Athletics President re: keeping the team in Oakland

[SEWIGuy]

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!

Professional athletes make so much now that there is little risk of Vegas players being on the take. Plus sports betting is now legal in many other states where there are teams.

And legal gambling is everywhere.

[triplemultiplex]

From Sportico (posted May 7th):

NO A'S IN ATTENDANCE: OAKLAND TRAILS A WHOPPING 553 U.S. TEAMS

What do the Calgary Roughnecks of the National Lacrosse League and the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League have in common besides the name?

They both outdraw the Oakland Athletics.

Love the dearth of creativity in team names.  "Is there oil nearby?  Okay, we're the 'Roughnecks!'  Yeah, that's good enough."
I'm sure the author went out of their way to pick two teams with the same name, but still.

[Scott5114]

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!

Professional athletes make so much now that there is little risk of Vegas players being on the take. Plus sports betting is now legal in many other states where there are teams.

And legal gambling is everywhere.

And also "the fucking Mirage" isn't sponsoring anything, as it's closing in June.

Besides, anyone playing for the Vegas team would become a local, one characteristic of which is a debilitating allergy to the Strip outside of work hours. (Seriously, I've been here for 4 months at this point, and stepped foot on the Strip all of once, and that was only because the Trop was closing and I wanted to see it off. Otherwise, the Strip is "that kind of annoyingly long light on Flamingo" to me.)

[Plutonic Panda]

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!

Professional athletes make so much now that there is little risk of Vegas players being on the take. Plus sports betting is now legal in many other states where there are teams.

And legal gambling is everywhere.

And also "the fucking Mirage" isn't sponsoring anything, as it's closing in June.

Besides, anyone playing for the Vegas team would become a local, one characteristic of which is a debilitating allergy to the Strip outside of work hours. (Seriously, I've been here for 4 months at this point, and stepped foot on the Strip all of once, and that was only because the Trop was closing and I wanted to see it off. Otherwise, the Strip is "that kind of annoyingly long light on Flamingo" to me.)

Did you go walk around it? It felt like the backrooms to me it is so huge and it's empty. I paid extra for a strip view and they had this extremely annoying shit on the windows that made it hard to see out of which is my favorite part of staying on the strip.

[Scott5114]

Did you go walk around it? It felt like the backrooms to me it is so huge and it's empty. I paid extra for a strip view and they had this extremely annoying shit on the windows that made it hard to see out of which is my favorite part of staying on the strip.

Oh, good, so it wasn't just me that got the backrooms vibe from it. I wandered around a bunch of empty hallways trying to find the bathroom, and there was a guy in a bunny suit in there. I just ascribed that to Vegas being Vegas, until I realized like 20 minutes later it was Easter Sunday. Even though I'm used to being around out-of-service slot machines, having as much of the floor down as they did was kind of spooky. It was probably the most bizarre casino experience I've ever had, which is saying something since I worked at Newcastle for six years.

I had a similar room experience as you did when I stayed at the Excalibur across the street last year—paid extra for a Strip view and we got put on the floor that had the decorative crenellations on it, which totally blocked the view for my wife (I'm tall enough I could at least see part of the Tropicana over the wall). If I were in the position of coming in from out of town again, I think my game plan might be to stay at one of the cheap off-Strip resorts like the Rio and then just Uber over to the Strip or Fremont.

[ZLoth]

Besides, anyone playing for the Vegas team would become a local, one characteristic of which is a debilitating allergy to the Strip outside of work hours. (Seriously, I've been here for 4 months at this point, and stepped foot on the Strip all of once, and that was only because the Trop was closing and I wanted to see it off. Otherwise, the Strip is "that kind of annoyingly long light on Flamingo" to me.)

In 2015, I attended the Toastmasters Conference which was held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas (located at 3570 S Las Vegas Blvd, Paradise, NV 89109). I arrived before the convention and saw David Copperfield, Blue Man Group, and Cirque du Solei as part of longer vacation. During that time, I spoke with some of the LV Toastmasters, and they told me that, unless they have business on the strip/LV, they actively avoid the area because of the congestion.

If the Athletics want to start playing in 2027 in LV, they have to start construction by next spring. If the current reports are correct, they are nowhere near that point in construction plans or funding.

[SP Cook]

Anybody who is concerned about gambling and Las Vegas has not been paying attention for the last 10 years.  Since the Supreme Court's ruling that every state is equal, and thus Congress could not prohibit gambling in other states, it has exploded.  Not only can you gamble on your phone, there are casinos within walking distance, or at least a short drive, from more than 2/3rd of Big Four sports arenas.

[Scott5114]

Anybody who is concerned about gambling and Las Vegas has not been paying attention for the last 10 years.  Since the Supreme Court's ruling that every state is equal, and thus Congress could not prohibit gambling in other states, it has exploded.  Not only can you gamble on your phone, there are casinos within walking distance, or at least a short drive, from more than 2/3rd of Big Four sports arenas.

