlins owner) Jeffrey Loria in Houston, I put the odds of the Marlins coming here at 30 percent," Larson said. "The odds have diminished even more since then. And I say that based on their public comments and the representations they have made to us."
Larson was part of a contingent of county and city officials the Marlins invited to the team's season opener in Houston on April 3. He said Marlins spokesman P.J. Loyello told him during the game he couldn't imagine "us leaving the South Florida market," although unspecified recent events made it more possible.
Still, Larson said he doubts the team has a real interest in moving here. The final option year of the Marlins' lease agreement at Dolphins Stadium is 2010, and team officials say the club can't remain in Miami-Dade County without a new ballpark.
The Marlins, who need free land and an additional $100 million to close a deal in Florida, continue to hold stadium talks with Miami-Dade officials and cities within that county.
"It definitely looks to me like they are using us to leverage a (stadium) deal in Florida," Larson said. "I say that because I've seen their owner on national TV on two different occasions saying his preference is to stay in South Florida. He's not mentioning us.
"It's like we're a boy who's asked a girl to the prom and she says, 'I'd love to go with you, but I'm waiting on another boy to ask me. If he doesn't accept my offer, then I'll get back to you.' We shouldn't have to sit by the phone like that."
Still, Larson declined to call the matter dead.
"I guess they could move here if there was a perfect storm of events," Larson said. "And the perfect storm would be the Miami community deciding not to help build a stadium, baseball consenting to allow the team to move (from the nation's No. 17 media market to the 37th) and the voters of Bexar County embracing building a new complex for these folks. I don't know if all that's going to happen."
County Judge Nelson Wolff, who is spearheading local efforts to lure the Marlins, didn't dispute Larson's "perfect storm" scenario.
"It's pretty close to that, especially with the time limit facing us," Wolff said. "It would be different if we had more time."
The Marlins declined comment.
Wolff said Marlins president David Samson told him by phone Tuesday he was not pleased to hear of the May 15 date, which Wolff said is necessary because the county faces an Aug. 15 deadline to place a stadium-financing measure on the November ballot.
Wolff told the Marlins on March 8 the county could raise as much as $200 million toward a $310 million ballpark if voters approve an extension of hotel and rental-car taxes paying for the AT&T Center.
"(Samson) said he would prefer not to see (a deadline), but he understood because of our time constraints," Wolff said. "He said he would do everything possible on his end of the deal to try to push it."
But Wolff said he is skeptical baseball shares his sense of urgency.
"Baseball, as we all know, tends to move slow," Wolff said. "That's fine if they want to do that, but we can't do that faced with a November election.
"It's all a little frustrating. ... But I'm still smiling. I'm the eternal optimist. It's like Yogi Berra said, 'It's not over 'till it's over.'"
[email protected]
Failing bid for Marlins teaches Wolff a lesson
Web Posted: 04/28/2006 12:00 AM CDT
Tom Orsborn
Express-News Staff Writer
When it comes to courting professional sports franchises, County Judge Nelson Wolff says he's ready to explore new possibilities — and try a new approach — now that talks with Major League Baseball's Florida Marlins appear to have flamed out.
Wolff acknowledged Thursday that lines of communication with the Marlins have gone dead since his decision two weeks ago to give the club a May 15 deadline to commit to San Antonio.
"Every day that goes by, I think there is less and less chance of getting anything done," Wolff said.
Apparently put off by Wolff's deadline, the Marlins are considering at least one new proposal designed to keep the team in South Florida. According to the Miami Herald, officials in Hialeah, Fla., are putting together a plan to provide free land for a new stadium and impose a new business property tax to raise funds for construction.
The money from property taxes paid by businesses that locate in a proposed 1,100-acre industrial park would be split between Hialeah and Miami-Dade County, with shares from both en ies going toward the stadium, a Miami-Dade official said.
For the proposal to go forward, it would need approval from the Miami-Dade County Commission and the Hialeah City Council.
"The concept is simple — it's capturing incremental tax revenue," Miami-Dade County Manager George Burgess said. "It looks like a viable way to get a stadium built and could raise significant money."
Miami-Dade already has pledged $110 million to $120 million from other sources toward a $400 million ballpark. The Marlins, meanwhile, have offered as much as $210 million.
Wolff presented the Marlins with a stadium-financing plan March 8 that called for Bexar County to contribute as much as $200 million toward a $310 million ballpark.
"Maybe that will work for them," Wolff said of the Hialeah plan. "I'm not going to get into a bidding war with Miami. I have made that clear. If (the Marlins) can work something out (in South Florida), they need to work it out."
While Wolff says he doesn't consider the Marlins matter dead, he confirmed he canceled a meeting with the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce next week during which local business leaders were to be updated on the relocation effort.
"I don't think there is any reason to meet until we know if this thing is going to go any further," Wolff said.
Signaling his dissatisfaction with the course of discussions with the Marlins and with the NFL's New Orleans Saints last fall, Wolff said he now favors a harder tack in future talks with teams considering relocation.
