Now that the Seattle Mariners are staying, the San Francisco Giants may be the next team on the move.
Following the fourth failure of a stadium initiative in the Bay area, Giants owner Bob Lurie told commissioner Fay Vincent on Thursday that he was examining the possibility of moving or selling the team.Vincent said during a news conference that concluded the owners' quarterly meetings that the Giants met his criteria for a club that could gain permission to move, but cautioned there was a distinction between that and a go-ahead to relocate.
"Mr. Lurie is now free to consider all range of options available to that ballclub," Vincent said.
"I basically told them the same thing I said in my letter to Mayor (Frank) Jordan last week," Lurie said. "The Giants must now begin looking at all of our options for the future, and time is of the essence."
The Giants, who moved to San Francisco from New York following the 1957 season, say they must leave Candlestick Park.
Voters in San Jose, Calif., rejected a stadium proposal on June 2. San Francisco has twice turned down stadium proposals and Santa Clara County rejected one in 1990.
Vincent has established stringent criteria for allowing franchise moves. His four primary points are: operating at a revenue loss, attendance problems, inadequate or out-of-date stadiums, and "a community which feels baseball is no longer important."
Asked if he believed the Giants met those criteria, Vincent said: "I believe they do."
But he cautioned that does not mean Lurie has automatic approval to move the team. "San Francisco has the power to look at those options, which is different from saying they have permission to relocate," Vincent said.