Athletics President re: keeping the team in Oakland

[1995hoo]

Yes, I know what a retractable roof is and I know what the intention behind having one is. I can't help but wonder whether it would be closed for day games and open only for night games.

[Scott5114]

The Nevada Legislature only seems to be willing to contribute $195 million of the $395 million the A's are seeking. (Part of the reluctance seems to be because of the A's indecision on where, exactly, they're wanting to put the stadium.) So guess who they're asking to fork over the other $200 million? Did you guess Clark County? Yeah, we all saw that coming.

Nevada lawmakers balk at A's $395M price tag; deal dependent on county funding

The clock is ticking...

The news comes less than 20 days before the end of the state's 120-day legislative session. Any public money for the project will need to be approved by both houses of the Legislature by June 5, or the Legislature would need to deal with the matter in a special session, which can be called by the governor or a two-thirds majority of lawmakers.

Calling a special session for something like this seems like it would be pretty silly. I don't know Governor Lombardo well enough to know whether he'd do it or not. I'm guessing if the Legislature is already ambivalent about the bill, you're probably not going to get 2/3 of them to vote to come back to work some more.

[Henry]

Howard Terminal may not be completely dead, as  Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is going to keep it alive if the A's decide to give it another try. And given that NV is unwilling to foot the bill for the proposed ballpark in Las Vegas, they probably will have no other choice.

[Ted$8roadFan]

There seems to be more resistance to public funding of athletic stadiums now than in years past. I'm not that familiar with the political culture of Arizona and Nevada, but if they're resistant to financing new stadia, that sends a message.

[SectorZ]

There seems to be more resistance to public funding of athletic stadiums now than in years past. I'm not that familiar with the political culture of Arizona and Nevada, but if they're resistant to change, that sends a message.

Not to get political here, but this is an incredibly good step if people are revolting on this. This is something that has always disgusted me.

[ZLoth]

There seems to be more resistance to public funding of athletic stadiums now than in years past. I'm not that familiar with the political culture of Arizona and Nevada, but if they're resistant to change, that sends a message.

Not to get political here, but this is an incredibly good step if people are revolting on this. This is something that has always disgusted me.

Are you saying that a sports stadium is essentially a Field of Schemes? Or is it the "bread and circuses" aspect?

[SectorZ]

There seems to be more resistance to public funding of athletic stadiums now than in years past. I'm not that familiar with the political culture of Arizona and Nevada, but if they're resistant to change, that sends a message.

Not to get political here, but this is an incredibly good step if people are revolting on this. This is something that has always disgusted me.

Are you saying that a sports stadium is essentially a Field of Schemes? Or is it the "bread and circuses" aspect?

A little of each.

[Henry]

If Manfred has his way, the owners will approve the A's relocation next month. Of course, it all hinges on what happens in Las Vegas; that town needs to get its act together and pool all the funds before the ballpark can be built, but it's probably going to happen eventually.

[gonealookin]

If Manfred has his way, the owners will approve the A's relocation next month. Of course, it all hinges on what happens in Las Vegas; that town needs to get its act together and pool all the funds before the ballpark can be built, but it's probably going to happen eventually.

A bit of a nitpick on that:  Everything south of the Stratosphere on the Strip is in unincorporated Clark County, not the City of Las Vegas.  The City has nothing to do with this.  The public portion of the financing would be tax breaks from the State of Nevada and bond financing from Clark County.

It seems like they have a deal.  Comments as a Nevada resident, and a lifelong A's fan who would prefer they stay in Oakland but has accepted the reality of the situation:  politically, the GOP governor is supporting it, and a lot of the Democratic legislators from Clark County are beholden to the unions in Las Vegas who support it as well.  I think this will get enough support from both parties to get through the (heavily Democratic) legislature and then the governor will sign.  It should be completed in the next week or two.

[Ted$8roadFan]

I feel bad for fans in Oakland. However, now that it seems likely a deal is likely to bring the A's to Las Vegas, I hope that the new stadium will have a retractable roof so that its extremely hot summers don't scare off the would-be fans.

