This afternoon, Nevada governor Joe Lombardo signed the bill proposing $380MM in public funding for the construction of a Las Vegas ballpark. Sean Golonka, Tabitha Mueller and Jacob Solis of the Nevada Independent and Steve Sebelius of the Las Vegas Review-Journal were among those to cover the news.
Lombardo’s signature was the final governmental hurdle for the A’s to clear before they can formally apply to MLB for relocation. Lombardo has been a strong proponent of the plan, so there was never any doubt he’d sign after the bill was passed by the Nevada legislature earlier in the week.
“I’m excited to officially sign SB1 this afternoon,” Lombardo said in a statement. “This is an incredible opportunity to bring the A’s to Nevada, and this legislation reflects months of negotiations between the team, the state, the county, and the league. Las Vegas’ position as a global sports destination is only growing, and Major League Baseball is another tremendous asset for the city.”
The plan calls for the construction of a 30,000 seat retractable roof facility on the Vegas Strip. The A’s will receive $180MM in state tax credits which they’re allowed to sell to other businesses for cash, around $120MM in county-issued bonds, and a $25MM county credit. According to the Nevada Independent, the A’s will still need to hammer out various contracts with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority to codify the organization’s community benefits and non-relocation commitments. They’ll also still need approval from the FAA since the stadium site is within close proximity to Harry Reid International Airport.
None of that is expected to present real obstacles to relocation, which now seems all but inevitable. The next step for the A’s is to put their proposal in front of MLB officials. Commissioner Rob Manfred has already stated he’d waive the organization’s relocation fee.
Manfred addressed the process at the end of this week’s owners meetings in New York (relayed by Evan Drellich of the Athletic). The league is expected to put together a relocation committee to review the A’s proposal once it’s filed. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link) the committee will be chaired by Brewers’ owner Mark Attansasio, who’ll be joined by two yet to be determined owners.
The commissioner declined to put a timetable on a potential relocation vote. Bob Nightengale of USA Today suggested this week a vote was likely to occur before the All-Star Break. If/when the league approves, the A’s can set in motion their construction efforts.
The A’s lease at Oakland Coliseum runs through the end of the 2024 season. Reports have suggested the A’s are targeting 2028 for the opening of the Vegas facility. A’s president Dave Kaval said in April the franchise hadn’t yet decided on its plans for the 2025-27 campaigns.
Kaval suggested the organization could look into a temporary lease extension at the Coliseum to bridge that gap, though the animosity between the franchise and Oakland leadership makes that appear unlikely. The A’s Triple-A affiliate, the Aviators, play in Las Vegas and could temporarily host the major league club. Manfred said today there’s been no final decision as to whether the A’s could attempt to get out of their lease early and play at the Triple-A ballpark as soon as next season.
What a cluster bleep.
Better go ahead & reserve a couple U-Hauls because you know they’re not paying movers. Ahahahaha!
Politics and baseball? Pardon me while I vomit…
How? It seems to have gone quite smoothly thus far, especially considering government involvement in the process.
Well, it’s looking like they will play in a Triple A facility for multiple years… the organization was one of the top 5 most profitable in the league while cutting all salary and embezzling revenue sharing funds, to the point where even other wealthy owners were complaining about their behavior… and they’re on pace for one of the worst seasons (both attendance and performance) in the modern history of the league… sounds like a cluster beep to me.
case – you can throw a bunch of accusations at the wall, but unless you back them up with facts, they’re irrelevant. The process of approvals to move the team has gone very smoothly. It appears all parties except the bitter fans are in favor of the move.
As a side note, if the A’s and Fisher are guilty of so many awful acts that have been laid out on this thread, why aren’t they being held to the same standard the Astros were by A’s fans during the sign stealing scandal? The general consensus should be “good riddance”.
The general consensus IS good riddance. In your lifetime have the other owners forced anyone to sell? Even Loria was not forced to sell the Marlins.
Steinbrenner said on Tuesday that to get revenue sharing teams should have to spend it. He didn’t name Fisher because he didn’t have to. Only a complete moron wouldn’t know who he was referring to since Fisher is spending 50% less on payroll than the next lowest team.