Yup. Even if you just stick to casino-style gaming, if you just want to gamble, chances are there's a place to do it within easy driving distance, no matter where in the US you are. If you're coming to Las Vegas in 2024, you're not coming just to gamble, you're coming for all of the other ridiculousness that we do best, like the shows, or the fancy hotel rooms, or the booze, or the clubs, or the people-watching, or whatever. Vegas figured out long ago that there's way more money to be made from all of that stuff than there was in just pure gambling. Sports are just the power brokers' latest fixation. Ten years from now we'll have something else we're chasing.

[Max Rockatansky]

I think the last time I even gambled in Las Vegas was before 2010?  Gambling has never been my bag and probably never been the reason I've visited Clark County.

[ZLoth]

The only gaming I do nowadays is the occasional drive up to the Oklahoma casinos with my mother. While I end up losing $100, it's not much for me since it's multiple months between casino visits. I still get that guilty feeling that the money can be used elsewhere. However, I have used the resort in the past for a quick getaway that isn't that expensive. Also, I don't drink.

Plus, the entertainment that they have at the two casinos aren't getting my interest. "Rocky and the Bullwinkles"? I believe Chocktaw in Durant, OK is the casino partner for the Texas Rangers while Winstar is the casino partner for the Dallas Cowboys,

[gonealookin]

From Sportico (posted May 7th):

NO A'S IN ATTENDANCE: OAKLAND TRAILS A WHOPPING 553 U.S. TEAMS

What do the Calgary Roughnecks of the National Lacrosse League and the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League have in common besides the name?

They both outdraw the Oakland Athletics.

The A's are averaging 6,410 fans per game in what is expected to be their final season in Oakland. It would be the lowest home attendance figure for an MLB team in 45 years, and a total that would look more at home in leagues that you've likely never heard of.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

OK, but we're talking average attendance.  It looks like the Calgary Roughnecks played 9 home games in their just-completed season and the Houston Roughnecks are playing 5 home games in their current season.  The A's play 81 home games. Even in their current derelict lame-duck state that their ownership has put them in, I'd argue that a lot of the Coliseum's seats would have butts in them if they were playing single-digit home games this season.

Oakland had some missteps, absolutely, but this is squarely on John Fisher. It's obvious that staying in Oakland was never his goal - otherwise the Howard Terminal project would be a reality by now (it had something like 90% of the funding already in place). He saw the potential dollars in Vegas and never seriously considered anything after that.

It seemed like Fisher was making a sincere effort towards doing a big ballpark/housing/commercial development at Howard Terminal around 2017-2019.  Then Covid hit in 2020 and that evidently changed the financial calculus as to that project.  After that, you're right, Vegas was easier, cheaper and probably not nearly as risky financially so Oakland got the cold shoulder.

If the Athletics want to start playing in 2027 in LV, they have to start construction by next spring. If the current reports are correct, they are nowhere near that point in construction plans or funding.

Initially the target date for opening the new ballpark at the Tropicana site was the start of the 2027 season, but it was almost immediately pushed back to the currently-stated start of the 2028 season.  The agreement to use the River Cats' AAA park in West Sacramento is for 2025 through 2027, but there are provisions for extending it through the 2029 season in the event of delays in Las Vegas.

[bing101]

Here is the site of the future A's stadium. 

[elsmere241]

Seriously, I've been here for 4 months at this point, and stepped foot on the Strip all of once, and that was only because the Trop was closing and I wanted to see it off. Otherwise, the Strip is "that kind of annoyingly long light on Flamingo" to me.

After I finished college, I got short-term apartment there on a lark for most of February 1997.  At the time, they were really trying to push the "Boulder Strip".  Is that still a thing?

[Stephane Dumas]

Here is the site of the future A's stadium.

The Tropicana, we'll miss that building...I saw a article published last Spring about it.
https://www.remindmagazine.com/article/12729/tropicana-resort-closing-las-vegas-baseball-stadium-as/
Parts of James Bond movie "Diamonds are Forever" was filmed at the Tropicana hotel.
https://jamesbondlocations.blogspot.com/2014/05/hotel-tropicana.html

[Scott5114]

Seriously, I've been here for 4 months at this point, and stepped foot on the Strip all of once, and that was only because the Trop was closing and I wanted to see it off. Otherwise, the Strip is "that kind of annoyingly long light on Flamingo" to me.

After I finished college, I got short-term apartment there on a lark for most of February 1997.  At the time, they were really trying to push the "Boulder Strip".  Is that still a thing?

I mean, Boulder Highway still has casinos on it, but it has a reputation as being a pretty sleazy part of town. Not unsafe if you're staying at the casino, but it's not advised to walk to the next one at night like you might do on Las Vegas Blvd.

[bing101]

[SEWIGuy]

The Giants will have to cross the Bay Bridge to get to Sacramento right?

[Max Rockatansky]

Depends on the traffic.  Sometimes it is faster to take the Golden Gate across to Marin County and jog back to Vallejo.

[gonealookin]

So today the A's will play their final game at the Oakland Coliseum.

