OAKLAND (BCN) -- Oakland A's owner Lew Wolff issued a statement today saying that  he is no longer interested in trying to have a new stadium built in Oakland.

      Wolff's statement comes just one day after Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and City Council President Jane Brunner sent a letter to Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig asking him to name a point person from his office to work with city officials on a plan to keep the A's in Oakland.

      Wolff, who heads an ownership group that bought the baseball team on April 1, 2005, said, "We have fully exhausted our time and resources over the years with the city of Oakland, dating back to previous A's ownership."

      "We recognize conditions have not changed," Wolff said.

      In an apparent reference to the letter by Dellums and Brunner, Wolff said, "Letters to Major League Baseball offer nothing new or of any real substance."

      He said, "Outside stimulation to have us continue to play in an  aging and shared facility may generate press and 'sound-bite' opportunities  but do not provide any tangible alterations in the circumstances we face."

      Wolff said he understands that the Oakland Coliseum, where the A’s have played since they moved to Oakland from Kansas City in 1968, "continues to cost the city of Oakland and Alameda County millions of lost dollars per year."

      The team's lease at the Coliseum expires at the end of the 2010 season but there are three one-year options that could keep the A's at the stadium through 2013.

      "Sadly, the business and corporate base of the city of Oakland was very limited when we purchased the team and has eroded since," Wolff said.  "Our attendance and low number of season ticket holders (both one of the lowest in Major League Baseball) also continues to decline even when our on-field performance produced playoff participation."

      Wolff said, "We appreciate the sincere interest of Mayor Ron Dellums, Alameda County Supervisors Scott Haggerty and Gail Steele and local citizen Sherman Balch as the very few people that have offered encouragement and in-depth understanding about our situation."

      Indicating that he wants to keep the team in the Bay Area, Wolff said, "Our goal and desire for the organization is to determine a way to keep the team in Northern California. That goal has not changed."

      Wolff concluded his statement by saying, "We have no interest in covering old ground again, as we need to move forward in finding a future  home for our team."

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