Since the public never got to vote on their money being spent, we will never know exactly how they feel. We do know that polling in Southern Nevada was 75% against the ballpark.
There is a reason they waited to try to push the ballpark through at the last minute of a biannual legislative session. There was hundreds of millions of graft in that bill for Fisher. The legislature got rid of most of it and added some statewide measures that the governor had previously vetoed as individual measures.
The Nevada Independent is now saying that Fisher will have an estimated $220 million more in costs before the stadium opens if there are no cost overruns on building it and $600 million more over the next 30 years.
Having to add the 9% entertainment tax to everything sold in the stadium district including tickets, parking, and concessions will mean that actual ballgame attendance will now pay for the majority of the tax credits given to Fisher instead of all the residents of Nevada. That was not in the original bill.
Of course, if Fisher doesn’t allow the GM to spend and they continue to field a AAA team, the attendance won’t pay for diddly. I would guess that is why the legislature put a $2 million minimum on the amount Fisher has to give to community programs as part of this.
I am kinda old, but didn’t they force Marge Schott to sell? Well Fisher has not praised Hitler and made racist and homophobic comments, so he will not be forced out no matter what kind of grift he participates in.
I think the other owners are hoping he just takes the money he can get from selling the $180 million in transferable tax credits in Las Vegas and then sells the team too.
But that has less to do with this and more with the A’s being the A’s.
The fans are the only party getting screwed. I hate this move so much. The A’s belong in Oakland.
Those are easily googleable facts, not accusations. Don’t ask other people to provide direct links and do your research for you.
I don’t think owners have ever tried to take it as far as Fisher. I can’t recall a situation where a playoff grade team was completely sold off and then kicked out of the revenue sharing funds for refusing to spend on the organization. Maybe the Marlins, not sure what would have happened if they didn’t get a stadium deal done.
It may be even more of a cluster than you think.
A’s can buy out their lease in Oakland for 2024, it’s only $1.4 million, but they really have nowhere to move to. They can’t play in Phoenix at their spring training facility. It’s even smaller than the park in Las Vegas and its even hotter in the summer.
Howard Hughes Corporation, the guys that own the ballpark the Aviators play in, said that the A’s can only play there in 2025 and 2026. Not before or after because of pre-existing commitments. I am sure MLB could buy them out of those commitments, but after the A’s having to spend $20 million to upgrade the park to major league lighting, clubhouses, field, and press boxes, that would be adding insult to injury.
It got even clusterer. The MLBPA may not approve playing in Las Vegas at the minor league park in the middle of summer.
case – that’s a common response when people throw crap at the wall. The burden of proof is actually on the person making the accusation. But it’s an easy out for you so I understand why you want to twist it around.
Then why be on this site at all? Plenty of those “accusations” were facts reported by this website, one of them is even in the article above this comment section. Your bizarre life is a courtroom delusion doesn’t really apply here.
@outinleftfield, thanks for those tid bits! I keep hoping this is all a part of a much larger play that would somehow keep the A’s in Oakland and justify expansion to Vegas.
Nothing about the timing of this move makes sense to me.
It seems like a woman who has been threatening to leave her husband for years. Then, when the husband says, “fine, leave,” the woman tries to move in with her text buddy personal trainor, where upon she finds out her new guy only has a loft apartment with a single sized bed.
The only real losers here are the kids…
Was listening to a piece by Martin Gallegos, the A’s beat writer, and he seemed to feel that Fisher backed out of the $12 billion project in Oakland because he could not get commitments to fund the combined ball[park, retail, commercial office space, and residential development.
In Las Vegas he only has to find investors that will pay for building the ballpark. $1.5 billion vs $11 billion. Plus, in Las Vegas he can actually sell the $180 million in transferrable tax credits. That was not an option in Oakland.
In Las Vegas Fisher also thought he was going to get a huge tax exemption on the sales tax for building materials and not have to pay the entertainment tax that every other business on the strip has to pay. The sales tax exemption alone was a $50 – $60 million that would have stayed in his pocket. He got neither of those things in the final bill. .
Until I see that Fisher has both found financing to actually build the stadium and submitted the plan to MLB for the move, I would not be surprised to find out Fisher has backed out of the Las Vegas deal.
