Athletics to remain in Oakland at least through 2015 season

Jorge L. Ortiz | USA TODAY Sports

Any games the Oakland Athletics play at AT&T Park next season will continue to be as the visiting team.

The A's and Oakland Raiders reached a Monday on short lease extensions at the O.co Coliseum, preventing the possibility of the A's moving to San Francisco for the 2014 season. That option had been floated as leverage, with the backing of Major League Baseball, during the club's negotiations with the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority, which manages the facility.

The A's lease is through the 2015 season. The club has their sights set on relocating to a new ballpark that would be built in San Jose, but the San Francisco Giants have territorial rights to the area and have opposed the move. A committee appointed by Commissioner Bud Selig more than 4½ years ago has studied the A's ballpark options but has yet to issue a report.

The Raiders, who returned to Oakland in 1995 after a 13-year stint in Los Angeles, are also seeking a new facility, preferably in the Coliseum's current location. Their new deal only extends through the next NFL season.

The Joint Powers Authority said in a statement that it will continue discussing future leases and stadium projects on the site with the clubs.

One possibility is turning the Coliseum complex – which includes Oracle Arena, home of the Golden State Warriors – into a sports and entertainment hub, a project dubbed Coliseum City.

"There are numerous paths forward, and one may be the Coliseum City project, to retain these teams as part of our local economy,'' said Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, chairman of the authority's board. "We will use these lease terms to continue to work on a long-term solution that works for all parties.''

While the A's lease calls for a yearly fee of $1.75 million, more than four times the $400,000 the Raiders pay, the San Francisco Chronicle reports the team will now have control of concession revenues and the right to choose the vendor. The issue had been a source of contention during lease negotiations.

The JPA initially pursued a longer deal, while the A's wanted to keep it to five years or less.

"I am prepared to do either two or five years,'' A's co-owner Lew Wolff told the Chronicle. "The JPA preferred two years. We can discuss a longer term later.''