[Henry]

I feel bad for fans in Oakland. However, now that it seems likely a deal is likely to bring the A's to Las Vegas, I hope that the new stadium will have a retractable roof so that its extremely hot summers don't scare off the would-be fans.

That's exactly what they have in mind. Phoenix has extremely hot summers too, and Chase Field is a perfect building for it. Same goes for Arlington (Globe Life Park), Houston (Minute Maid Park), Miami (LoanDepot Park) and, for now, St. Petersburg (Tropicana Field, but it's a fixed-roof building like the now-demolished Metrodome and Kingdome were).

On the flip side of the coin, retractable-roof ballparks also work well in cities with very cold springs and falls, such as Milwaukee (American Family Field), Seattle (T-Mobile Park) and Toronto (Rogers Centre).

[Big John]

Renderings feature a "partially retractable" roof.  What good does that do in that climate?

[gonealookin]

Renderings feature a "partially retractable" roof.  What good does that do in that climate?

I believe what those drawings are showing is the fixed roof over about half of the ballpark.  The retractable portion of the roof would slide around to enclose the remaining open portion for most of the season...but the drawing looks better when showing the roof open.

[on_wisconsin]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOZmnHtsjAY

[gonealookin]

It seems like they have a deal.  Comments as a Nevada resident, and a lifelong A's fan who would prefer they stay in Oakland but has accepted the reality of the situation:  politically, the GOP governor is supporting it, and a lot of the Democratic legislators from Clark County are beholden to the unions in Las Vegas who support it as well.  I think this will get enough support from both parties to get through the (heavily Democratic) legislature and then the governor will sign.  It should be completed in the next week or two.

Well, that was wrong.  The regular session of the Nevada Legislature ended last night without a vote on the ballpark financing.  There's going to be at least one special session to deal with some unresolved issues regarding the state budget and that could include the ballpark issue, but it looks like the real problem is that the legislature stood up to the demands of the billionaire team owner and the votes just aren't there for any portion of the project to be publicly financed.  Where it goes from here, who knows, but the odds of the A's ever playing in Vegas took a huge plunge last night.

[triplemultiplex]

Now's your chance, Nashville!

[Plutonic Panda]

Good hopefully it doesn't happen. I was indifferent until I found out they proposed demolishing The Tropicana for this. Fuck that. There's so much vacant land south of the airport why not build it there and spur more development down that way?

Whatever public funding this would get I'd rather see go into a heavy rail subway underneath the boulevard.

[gonealookin]

Good hopefully it doesn't happen. I was indifferent until I found out they proposed demolishing The Tropicana for this. Fuck that. There's so much vacant land south of the airport why not build it there and spur more development down that way?

Whatever public funding this would get I'd rather see go into a heavy rail subway underneath the boulevard.

The elderly by Las Vegas standards Tropicana is going down anyway.  A company called Gaming and Leisure Properties owns the land and Bally's owns the improvements with development rights.  Bally's wants to do a 21st-century development that's more in tune with the other ostentatious places on the Strip.  A MLB ballpark connected to the casino resort would have been a way to distinguish Bally's development from those other places so that's why they have an interest in doing it.  If the ballpark does fall through they will still tear down the Tropicana, build their new resort and find some other spectacular attraction to put on that corner of the property.

[Henry]

Now's your chance, Nashville!

Not if Sacramento has something to say about it.

If the A's still want to leave Oakland, and Las Vegas is no longer an option, then the next big town up I-80 will probably be the new frontrunner for their next home. With the NV State Legislature adjourned, there may not even be a Las Vegas A's to cheer for, and this quote may prove it:

Las Vegas is currently the No. 1 option but has seen some pushback, specifically from Nevada State Assemblywoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno -- the chair on that chamber's Ways and Means committee.