The Nevada legislature must have felt the same way, because the bill they funding the bill approves is available for any MLB team that wants to build a stadium in Las Vegas.
A billionaire investor offered to buy the A’s and built a brand new stadium on the Oakland Coliseum site. Actually, there were 2 separate offers to do that.
Oakland and Alameda County would have approved that scaled back new stadium deal in Oakland fast like years ago.
Fisher and Manfred rejected those deals?!
Clusterer? Clusterf**kerer?
Had to go look for it, but that podcast was an eye opener. I didn’t realize that in Oakland that Fisher had committed to spending more than $10 billion overall on the development of the area. He doesn’t have that kind of money. Not even close. With the way he has managed his other investments including the A’s, its no wonder he could not get the financial backing to go through with that big of a project.
Three investment groups have made offers over the years.
Oakland’s African American Sports and Entertainment Group in 2015. That same group is buying the half of the land that the Coliseum sits on with plans to build a baseball only stadium there.. Since the EIR has been completed there for nearly a decade, all that needs to be done is build the ballpark if its privately financed.
Joe Lacob made formal offers in 2005 and 2016. Both times shot down by MLB.
Then in 2021 another local group led by SalesForce CEO Marc Benioff made an informal offer, but was rebuffed by Fisher.
I am not a Bay Area resident, so there may be more I don’t know about.
Three things that Gallegos mentioned are super important in my mind.
One was that in Section 34 of the bill the governor signed, the A’s are required to have “irrevocable financing in place” from a top rated lender prior to Clark County issuing development bonds for the stadium.
The transferable tax credits also won’t be issued until the A’s have financing in place.
The last was that before they can submit an application for the move, the A’s must have financing in place to build the stadium.
Since they still have not submitted an application to move, that means the A’s still have not secured financing to build the stadium and Fisher does not have the capital himself.
John Fisher should be required to sell the A’s to a local Bay Area Owner.
He does not have the cash, credit, cashflow and business knowledge to operate at this high level.
Saw a Bay Area Editorial that says if the :LV Deal goes down,
that Oakland and Alameda County should evict the A’s ASAP
Fisher and the A’s have repeatedly lied to :
MLB, Owners, fans, SF Bay Area officials.
I am not sure I agree with that.
No need to detonate that bridge because it is a fluid situation
and things are changing fast.
Right now, they are lying Nevada and Las Vegas officials.
Fisher may have no choice.
He has been “bluffing” during this entire process.
LV and Nevada are crazy to do a deal with a desperate guy like Fisher.
Nevada and Las Vegas would be better off waiting for an expansion team.
As our Texas cousins say
FISHER IS ALL HAT AND NO CATTLE.
If wealthy Hedge Fund people and wealthy banks and investors will not work with Fisher, then Nevada and Las Vegas should take the hint
OR they may end up holding the bag on this deal.
Mark Davis and the Raiders made a lot of promises to Nevada and Las Vegas that also were based on unrealistic attendance figures.
Raiders are 30th in NFL attendance and are not selling out their games.
Fisher is “all smoke and mirrors”
Manfred statements blaming the fans and the SF Bay Area
are disingenuous since he knows Fisher is the problem.
Fisher has been sucking on MLB’s revenue sharing and national TV contract teet to stay afloat and to subsidize his other business interests.
I have lived in Las Vegas now for 27 years. This town is in love with the Golden Knights and whoever else plays in this town will always be playing for second place in the fan’s hearts (including the WNBA Champion Aces)..Fischer is a known horrible owner. He may even be the worst owner right now. He has run that organization into the ground and he is about to carve out what is left this trade cycle for monies to move to Vegas… He is worse than Davis Jr. (whose team we also “inherited” from Oakland). The A’s team is a sham right now but I bet the tickets will cost a load like a real MLB team. Plenty of people here question this “acquisition” (we knew the stadium was really for concerts like Taylor Swift and the Rolling Stones). But money talks here and the Strip Lords speak louder than all. They want it. The team’s tyrant wants to move to Vegas. The bought and paid for politicians want it…….Therefore, so be it!!
But the people here don’t respect losers.
