Report: Selig says A's can move

— -- Oakland Athletics owner Lew Wolff said he has received permission from commissioner Bud Selig to move the team immediately from O.co Coliseum unless a new stadium deal is agreed upon, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday.

The Chronicle obtained an email from Wolff sent to city and county officials on Wednesday night in which the owner said, "I was informed tonight that Commissioner Selig, due to the possibility of not having the hearing and vote that we were purported to receive from the JPA (Joint Powers Authority board), that we will immediately be allowed to seek a temporary or permanent location outside the city of Oakland."

The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority immediately restarted negotiations Thursday morning, according to the Chronicle. A planned vote on a 10-year lease was delayed on June 27 after four of the eight City of Oakland representatives did not show up for the meeting.

In the email, Wolff said that the Athletics were upset that, after reaching an agreement following 14 months of talks, the JPA had yet to approve it.

"No other lease negotiation entity was ever noted to us or MLB for 14 months. To characterize not looking beyond the fully negotiated lease as a negative of our 14 months of discussion is unacceptable to us and MLB," Wolff wrote. "We now find out that the city has some rule that causes even a city JPA representative that wishes to vote their beliefs, that such a decision can be altered to translate a positive vote to a negative vote. At no time over 14 months was this use of some rule ever mentioned to us. We do not wish to be involved in any aspect of local city political maneuvering.

"To suddenly try and involve us in a direction that was never once noted is absolutely unacceptable. ... Our desire is to remain in Oakland under the terms that we believed we have fully and mutually agreed. And that a fair and open vote at the JPA would be conducted, and then if we have to answer any concerns at the County or city, we would do so."

Oakland city councilman Noel Gallo told the Chronicle that officials on both sides were trying to reach a deal overnight.

"I think this agreement will be fair," Gallo told the Chronicle. "It might not be perfect, but I think it'll be good for Oakland and the region in the long run."

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan and City Council president Pat Kernighan said the vote in late June was delayed because city officials felt they needed more time to negotiate terms that would keep the team in Oakland and protect residents' interests.

The O.co Coliseum, which was built in 1966 and has been home to the Athletics since 1968, has had multiple sewage problems in the past year and an outage affecting the outfield lights on June 14.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.