"She said, 'I am currently a hell no and you need to get me to a yes.' And if she is saying that, other folks are probably thinking along the same lines," said Tabitha Mueller, a reporter with the Nevada  Independent.

As for the current home city of the Kings:

So if not Sin City, why not Sacramento?

"Sacramento is a better financial deal than Las Vegas, a better team environment, a better fan environment, and a better merchandise and TV environment — and the A's are going to lose money in Las Vegas," said Barry Broome, the CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council.

Broome, who has written Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred himself, believes the A's and the league should consider the capital city — with the Railyards in Sacramento and The Bridge District in West Sacramento as two viable options.

"West Sacramento can put together a more aggressive deal together than what Nevada has right now, and the deal in the Railyards is better than the deal in Las Vegas," Broome said.

"The A's have told us if the deal falls through in Vegas, they will hear us out. But we need the MLB commissioner to acknowledge Sacramento as a site," Broome said. "So we are waiting to see if this deal goes through on Monday. If it doesn't, we will have two communities that can present a fantastic case to the A's."

And as for local support?

"I do believe we will get support for Vivek Ranadive. I do believe we can get support from Gov. Newsom," Broome said.

Best of all...

Broome says if the A's do decide to come to Sacramento, construction can begin almost immediately.

"We will sell that stadium out before there is a shovel in the ground if they just make a commitment to our community," Broome said.

I'd be all-in for this alternative proposal, especially since the Raiders have already said that they don't want their former neighbors in their new city. FWIW, the Kings enjoy a considerable amount of support from their small but very passionate fanbase, which bodes well for the A's staying within the Golden State. We'll see what happens.

[gonealookin]

The ballpark at the Tropicana is still breathing.

https://twitter.com/tabitha_mueller/status/1666254484207718400

The Capital Improvement Program special session of the Legislature is tonight.  The legislative leaders have said the budget has to be fully completed before there are any policy discussions such as ballpark financing.  So if they get that last piece of the budget done tonight, it sounds like Governor Lombardo wants to call a second special session in the next day or two for the ballpark.  That doesn't mean the legislature would approve it.  The governor does have the right to demand the second special session and put the ballpark financing on the agenda, but the Assembly and/or Senate could put the proposal up for a vote, vote No and that would be the end of it, at least as far as the possibility of public financial participation goes.

[ZLoth]

I'd be all-in for this alternative proposal, especially since the Raiders have already said that they don't want their former neighbors in their new city. FWIW, the Kings enjoy a considerable amount of support from their small but very passionate fanbase, which bodes well for the A's staying within the Golden State.

FWIW... the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto is considered the #20 media market, and a strong secondary market for the bay area sports teams. (It was also subject to the NFL blackout rules when those were in effect.) I know of fans who traveled on a regular basis to attend home team games, including season ticket holders for both NFL teams. The question becomes.... has the management of the Oakland As alienated the fan base enough to sabotage a local team move? It's doubtful that owner would sell to appease those fans.

[triplemultiplex]

I'd be more in favor of Sacramento than Vegas.

[ZLoth]

From SBNation:

A's attempted move to Las Vegas is fast becoming the biggest mess in sports
This is blowing up in their faces SPECTACULARLY.

Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher thought this would be easy. He'd twiddle his fingers for a while in the Bay Area trying to get a new stadium, and if that didn't materialize he'd bolt for Las Vegas with MLB's blessing – getting richer in the process. Fisher's assumption was that with the Raiders' move, and the Golden Knights selling out their arena, it was going to be simple to get a boatload of taxpayer money to build a ballpark, with private investors falling over themselves to get a piece of the action.

One month later, Fisher's dream is collapsing around him. Everything is on fire and he's left trying to work out what the hell to do next.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

[Ted$8roadFan]

Meanwhile, in Nevada:

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/as-swing-and-miss-again-with-ballpark-presentation-but-this-games-not-over

[Flint1979]

I'd be more in favor of Sacramento than Vegas.

I thought the same thing but then went deeper and realized that the Giants AAA team is there.