.Beware,,,,,
There has been a poll taken here in Las Vegas and over 70% of those who responded have little to no intention of seeing any bad baseball played at the corner of Tropicana and Las Vegas Blvd. Winners are what Las Vegas loves and we have one in the Golden Knights and in the WNBA Aces. We built a palace for the Raiders and indebted the electorate for over 2 billion to build it. It will make more money in concerts than it ever does in sports and that is why so many here wanted the stadium in the first place. As for the Raiders……you see more bumper stickers for other teams on cars here than you do the Raiders.
Until Fischer sells the team, the A’s in Las Vegas is a disaster waiting to happen.
By the way, where is the parking for the Awful A’s? Oh yeah, it looks like you will have to park in a big Casino parking lot for about 20 bucks. Gotta walk through the heat to get there and then you walk back through the same heat and hope your valuables left in the car are still there……
Have you been paying attention? For those who have, I don’t think it’s hardly considered smooth. Fast yes, rushed is more appropriate.
Over 70% polled in Las Vegas are not interested in the A’s at all.
Booooooooooooooooooo!
Hundreds of millions of dollars given to a billionaire to make him richer and screw over a fan base. Just absurd.
What fan base? The are always at the bottom of attendance. The A’s are nothing more than a farm team. The move should have happened 15 years ago.
Darren, that is flat out wrong. They have been near the bottom since 2021. Fisher took over the team in 2016 and immediately started selling off the team, but prior to him the team drew well. As recently as 2019 they packed a full hour crowd of 54k into the Coliseum. The worst park in the game and the Oakland fans showed up. The exact figures are posted on the last thread about this subject.
The MOST fans that can show up in Las Vegas is 30k. Las Vegas will never be able to match the A’s top crowds or seasons in Oakland. Not by a half million people a season.
Hoping you mean full house, not a crowd that came for a full hour.
LOL. Yes, full house.
On a tangentially related note… where is the guy that always makes the “both A’s fans” jokes? He’s there for nearly every minor league transaction but absent for the new stadium mega threads. I’m worried, can we get someone to go check on him?
Screw over a fan base? Oakland has had years and years to get something done and failed. That stadium is the worst in the league. Time to move on.
If the owner put money in to the team and didn’t try to alienate the fans every chance he got people would be there. They will move to Vegas and he will immediately sell to an owner that will spend money and the false narrative about Oakland fans will live on. No city should want a team with that owner but the commissioner is too gutless to get him out.
that owner has done everything he could to get to Stadium done in Oakland. this has been going on for at least 10 years and it’s consistently failed every attempt to get a stadium done. there’s only so much an owner could do. I would look at the legislation in the Oakland area that’s where the real problem came in
“that owner has done everything he could to get to Stadium done in Oakland.”
lmao, I simply cannot believe anyone who knows anything about baseball would be white knighting for John bleeping Fisher. He did everything he could?!? You mean like slashing payrolls and refusing to spend money on the team since he bought it? You mean like purposely sabotaging the team to keep fans away and facilitate a move to Vegas? How can anyone be this stupid? Fisher is the worst owner in the sport who has done *everything* to get the A’s out of Oakland.
Totally agree with rct. Bumpy93 has no idea of what actually occurred in Oakland over the years with Fisher.
In last place.
What people forget is A’s owner Walter Haas gave the SJ rights to the Giants to keep them in the Bay Area because it was the right thing to do. A pox on the greedy Giants
“that owner” had a deal approved by Oakland and he tried to change the deal at the last minute by asking for $350 million more taxpayer dollars less than a month before the deal was to be finalized. The problem in Oakland has been John Fisher.
To add onto that rct… attempting to move to an area controlled by the Giants (San Jose), an already heavy traffic area that was openly hostile to a stadium (Fremont), and then proposing one of the most expensive complexes in California history, surpassing the Apple HQ and potentially costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure fees.
Lol, the best he could do.
