Athletics President re: keeping the team in Oakland

[jeffandnicole]

I don't like professional sports in Las Vegas simply on principle.  Remember how gambling was such a scourge that to associate your sports league with it was to indelibly stain the sport?  The Black Sox; Pete Rose; all that shit?

Well never mind that, welcome to opening day of the Las Vegas Athletics brought to you by Draft Kings and the fucking Mirage!
Ha, ha!  We're so desperate to increase viewership that we'll embrace degenerate gamblers now!

With Vegas not the only place to bet on sports, the stigma should get reduced a bit. In NJ, you can bet on in-state games. They actually are getting larger gross sports betting income than Nevada (helped in part because people couldn't get to Vegas over the past year).

[OCGuy81]

I don't like professional sports in Las Vegas simply on principle.  Remember how gambling was such a scourge that to associate your sports league with it was to indelibly stain the sport?  The Black Sox; Pete Rose; all that shit?

Well never mind that, welcome to opening day of the Las Vegas Athletics brought to you by Draft Kings and the fucking Mirage!
Ha, ha!  We're so desperate to increase viewership that we'll embrace degenerate gamblers now!

With Vegas not the only place to bet on sports, the stigma should get reduced a bit. In NJ, you can bet on in-state games. They actually are getting larger gross sports betting income than Nevada (helped in part because people couldn't get to Vegas over the past year).

Here, the Oregon Lottery has an app you can download just for sports betting.  The stigma of sports betting is certainly going by the wayside.

[OCGuy81]

Seems like the A's will be gone. 

(From SFGate.com)

A's president John Fisher is "impatient and upset at the city of Oakland for not moving heaven and earth to immediately come to terms on a complicated proposal for a ballark/associated developments at the Howard Terminal."

Immediately?  Oakland has been fumbling over a new stadium for years now, and this will be the third pro franchise the city has lost.

[kevinb1994]

Seems like the A's will be gone. 

(From SFGate.com)

A's president John Fisher is "impatient and upset at the city of Oakland for not moving heaven and earth to immediately come to terms on a complicated proposal for a ballark/associated developments at the Howard Terminal."

Immediately?  Oakland has been fumbling over a new stadium for years now, and this will be the third pro franchise the city has lost.

Of course, now the question is which major metro area wants the A's more than any other.

[Henry]

And so, with the Braves staying in Atlanta (technically, Cobb County) for the long run, the A's will have the record for most relocations by a single MLB franchise...if Las Vegas or Portland wins the fight to lure them.

And I'd be fine with that, because they really don't need to move east and mess up the whole system. Leave that to the Rays who may leave Tampa/St. Pete because of government officials not giving in to their own demands for a new ballpark either.

[kevinb1994]

And so, with the Braves staying in Atlanta (technically, Cobb County) for the long run, the A's will have the record for most relocations by a single MLB franchise...if Las Vegas or Portland wins the fight to lure them.

And I'd be fine with that, because they really don't need to move east and mess up the whole system. Leave that to the Rays who may leave Tampa/St. Pete because of government officials not giving in to their own demands for a new ballpark either.

May want to start a new thread on the Rays' possible relocation. Portland seems to have been itching for a MLB team for awhile. Las Vegas would have been a no-go due to the whole sports betting thing so who knows, but nowadays it isn't out of the question.

[Flint1979]

I highly doubt Montreal is going to be the relocated city for a team.

[kevinb1994]

I highly doubt Montreal is going to be the relocated city for a team.

I'm not even sure if they're ready for another MLB team. If anything, they'll (the Rays) be in the Deep South like they are now. Maybe Charlotte.

[dvferyance]

I don't know what is with this Montreal obsession. The Expos had dismal attendance the last few years they were there. I think Portland would be the best place for the A's. It's on the west coast so they would not have to realign divisions. Although Vegas would be ok. I don't see why California needs 5 baseball teams so if they moved anywhere that would bee ok.

[Flint1979]

Is there really a market for two MLB teams in the Bay Area?

There is if you put one of them in the South Bay, but the Giants do not want the A's going down there. I believe they have the right to block that move.

Right. I was thinking San Jose would be the best location but thanks to the Giants they won't let that happen.

[NWI_Irish96]

To me, Charlotte and Las Vegas are the best candidates for relocation. I just don't think it will work in Portland.

[SP Cook]

I don't know what is with this Montreal obsession. The Expos had dismal attendance the last few years they were there.

The "obsession" is that, well, Montreal is huge.  Well over 4M people in its metro area, well over 8M in the entire province.

As to the attendance problems in Montreal, it was a series of really stupid moves by the government which resulted in a 8 year wait to get into a stadium, which really was not finished for about 2 years after that.  A stadium that was to have a retractable roof that never worked and which resulted in a dank basement type atmosphere.  A stadium designed by a Euro guy who  had never seen either an American football or a baseball game.

That combined with Quebec and Canadian politics that crashed the C$, as Canadian teams in all sports take in C$ and pay out US$; and which drove businesses, and the English speaking minority that worked for them, to relocate out of Quebec. 

This was followed by, and yes the plot of Major League is similar, an owner who not only tried to lose, but actually tried to make the team unpopular, so he could get a team in Miami.

With a proper ballpark and an owner who would understand the unique cultural and economic realities, there is no reason Montreal could not be a great major league city.

