The San Francisco Giants Pay Off Their Mortgage, by Chuck Strom

Found this item today buried in a Ringer article about the Oakland Raiders and their pending move to Las Vegas: the San Francisco Giants just sent their last mortgage check for AT&T Park without even issuing a new release to mark the occasion:

http://www.sfchronicle.com/giants/article/Giants-pay-off-AT-T-Park-prepare-for-another-10952512.php

The windfall isn’t expected to impact the Giants greatly. The franchise is already expected to spend a Yankee-level $200 million on their 2017 payroll, dwarfing the $18 million in savings from the payoff. You would think, though, that they would have made more of the event. Perhaps a mortgage-burning in the adjacent parking lot would have been in order.

Speaking of which, the article mentions planning in the works for a massive new development in said parking lot, including apartments, shops, and a brewery in the current Pier 48. All of it sounds good, though parking nearby will become even more of an adventure than it already is. All the more reason, I guess, for the ferry or BART to become the go-to transportation options on game days.

Chuck Strom