I lived in the East Bay almost all of my life until 2009.  When I was playing "Peanut League" ball I went to my first major league game at the Coliseum, in 1970.  I got hooked pretty quickly, and one of the first things that happened was that the A's team that had Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, Sal Bando and all those guys won three straight World Series from 1972-1974.  I've been an A's fan the whole time since.

I left Oakland in 2009 but still kept in touch with A's fan friends and with the team on a daily basis each season.  Obviously they needed a new ballpark to replace that miserable relic from the 1960s, and there were a lot of failed attempts to get one (several of them never realistically attainable in the first place).  I thought the ownership and one of the cities would eventually get a deal done to keep the A's in the Bay Area, but after Covid and then particularly starting in 2022 it seemed like ownership just abandoned that idea, feeling that greener grass was elsewhere, and Las Vegas eventually became the places where riches could be made.

So the last three seasons have been a steep decline, with the team owner ordering the team stripped of all major league talent so he didn't have to pay more than the bare minimum salary, while raising ticket prices and doing nothing to make the ballpark experience more enjoyable.  Flipping the middle finger to all the people who supported the team for the previous 50 years at every turn.  My interest plunged correspondingly.

The next three seasons they will spend a strange interlude in a minor league ballpark in West Sacramento, which is much closer to my current home than Oakland, but I just don't care any more.  My sentiment this morning can be summed up in a couple words:  Good Riddance.  I'll watch the home finale today, but without any sadness, because this process has been so drawn out that I personally resolved my feelings a long time ago (though I know many of those A's fan friends I talk to will shed quite a few tears today).  To John Fisher, the owner, Rob Manfred, who never cared about Oakland, and Major League Baseball in general, I say, F*** You, you're out of my life and you ain't ever being welcomed back.

[Bobby5280]

I'm a little shocked by how low the seating capacity will be at the A's new stadium in Las Vegas: just 33,000 seats. That's fewer seats than any other MLB stadium. Most of those existing venues have over 40,000 seats. Dodger Stadium has a capacity of 56,000. Oakland Coliseum has the most with 56,782.

I think the lower seating capacity at the proposed Las Vegas ballpark is all about creating forced scarcity and thus higher ticket prices. The exterior of the stadium appears more than a little similar to the Sydney Opera House. Some have joked that it looks like an armadillo.

[jeffandnicole]

I'm a little shocked by how low the seating capacity will be at the A's new stadium in Las Vegas: just 33,000 seats. That's fewer seats than any other MLB stadium. Most of those existing venues have over 40,000 seats. Dodger Stadium has a capacity of 56,000. Oakland Coliseum has the most with 56,782.

I think the lower seating capacity at the proposed Las Vegas ballpark is all about creating forced scarcity and thus higher ticket prices. The exterior of the stadium more than a little similar to the Sydney Opera House. Some have joked that it looks like an armadillo.

There's also knowing the market. Teams don't like playing in ballparks that are only half-filled. It doesn't look good on TV. It doesn't look good sitting in the stands.  29 other teams may have bigger ballparks, but only 10 of the 30 teams have had average attendance figures about 33k this season.

[NWI_Irish96]

I'm a little shocked by how low the seating capacity will be at the A's new stadium in Las Vegas: just 33,000 seats. That's fewer seats than any other MLB stadium. Most of those existing venues have over 40,000 seats. Dodger Stadium has a capacity of 56,000. Oakland Coliseum has the most with 56,782.

I think the lower seating capacity at the proposed Las Vegas ballpark is all about creating forced scarcity and thus higher ticket prices. The exterior of the stadium more than a little similar to the Sydney Opera House. Some have joked that it looks like an armadillo.

There's also knowing the market. Teams don't like playing in ballparks that are only half-filled. It doesn't look good on TV. It doesn't look good sitting in the stands.  29 other teams may have bigger ballparks, but only 10 of the 30 teams have had average attendance figures about 33k this season.

Other than Opening Day and visits by the Dodgers and Yankees, I don't see a 33k capacity having any scarcity that would drive up ticket prices.

[triplemultiplex]

It's small because it's a casino with a baseball field out back.

[JayhawkCO]

I'm a little shocked by how low the seating capacity will be at the A's new stadium in Las Vegas: just 33,000 seats. That's fewer seats than any other MLB stadium. Most of those existing venues have over 40,000 seats. Dodger Stadium has a capacity of 56,000. Oakland Coliseum has the most with 56,782.

I think the lower seating capacity at the proposed Las Vegas ballpark is all about creating forced scarcity and thus higher ticket prices. The exterior of the stadium more than a little similar to the Sydney Opera House. Some have joked that it looks like an armadillo.

There's also knowing the market. Teams don't like playing in ballparks that are only half-filled. It doesn't look good on TV. It doesn't look good sitting in the stands.  29 other teams may have bigger ballparks, but only 10 of the 30 teams have had average attendance figures about 33k this season.

Exactly. Baseball is a relatively dying sport. Long gone are the days of the Rockies selling out Mile High for almost every game. A good sized baseball stadium should have 25-30k at most.

[Max Rockatansky]

FWIW I always liked the Coliseum.  It wasn't a looker but had great access to a BART station and tickets cost way less than attending a Giants game.