[gonealookin]

Reportedly the A's are looking at the Tropicana property on the southeast corner of The Strip and Tropicana Avenue.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/athletics/as-reportedly-eyeing-tropicana-site-for-possible-strip-ballpark-2488711/

Theoretically most of the hotel could stay while a ballpark would be built on one corner of the property.  The Tropicana property is about 35 acres; Target Field in Minneapolis has the smallest footprint of any ballpark in Major League Baseball at about 8.5 acres.  I do think a MLB park would have to be on The Strip; the minor league park out in Summerlin along the 215 Beltway is fine for AAA which draws local residents, but MLB and the casino resorts would be looking for visitors to fill the park (and the casinos).

It seems to me the A's ownership is laying some groundwork for MLB to go into Las Vegas eventually, whether it's themselves or a future expansion team.

[SectorZ]

If there is a prolonged labor outage, especially one that results in cancelled 2022 games, I wonder how this affects the A's staying in or leaving Oakland.

[SP Cook]

If there is a prolonged labor outage, especially one that results in cancelled 2022 games, I wonder how this affects the A's staying in or leaving Oakland.

IMHO, any strike will erode public support for being taxed to build workplaces for these people.  In Oakland, Montreal, Las Vegas, St. Petersburg, wherever.

[1995hoo]

If there is a prolonged labor outage, especially one that results in cancelled 2022 games, I wonder how this affects the A's staying in or leaving Oakland.

IMHO, any strike will erode public support for being taxed to build workplaces for these people.  In Oakland, Montreal, Las Vegas, St. Petersburg, wherever.

Not going to be a strike. The owners locked out the players last night precisely to prevent a strike. The last strike in the four major North American pro leagues was the infamous baseball strike of 1994—95. Every work stoppage since then has been a lockout. The owners wised up when MLB had to cancel the World Series (and, to a lesser degree, in 1992 when the Stanley Cup Playoffs were postponed by two weeks due to a players' strike). The owners make a lot of money on the postseason, especially in the NBA and NHL because their postseasons are so long. They learned the lesson of not giving the players control over when a work stoppage begins.

[Henry]

Reportedly the A's are looking at the Tropicana property on the southeast corner of The Strip and Tropicana Avenue.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/athletics/as-reportedly-eyeing-tropicana-site-for-possible-strip-ballpark-2488711/

Theoretically most of the hotel could stay while a ballpark would be built on one corner of the property.  The Tropicana property is about 35 acres; Target Field in Minneapolis has the smallest footprint of any ballpark in Major League Baseball at about 8.5 acres.  I do think a MLB park would have to be on The Strip; the minor league park out in Summerlin along the 215 Beltway is fine for AAA which draws local residents, but MLB and the casino resorts would be looking for visitors to fill the park (and the casinos).

It seems to me the A's ownership is laying some groundwork for MLB to go into Las Vegas eventually, whether it's themselves or a future expansion team.

At least they're still negotiating with Oakland about the Howard Terminal site, so don't count on a Raiders reunion yet.

[bing101]

Is there really a market for two MLB teams in the Bay Area?

I'm thinking most people who live there don't routinely cross the bridge to do things.

Despite being close the Oakland and San Francisco are very different places.  The fanbases don't have a ton of crossover traditionally.  It was actually somewhat controversial when the Warriors moved from Oakland since a lot of people thought that was a betrayal of the fan base.

True San Francisco is viewed as the Manhattan of California with financial industry types in the area. Oakland is more industrial like a Northern California version of Long Beach. Oakland is more oriented to nonprofits bay area districts.

[Road Hog]

As far as relocating a team to Austin or San Antonio, the combined markets are certainly large enough. but the Astros and Rangers would both fight a third AL team relocating to Texas. Both see Central Texas as their turf, and one or the other has had a Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock for years (depending on which organization Nolan Ryan was affiliated with).

[triplemultiplex]

Since the Raiders now play in a Vegas stadium that looks like a Roomba, that suggests to me an A's move to Vegas will involve building a stadium that looks like an Alexa or something.

[bing101]

https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/agency-clears-way-oakland-athletics-12b-ballpark-plan/103-c7577fc3-684f-4d25-8027-cff8d5479b05


Here is more on the current talks over the A's Stadium plans.

[Bruce]

And they're gone.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/article/oakland-a-s-reportedly-close-stadium-deal-las-17907710.php

[Ted$8roadFan]

I feel bad for the City of Oakland, having lost all three of their franchises in the last four years.

[ZLoth]

And they're gone.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/article/oakland-a-s-reportedly-close-stadium-deal-las-17907710.php

Quote from the article:

"I am deeply disappointed that the A's have chosen not to negotiate with the City of Oakland as a true partner, in a way that respects the long relationship between the fans, the City and the team,"  (Oakland Mayor Sheng) Thao said. "The City has gone above and beyond in our attempts to arrive at mutually beneficial terms to keep the A's in Oakland. In the last three months, we've made significant strides to close the deal. Yet, it is clear to me that the A's have no intention of staying in Oakland and have simply been using this process to try to extract a better deal out of Las Vegas. I am not interested in continuing to play that game – the fans and our residents deserve better."

Let me ponder that for a few minutes.... 

The problems with the Oakland Coliseum was noted for well over a decade, and probably two. While it is the fifth oldest MLB stadium, it is also the worst-maintained stadium which resulted in the ranking of worst stadium for both MLB and NFL (until the Raiders moved away, moving FedEx Field to last place). While I salute the City of Oakland's stand with avoid public funding of a sports stadium, that city's hubris has resulted in the feeling of "all talk, no real action". Yes, the management of the As needs to share the blame as well, but with that level of cooperation from Oakland, I can see the current action.

[texaskdog]

Vegas can't support MLB, much larger crowds over a much longer time than the other sports. Charlotte, to me, makes the most sense, or San Antonio (always overlooked).

San Antonio never drew well, yet Austin (Round Rock) does.