A's lease settled after Lew Wolff accepts Oakland's changes Team's co-owner accepts 10-year deal at Coliseum

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The long-disputed 10-year lease to allow the Oakland A's to continue playing at O.co Coliseum was finally settled Tuesday after co-owner Lew Wolff said he had accepted most of the changes made by city officials.

Wolff's acceptance closes a bitter divide between Oakland City Hall and the owners of a baseball team who have longed to move to a new, modern stadium in a bigger market. The agreement, however difficult, may also usher in an effort by Wolff to help develop the existing stadium site.

In a letter to City Administrator Henry Gardner last week, Wolff informed city officials of his interest in pursuing a new stadium at the O.co site, and the lease agreement says the team will "engage in good faith discussions" to stay in Oakland.

But if he were to decide to move the team outside Oakland, the lease allows the A's to leave as early as December 2017 by giving two years' notice. The team, however, would have to pay rent for any remaining years on the lease.

Fans were ecstatic that the A's - the team with the best record in Major League Baseball - are staying in Oakland.

Oakland A's manager Bob Melvin (left) chats on the field with team co-owner Lew Wolff, who has accepted the new lease, before the team plays the Houston Astros at O.co Coliseum. Oakland A's manager Bob Melvin (left) chats on the field with team co-owner Lew Wolff, who has accepted the new lease, before the team plays the Houston Astros at O.co Coliseum. Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 33 Caption Close A's lease settled after Lew Wolff accepts Oakland's changes 1 / 33 Back to Gallery

"We love it they're staying in Oakland. We love the Coliseum - the atmosphere, the history, the memories, the convenience," said Alex Aguilar of Oakdale, a student at California State University-Stanislaus who had showed up with about a dozen friends to play beer pong with plastic A's cups in the Coliseum parking lot before the game with the Houston Astros Tuesday.

"This is our neighborhood team," he said. "It's welcoming here. It's not uptight or expensive. We love Oakland and we want them to stay here."

14 months in the making

The team is expected to pay Oakland and Alameda County about $20 million for use of the stadium over the next 10 years. The city and county operate the stadium under the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority, which negotiated with the A's for 14 months to reach a lease deal.

But the deal hit trouble when Oakland insisted on altering some of the lease terms, prompting MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to give Wolff permission to immediately seek a new home outside Oakland.

After extended negotiations, the two sides settled Tuesday - hours after a bolt of lightning hit the Coliseum.

Wolff said he accepted the terms of the lease contract after reviewing the deal and making some minor adjustments to the language put forward by Oakland last week.

Next stop: supervisors

"It looks like we have a mutually agreeable lease transaction that will be subject to the vote of the Board of Supervisors," Wolff said.

Gardner, who was closely involved with the negotiations, said he was pleased that both the city and the A's had agreed to a deal.

"I am glad we have reached an agreement that is mutually acceptable," Gardner said. "This has been a long and challenging process. But we made it."

In a statement, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said, "We look forward to moving on to talking about the bigger goal: building a beautiful new ballpark for the team right here in Oakland."

In his July 15 letter to Gardner, Wolff wrote that he has been looking into the cost of building a ballpark for the A's at the Coliseum site.

"I believe our development experience and financial capabilities are as strong, credible and proven as you and the City Council would desire," Wolff wrote, adding that his business group is completing a 17,000-seat soccer stadium near San Jose's Mineta International Airport without public funding.

More approvals

The A's lease deal has already been approved by the Coliseum Authority and Oakland's City Council and will head to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors next week for what is expected to be an easy approval. Due to the recent changes, the revised lease may go back to the Coliseum Authority for another vote.

Councilman Larry Reid, who voted against the city's seven proposed changes, said he was glad Wolff agreed to a final deal.

"I am excited that the A's have come to an agreement based on the seven items and the minor changes that the president of the council put forward at the last City Council meeting," Reid said.

Wolff accepted the changes spelled out by the City Council, including clauses that clarified language or shielded the city from liability. But Wolff did not accept all of the minor changes City Attorney Barbara Parker made to the contract after the council meeting, a source said.

'Frustrated' by changes

Still, the bitter public wrangling over the lease deal left many bruises at City Hall.

Reid, who serves on the Coliseum Authority board, said he was "frustrated" by the city's 11th-hour changes to the deal after 14 months of negotiations.

"There were too many cooks in the kitchen," he said.

Councilwoman Pat Kernighan, who was closely involved with the recent negotiations, said she was glad the A's had agreed to a deal.

"The A's got the basic deal they had negotiated for, and we got a few improvements in the language," Kernighan said.

Most fans acknowledged that they hadn't followed the roller-coaster lease negotiations among the city, team owners and Coliseum Authority. But they were unanimous in wanting the team to stay put.

David Kahan, a real estate agent from Reno, brought 80 friends to Tuesday's game where the group rate was $10 per ticket.

"Where else can I host a party for 80 people, see a great team, and not go broke? You can't beat this," he said, setting out six-packs of beer and unpacking a case of Caspers hot dogs. "Try doing this is at the new Niners stadium. ... Sure, a new A's stadium would be nice, but I'd rather have this."

Jesus Zamora, a bartender from Salinas, and his family said he has one major concern about the team's future.

"We just love it here," he said while stoking a barbecue. "I love Oakland. The fans are rowdy and fun. ... I'm glad they're staying. Now we just need to get past the Tigers and win the World Series."