Athletics President re: keeping the team in Oakland

[SP Cook]

Mark Davis lives in a fantasy world, as his father did, where he is always the victim.  In reality the opposite is true.

[Flint1979]

Mark Davis is an perfect example of a crybaby. You own the Raiders, you had a chance to build your own stadium and you did by moving the Raiders to Las Vegas. And he won't forget what they did to him in Oakland, what a crybaby and obviously a grudge holder too. Nothing ever got done on a stadium in Oakland, they've been trying for years to get out of that shithole they play in. Before Mount Davis was built the view was actually pretty nice. I have never liked the shape of the stadium or the huge foul territory though.

Luckily we are down to only a few ballparks that need to be replaced. Oakland and Tampa Bay for sure, also Arizona. I had never realized how badly Chase Field was until I started looking at pictures of the upper deck, that is wayyyyyyy too many rows for an upper deck. They could cut that in half and still have an average upper deck. I guess I was spoiled by watching ballgames in two classic ballparks, Comiskey Park and Tiger Stadium. Comiskey was a gem, anywhere you sat in that ballpark you were right there on top of the field basically, you got that same feeling in Tiger Stadium. Ernie Harwell said that you could see them sweat and hear them cuss you were so close to the field at Tiger Stadium. The back row of seating at Tiger Stadium was closer to the field than the front row of seating in the upper deck at Comerica Park is. I'd love to go to a game at Tiger Stadium in 2023.

[ZLoth]

Mark Davis is an perfect example of a crybaby. You own the Raiders, you had a chance to build your own stadium and you did by moving the Raiders to Las Vegas.

To be fair, Oakland Coliseum was the last dual-use stadiums in use in the NFL. One of their last games played was a late-Sunday night game due to stadium conversion issues because the A's were in the playoffs. So, that day, we have a morning game, a afternoon game, SNF, and a late Sunday game carried on the NFL network using the television production and announcing crew that was originally for the afternoon game. When the Raiders came back to Oakland, they built the infamous "Mount Davis" for the additional NFL seating.

Of course, we are talking about the same Raiders that, after losing Super Bowl XXXVII, had a playoff drought that ran from 2003 to the 2015 seasons, with only three of those seasons (2010, 2011, 2015) have more than 5 wins. And, they still haven't won a playoff game.

As for Mark Davis.... worst haircut for any NFL team owner.

[triplemultiplex]

Mark Davis is just carrying on the family tradition of being a total shitheel.

[bing101]

Bay Bridge Series is the thing of the past as seen with the Raiders and A's leaving Oakland for Las Vegas.

The dividing line in Norcal for in area rivalry was at Yerba Buena Island when that happened. Now the Dividing Line over sports rivalries within Norcal moves to a section of I-80 between Fairfield to Vacaville in the NBA given that this area is a commuter area for both Bay Area and Sacramento.

The only sport going forward with a Northern California rivalry is in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors and the NBA calls this the I-80 Series due to both teams having new stadiums within the past decade.

[abefroman329]

(Honestly, I hardly know anything about my own state's Legislature, let alone a different state's Legislature.  I highly doubt a whole lot of people follow out-of-state legislation closely enough to associate those states' capitals with politics, unless said politics have been routinely making national headlines.)

Batshit-crazy is in the eye of the beholder anyway.

[on_wisconsin]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m_dIhqlxvw

[triplemultiplex]

If the A's have to move, I would have much rather seen them land somewhere in SEC country.  Dixie is under-served by MLB and the Braves have too much 'territory'.  Nashville and Charlotte would be my top picks over Vegas by a country mile.

Hell if they "had" to stay out west somewhere, I'd rather see the A's in Salt Lake or Portland.  Portland I'm sure would just love to show the rest of America how to do an urban ballpark, and SLC could pull the same thing off, only more politely.

[Henry]

If the A's have to move, I would have much rather seen them land somewhere in SEC country.  Dixie is under-served by MLB and the Braves have too much 'territory'.  Nashville and Charlotte would be my top picks over Vegas by a country mile.

In fact, the same could be said about the Mid-Atlantic, where the Orioles had quite a lot of territory to cover for 33 years. It's about 700 miles between Baltimore and Atlanta, but the Nationals' presence has somehow cut down on that discrepancy, though not by much.

Portland would make a good rival for Seattle, and Utah/Salt Lake City for Colorado/Denver. Put the new teams in opposing leagues (Portland in the NL and Utah in the AL), and you'd have the perfect natural rivals for each.

[on_wisconsin]

https://youtu.be/kcrrgXDQYV8?t=69

[SectorZ]

As for Mark Davis.... worst haircut for any NFL team owner.

I can't wait til he hits his 80s and looks like a melting candle like his dad did.

[ZLoth]

As for Mark Davis.... worst haircut for any NFL team owner.

I can't wait til he hits his 80s and looks like a melting candle like his dad did.

Since he is turning 68 on May 18th, we only have 12 years to wait.

[Scott5114]

Apparently that "binding agreement" for the site on the west side of I-15 wasn't so binding after all. The Nevada Independent is reporting that the A's are again in talks to buy the Tropicana and build the stadium there, right on the Strip.

[Henry]

Talk about an about-face. And since there is so little time to get things done in the current NV legislative session, there is no guarantee that the Las Vegas A's will exist, so there needs to be a Plan C in there somewhere. (Plan B is the current Tropicana site, which came about after their original bid fell through.)

[Scott5114]

I imagine Plan C is getting Clark County to play sugar daddy yet again, same as the Raiders did. That has the benefit of not having to involve Northern Nevada in the discussion, since it wouldn't affect them one way or another. With Allegiant, the state's only involvement was a minor adjustment to tax laws to make it easier for Clark County to raise the necessary funds.