Echoing comments made two weeks ago by County Commissioner Lyle Larson, Wolff said in the future San Antonio should deal with teams and leagues simultaneously. That way, Larson has said, the city can avoid being used by owners seeking leverage for stadium deals in their own cities.
"If there is a next time, they need to come in a united way and not just in a 'we're-thinking-about-it' mode," Wolff said. "The league and the team considering relocation need to come hand-in-hand and say, 'We need to come to your (city). What will you do?'"
Wolff's comments came after a lunch meeting with Mayor Phil Hardberger.
"They talked about it, and they are on the same page," a spokesman for Hardberger said.
Wolff said he regrets the city hasn't received a "clear signal" from Major League Baseball or the NFL that San Antonio is a ripe relocation option. Still, he said he's optimistic the leagues will come to that conclusion.
"When this is over, assuming the Marlins don't come here, I think baseball has had a good look at San Antonio, and so has the NFL," Wolff said. "Next time — and I think it is only a matter of time — the team and the league need to come with a united banner."
Larson applauded the new approach.
"We have to take a different strategy and focus on talking to the leagues, the commissioners and their relocation committees," Larson said. "They are the ones that are going to make the decisions, not the teams."
Seems like this is a "go through the motions" type of thing:
Marlins to view S.A. sites: Officials will visit as planned with Florida park talks continuing
Web Posted: 05/03/2006 12:20 AM CDT
Tom Orsborn
Express-News Staff Writer
Although they remain cautiously optimistic about a new stadium-financing plan in Miami-Dade County, the Florida Marlins are sending three team officials to San Antonio today to tour possible stadium sites with Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff.
Wolff said he and Marlins president David Samson set the date several weeks ago. The two spoke by phone Friday to confirm the details, Wolff said.
Claude Delorme, the Marlins' senior vice president for stadium development, will head the contingent, Wolff said.
The tour comes as Hialeah (Fla.) and Miami-Dade County officials are exploring using property taxes generated by industrial and office park development proposed for Hialeah to raise funds for a ballpark.
"We'll see how it plays out, what happens," Wolff said Tuesday. "I had a long, long talk with David on Friday, and I think they really are struggling with what to do and exploring every opportunity there is so they can come to their decision.
"It's a tough deal for them. I don't envy them."
Wolff presented the Marlins on March 8 with a stadium-financing plan that called for Bexar County to contribute as much as $200 million toward a $310 million ballpark.
The property taxes in Hialeah would be paid by businesses that locate in a proposed 1,100-acre industrial park. The funds collected then would be split between Hialeah and Miami-Dade County, with shares from both going toward the stadium.
Approval from the Miami-Dade County Commission and the Hialeah City Council would be needed to go forward.
Samson reiterated the team wants to remain in South Florida.
"We have continued to tell San Antonio that South Florida is our first choice," Samson told the Miami Herald. "We are pleased with the very recent progress that has been made with Miami-Dade County and the city of Hialeah."
Wolff said most potential sites for a stadium in San Antonio are in northeast Bexar County.
"They've done quite a bit of research on their own, but we'll brief them on the major population areas," Wolff said.
Mayor Phil Hardberger is also expected to meet with the Marlins' officials before they return to Miami on Thursday, Wolff said.
Wolff's conversation with Samson last week was his first with anyone from the organization since his decision to give the club a May 15 deadline to commit to San Antonio.
The Marlins say they need a new baseball-specific stadium to improve attendance.
The Marlins' lease at Dolphins Stadium expires after the 2007 season, but they could continue playing there through 2010 by exercising a series of one-year options.
link
By the way, here is a link to Ken Rodriguez' "I'm a bitter small town minded San Antonian who is just appalled by the leverage card" type column: bitter man
It's not worth posting the article. It just reaks of laughable little league bitterness.
Marlins Back In SA For Stadium Sight Seeing
LAST UPDATE: 5/3/2006 6:08:54 PM
Posted By: Michael Campion
This story is available on your cell phone at mobile.woai.com.
The Florida Marlins may not be out of San Antonio's reach just yet, after the Major League Baseball team's executives pay another visit to the Alamo City.
On Wednesday, Marlin executives were scouting four different areas for potential stadium sites. One was at the Longhorn Quarry on the city's northeast side, where the Spurs looked at before going to the east side.
"You can take Wurzbach Parkway off of I-35", said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. "You could take Thousand Oaks to Perrin-Beitel, so you've got a lot of different ways to get to it. so it makes it very attractive."
Wolff also points out that it's more than just accessibility, the Longhorn Quarry offers almost twice the 120 acres needed to accommodate a stadium. So with all that land, he says the old quarry leaves a lot of room for expansion and other developments around it.
just a quick question but, if SA did get the Marlins (or any other MLB team) what would be a good name?ive heard some ppl saying the Marlins could buy the naming rights to the Missions,sounds good to me.
also
What would be a GOOD location for the stadium in YOUR mind? Personally I think the grounds of the at&t Center.
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