Oakland Baseball Simworld Creator Says A's New Baseball Stadium Financing Group Off to Wrong Start

Ex-Oakland Politician-Lead Team is not "asking the right questions" according to SBS CEO Zennie Abraham

(PRWEB) February 6, 2005 -- The team formed by Ex-Oakland City Councilmember Dick Spees' team and to developed a financing plan for a new baseball stadium for the Oakland Athletics is not "asking the right questions" according to the creator of the Oakland Baseball Simworld.

Zennie Abraham, the creator of the only online simulation of the fiscal behavior of the business of the Oakland A's, and the CEO of Sports Business Simulations (www.sbs-world.com), says that the team should stop and make sure it understands what it's getting into before it asks for money to do the job.

"First, Sports Business Simulations has the only simulation of its kind, used by all of the top sports economists and sport management programs, and specifically designed around the Oakland A's," Abraham said. "We offer it for use, free of charge."

The Oakland Baseball Simworld was created from a smaller simulation used as part of an effort to find buyers for the Athletics while Mr. Abraham was Economic Advisor to Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris. He created it and launched it on October 22nd, 2002. Sports Business Simulations was established on January 23, 2003.

"Second," he continued, "Spees' group is not asking what the best form of stadium financing is to be able to properly run the baseball organization. You can't just go out and draw up a plan on the back of a napkin. Some people do, but that's why many stadium proposals don't see the light of day."

Abraham says that forming the proper stadium financing package also has to do with stadium ownership, location, and configuration -- all considerations represented in the Oakland Baseball Simworld.

"I think civic leaders have to stop grandstanding and pull together. This habit of forming a group that claims to have the answer is typical Oakland," the SBS head said. "It's also why things like this stadium financing issue are not properly handled."

"Again, SBS offers the Oakalnd Baseball Simworld for use free of charge," Abraham said, "so the group can 'drive' different stadium plans and financing combinations through the Oakland Athletics to see how they impact the team's fiscal perfomance."

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