[Road Hog]

The Strip would be a great spot for a stadium ... as long as walkability is added. The Strip SUCKS for pedestrians. You almost have to call an Uber to go six blocks to eat In N Out.

[abefroman329]

The Strip would be a great spot for a stadium ... as long as walkability is added. The Strip SUCKS for pedestrians. You almost have to call an Uber to go six blocks to eat In N Out.

Casinos only like walkability when it comes to curb appeal.  The last thing they want is for people to get up and walk to another casino, taking their money with them.

[brad2971]

This would be a great time for Oakland and Alameda County to force MLB and the A's to make decisions. The current per-year lease on RingCentral Coliseum (the A's get no revenue from the naming of the stadium) is $1.75 million, which ends 12/31/24. If I were Oakland/Alameda County, I would offer to waive next year's lease payment PLUS refund them this year's lease payment, on the condition that the A's vacate the stadium by November 30. If they take the deal, and don't vacate the stadium, Oakland/Alameda County gets to file for a court order seeking eviction of the A's.

This nonsense with the A's has gone on long enough. Time for both the A's and Las Vegas to show the color of their money. Time for Rob Manfred to make some decisions.

[Henry]

This would be a great time for Oakland and Alameda County to force MLB and the A's to make decisions. The current per-year lease on RingCentral Coliseum (the A's get no revenue from the naming of the stadium) is $1.75 million, which ends 12/31/24. If I were Oakland/Alameda County, I would offer to waive next year's lease payment PLUS refund them this year's lease payment, on the condition that the A's vacate the stadium by November 30. If they take the deal, and don't vacate the stadium, Oakland/Alameda County gets to file for a court order seeking eviction of the A's.

This nonsense with the A's has gone on long enough. Time for both the A's and Las Vegas to show the color of their money. Time for Rob Manfred to make some decisions.

Not a bad idea, considering how horrible the Coliseum has become ever since the Mt. Davis got built and forever ruined the decent ballpark it once was. I'm sure no one will miss it when it is demolished, even if by some miraculous event the A's abandon Las Vegas and decide to give Oakland one last try. I, for one, had high hopes for Howard Terminal until the Vegas news broke.

[Scott5114]

The Strip would be a great spot for a stadium ... as long as walkability is added. The Strip SUCKS for pedestrians. You almost have to call an Uber to go six blocks to eat In N Out.

The Strip + walkability = Fremont Street

[brad2971]

This would be a great time for Oakland and Alameda County to force MLB and the A's to make decisions. The current per-year lease on RingCentral Coliseum (the A's get no revenue from the naming of the stadium) is $1.75 million, which ends 12/31/24. If I were Oakland/Alameda County, I would offer to waive next year's lease payment PLUS refund them this year's lease payment, on the condition that the A's vacate the stadium by November 30. If they take the deal, and don't vacate the stadium, Oakland/Alameda County gets to file for a court order seeking eviction of the A's.

This nonsense with the A's has gone on long enough. Time for both the A's and Las Vegas to show the color of their money. Time for Rob Manfred to make some decisions.

Not a bad idea, considering how horrible the Coliseum has become ever since the Mt. Davis got built and forever ruined the decent ballpark it once was. I'm sure no one will miss it when it is demolished, even if by some miraculous event the A's abandon Las Vegas and decide to give Oakland one last try. I, for one, had high hopes for Howard Terminal until the Vegas news broke.

Frankly, the current Coliseum site has much higher and better uses than its current use as a sports complex. Since it's near the Port of Oakland, the site could (and should) be used for warehouses and other port-related industrial uses, which the Bay Area is in great need of right now. While I'm not sure the location is that great for multi-family housing, even with the BART stop, that's also a higher and better use of the Coliseum land. The point is, it's time for Oakland to move on from the A's, since that team has been a drain on the community for at least the last decade.

[gonealookin]

Apparently that "binding agreement" for the site on the west side of I-15 wasn't so binding after all. The Nevada Independent is reporting that the A's are again in talks to buy the Tropicana and build the stadium there, right on the Strip.

There are some details about this latest Tropicana site plan in the R-J today.  I did a quick second-grade level sketch, putting the ballpark (crudely at scale) on the southeast 9 acres with the remainder of the property extended north to Tropicana Ave. and west to the Strip having the new casino resort hotel built on it.



One thing about this alignment is that it turns most of the stadium lights away from the airport, which might mitigate any FAA concerns.  It's an odd angle for a baseball field because it puts late-afternoon sun in the hitters' eyes on open-roof games, although with some presumably huge new hotel being built between left field and the Strip the field is probably in shadow in the late afternoon anyway.

[1995hoo]

Does the angle necessarily matter? I thought I read the proposal was for a retractable roof, which would seem to mitigate the sun glare issue.

[ZLoth]

It would have to be a domed stadium considering that it is in the middle of the desert.

[gonealookin]

Does the angle necessarily matter? I thought I read the proposal was for a retractable roof, which would seem to mitigate the sun glare issue.

"Retractable" means open some of the time.  The weather in Vegas can be very nice in the evening in April and May.  Also part of the selling point is having the nearby hotels on the Strip as a backdrop so presumably even when the roof is closed there are windows permitting a view out that way (and allowing sunlight to come in).  Allegiant Stadium has a little bit of that window and Strip view at that end of the field.

But, if the "New Tropicana Resort" is built behind left field and has a 40-story hotel to the west of the stadium, that shadow should take care of most of the late-afternoon sun issues.