THE SIDELINES : Market Crowding Prompts A’s to Seek Stadium Escape Clause

The Oakland Athletics, concerned that the return of the Raiders football franchise to the Bay Area will stretch the sports dollar to the breaking point, have asked Alameda County officials for a new stadium lease containing an escape clause, it was reported today.

A’s President Walter Haas Sr. told the San Francisco Examiner that the club wants a new lease that would allow the franchise to be moved. Oakland had signed a lease in May.

The A’s are concerned that the Bay Area’s crowded sports market will be pushed beyond its means by the return of the NFL Raiders and the opening season of the area’s NHL expansion team. The region already is home to the A’s and the San Francisco Giants, the San Francisco 49ers, the Golden State Warriors, the Sacramento Kings and a host of college teams.

The proposed escape clause would go into effect if one of two conditions exist: if the conditions of the lease agreement are not met in 1990 or if the club loses $3.5 million over any three-year period before 1995.

The A’s also seek to delay repayment of a $15-million loan from the city until 2001. The May lease called for it to be paid back with $7.5 million in interest starting next year.

City Councilman Wilson Riles Jr., a mayoral candidate, said he was extremely concerned about the A’s proposal.