The San Jose City Council has voted in favor of suing Major League Baseball for its refusal to allow the Oakland Athletics to San Jose, reports ABC 7 News Bay Area.
San Jose votes to sue MLB over refusal to relocate Oakland Athletics
San Jose’s city council voted in favor of bringing a lawsuit against Major League Baseball Tuesday morning.
USA TODAY Sports
Finding the A's a new stadium has been a hot topic for years, and relocation to San Jose has been at the forefront of the conversation for some time. Oakland Coliseum (or O.Co) is frequently cited as one of the worst stadiums in professional sports, a sentiment that was strongly reinforced when the sewage system at the stadium backed up on Sunday. MLB commissioner Bud Selig has been noncommittal in his stance on the issue, delaying a definitive answer on the situation on several occasions.
The biggest hurdle between the A's and a move to San Jose -- and the reason Selig is dragging his feet -- is the territorial rights to the South Bay area, including San Jose, that were given to the San Francisco Giants by the A's circa 1990 when they were pursuing a new stadium. The Giants now consider the A's' intended destination part of their territory and object to the move.
While it’s unclear at the moment what exactly the city’s lawsuit against the league will bring to bear, it will likely put MLB’s exemption from antitrust laws (a status the league has enjoyed, via Supreme Court decision, since 1922) in its crosshairs. San Jose’s mayor will discuss the details of lawsuit at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday.
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