Report: San Jose vs. MLB may go to Supreme Court

The battle of San Jose vs. Major League Baseball, concerning the possible relocation of the A’s from Oakland to the South Bay, could be headed to the Supreme Court.

According to a report from Howard Mintz at the San Jose Mercury News, the issue will probably not be decided any time soon, however.  A’s owner Lew Wolff has long-been outspoken in his efforts to secure a relocation deal but MLB claims that San Jose is the San Francisco Giants territory and has denied any such move, as has been widely reported.

In an excerpt from the San Jose Mercury News report, Mintz explains the current situation:

"(U.S. District Judge) Ronald Whyte earlier this year dismissed San Jose’s antitrust claims, which challenge MLB’s more than 90-year-old antitrust exemption and its grip on deciding whether teams can relocate. The issue is unlikely to be decided anytime soon, as it must go through the 9th Circuit and is expected to later reach the U.S. Supreme Court.The A’s have envisioned building a privately financed ballpark on land near the Diridon rail station, not far from the city’s hockey arena, but the plan is rife with obstacles. Among other issues, it remains unclear whether the city has the right to sell the land to the A’s, and that is tied up in a separate legal challenge in the state courts. And there would have to be a public vote on the stadium if it ever gains MLB approval."

Oakland’s O.co Coliseum is famously out-of-date and has had several problems in recent years – including sewage spewing out into dugouts and other places people congregate.  One-way-or-another, the A’s and Raiders need a new stadium.  But, the saga continues…