San Francisco Giants make real estate moves in area around Oracle Park

CBS News

05-04-2025

The San Francisco Giants franchise is valued at $3.5 billion dollars, making them the fifth most valuable team in the majors.
Off the field, the team has made headlines for its real estate ventures, particularly in the Mission Rock area near Oracle Park.
A winning start for the Giants has fans wondering if the team will be able to spend more in the future for top players.
The neighborhood around Oracle Park continues to be developed, with parts of the area owned by the organization.
Longtime radio broadcaster Marty Lurie and his fellow Giants fans were celebrating Opening Day at Original Joe's in North Beach Friday, looking forward to what they're hoping will be a magical season.
"We have a few wins in there already, but where is it going to go? Who knows," said Lurie.
The sights and buzz of Opening Day could be felt across the city on Friday, and especially near the ball park
when the Giants won their home opener
in an extra-inning thriller.
China Basin Park, a project 15 years in the making, opened less than a year ago, as the Mission Rock neighborhood continues to evolve.
"All that is still being developed, and that is really the nexus of what goes on at the park is in that area," said Lurie.
The Giants have invested in the development and expansion of the waterfront area just south of the park. Other professional franchises have reaped the benefits of "vibrant villages" and economic activity around their stadiums.
Nola Agha is a sports economics consultant and professor of sports management at the University of San Francisco.
"The Red Sox are a great example, with Lansdowne Street next to the stadium, of owning, or at least renting and managing that property. And being able to capture more spending outside of the stadium," said Agha.
Just across McCovey Cove, two high-rise residential and commercial buildings have opened with Visa moving in, but still plenty of retail space and residential units available.
Agha points to other successful developments like LA Live near Crypto Arena.
"There are high luxury condominiums, and people who live in those condos are season ticket holders. They frequent those restaurants, and so it's this deeper capture of spending," said Agha.
Fans may wonder if their team can be impacted when other investments are made. The breakdown of finances can be complex, but in most cases, franchises will separate those entities, according to Agha.
"It's more profitable for the ownership group as a whole, but usually the team itself is isolated from those other transactions," said Agha.
But that separation doesn't necessarily mean that if an ownership group generates a ton of profit, they can't spend it on superstars to bolster its roster in the future.
"It's always an option that you can invest more into the business. If you're generating more outside of the team itself, then you have that option to invest in the team," said Agha.
That could give Giants fans even more hope for a deeper roster with stars.
"It's sort of a false way to go down the road and say, 'Well they put all the money in real estate. They don't care about the team'. They do care about the team, but they have to see who they have first, and then you spend the money," said Lurie.
A hot start to the season -- and a thriving neighborhood around the park -- could lead to some good times for Giants fans.