Cool strawman. The stuff you’re crying about isn’t the same as trying to get a new stadium built.
he tried and tried and tried to get a stadium he kept getting turned down. that stadium was so antiquated and outdated it was not funny. he was losing money so yeah he did cut payroll he did do this and do that to save money but if you would have got a stadium I guarantee you friends would have went to the games he would have made more money and then he would have sit there and put the money into the team no doubt whatsoever and for anyone to say that he wouldn’t have done it you’re just guessing just like I’m guessing that they would have sit there and done it fans what it came out with money if they got the stadium. he’s not the only owner and professional sports that’s done s*** like this so the problem is people are just a little butthurt because they’re leaving. you want to sit there and place blame somewhere put it on the city council for a continuing denying the chances for a stadium over the last 12 years or so. and just like you wanted to call me clueless, if you don’t understand what I said those facts you’re the one that’s Clueless. have a nice day
Bumpy, the owner had a ballpark DONE at Howard Terminal. He was less than a month from having a groundbreaking celebration when he demanded $350 million more taxpayer dollars from the City.
3 days after the new mayor of Oakland said that she would have to follow the law and have the city council vote on the additional funds he was asking for, he announced he had a “binding agreement” to build a stadium in Las Vegas and said they had been in negotiations in Las Vegas for months. He never intended to build in Oakland, Just a few days later we saw how “binding” that agreement was when he said he had another deal in the current location.
In California they have to follow the law, allow public input over a 90 day period of time, and have the city council vote on it. They dot their I’s and cross there Ts. They don’t rush through legislation in 2 weeks.
Because of that there was no grift in it for Fisher. No transferable tax credits he could sell and pocket. No tax exemptions on materials used to build the ballpark. No infrastructure costs the team had to pay for being spread out over 30 years. No cost overruns being covered by taxpayers. No tax exemptions on things all other businesses in the area have to pay. Fisher was being treated like any other business in Oakland.
Luckily for Nevada taxpayers, the legislature clawed back some of the grift Fisher and Aguero had put in the original bill and now other than the transferable tax credits, Fisher is now stuck at this location and stuck paying most of the full bill. Now we will see how serious he is or if he can even get the funding needed to pay to build the stadium. Remember, unlike in Oakland, the major local businesses and their owners cannot invest or loan him money.
Some folks act as if the Rays and A’s are basically run the same way. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Rays actually have a valid case for maintaining lower payrolls whereas the A’s do not and have not.
Oh wait? Is California broke? Oakland can’t afford a stadium? Wtf didn’t Stan Kronke build a big ass football stadium in LA? LOL but Oakland can’t get a deal done…. smgdfh
Oakland got it done. Broke-ass Fisher couldn’t get his part done. He had a $12 billion project with all the infrastructure paid for, the EIR completed, the lawsuits in the rear-view mirror, and the city approval to go ahead secured when he decided he wanted $350 million more taxpayer dollars less than a month from the day he was scheduled to sign on the dotted line.
Stan Kroenke paid for the $5.0 billion stadium and related development. It was 100% privately finananced.
“Not only is the most expensive NFL stadium ever built, costing nearly $5 billion, SoFi stadium was also entirely privately funded. That means California taxpayers didn’t pay a dime.”
California isn’t broke because they understand that is f’ing stupid to pay for stadiums for billionaires.
“In the last two years, the state saw historic budget surpluses—including $47 billion in 2021‑22 and $55 billion in 2022‑23.”
lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4687
Anything else moronic you want to say Hippy?
The owner is the cheapest in baseball. He was basically offered free land to build a stadium for YEARS but would rather have taxpayers build a stadium for him.
other than Jerry Jones, I believe George Steinbrenner, and maybe even Daniel Snyder are the only ones off the top of my head that paid for their Stadium with their own money. that’s the way it’s been with owners and the professional sports the last 30 years. he is done nothing different than other owners have
Bumpy, that billionaire MLB owners have been stealing taxpayer dollars to build stadiums doesn’t mean its the right thing.
Fisher HAS done things differently. He has consistently lied about the process. He has changed the terms of the deal multiple times at the lat minute after tens for million of taxpayer dollars were spent on EIR, public hearings, and defending lawsuits.
In San Diego, the Padres ownership at the time paid for the EIR for what became Petco park. Padres ownership paid to defend 4 years of lawsuits trying to block the ballpark. Larry Lucchino said those two things cost the team more than $30 million. I am sure it has cost the city of Oakland as much or more only to have have Fisher demand $350 million more tax dollars and back out at the very last possible moment.
Joe Robbie built his own sports stadium in Miami with his own cash and credit 100%
That was a “smokescreen”.
Fisher knew he did not have the cash and credit to complete his end of the deal./
And they are building a stadium that seats 30k? In an area with an ongoing water crisis- what could go wrong? Oh and Manfred is going to wave the relocation fees – to make it even easier on the billionaire.
The SW cities do not care about a water crisis (have lived in NV and AZ since 1991). Never have and never will until they are forced to.
Unless things have changed drastically in Vegas they had better hope that the tourists fill those 30,000 seats because locals stay away from the Strip as much as possible. I was there for 9 years and only went to the Strip if family was visiting or for business.
Bingo! Cat you hit the major nail squarely on the head. Locals will not go to the strip unless they work there or they have people visiting that want to go.
The A’s are claiming that 81 games a season that 8k fans from out of state will attend games.
The Raiders can’t get 8k out of state fans to come to 9 home games a season and they used to have a huge southern California following.
The A’s are not going to get 1k out of state fans on average to come to the .games in Las Vegas. Especially after Fisher alienated the fan base completely and totally.
So what will happen is very few locals attending games AND very few out of state fans attending games.
I mean, at this point Fisher isn’t going to change, nor do the other owners want Manfred to put his feet to the fire; if they did, it already would’ve happened. This move needs to happen. Just get it over with at this point.
Going after Fisher accomplishes nothing in the grand scheme of things. The problem is the current system encourages owners like Fisher to take advantage of it. Without a cap and floor, there will always be folks like him running the show the way they do.
I doubt he is even a billionaire since his Gap stock tanked.
Outside of his ownership of the As and the San Jose soccer team his net worth is $350 million.
Why should taxpayers, many who don’t care about baseball, pay to build a stadium for a profitable private business?
Some of those taxpayers live 7-8 hour drives away from Las Vegas. Elko is 7 hours away. Reno, the 2nd largest city in the state is 7 hours away.
Elko is closer to Yellowstone Montana than to Las Vegas. Reno is half the distance to OAkland than it is to LAs Vegas,
But the taxpayers in those towns still get to pay for a billionaire’s ballp[ark.
They shouldn’t. Voters need to make politicians that approve these stupid mega funding projects pay for it so the next ones in line think twice.
The stadium was approved. All the hoops had been jumped through and all that it required is Fisher to sign on the dotted line. Instead he increased his ask for taxpayer money by $350 million at the 11th hour.
And guaranteed fisher sells the team within a couple years of stadium completion. Wouldn’t be shocked if he rejoins giants ownership group like his dad was
And then he would be sued by the City of Oakland,
Not really absurd. Without a cap and floor, it’s all permissible under the rules whether we like it or not. Blame the players and the rest of the owners for not pushing for such a system.
Don’t blame the players. They have nothing to do with this.
A hard salary cap has nothing to with it either.
Ain’t that America for you and me
LA rams did the same thing
No. They didn’t. Stan Kroenke privately financed 100% of the $5 billion stadium in Englewood.
NO taxpayer dollars spent.
Perhaps, the Rams move to St. Louis featured some of those machinations. It got ugly on their move out of LA and then on their move out of St Louis back to LA.
The fact that Fisher gets to keep the team is an absolute embarrassment.
If a team absolutely needs to move, then so be it, but a failed owner who purposefully tanked his roster to save money should not be awarded with a shiny new location.
That + Manfred’s comments today is a black eye on baseball. Really feel bad for all the true fans in Oakland, what a gut punch
It worked in the movie Major League until the team rebelled…. So why not try it in real life!?!
A cutout of Fisher with strips of his clothing coming off won’t motivate the clubhouse.
Well, it IS California. Weird things happen there. So let’s just say it SHOULDNT motivate the clubhouse.
“Weird things happen there.” These so-called “weird things” happen everywhere, even in Georgia.
I would consider going to a game if they honestly “Major Leagued” it for entertainment value. How about futurama style, have an actual clown try to play second base.
two words: bartolo colon
With the Raiders, Warriors and now Athletics leaving would the last person out turn off the lights.
Las Vegas A’s, sounds good.
Have they decided to keep the name? The Aces would seem to make more sense..
WNBA team owns that name,
I’m guessing they will keep Athletics.
They’ve already said they’ll keep A’s. Which is good: they can use it again on the next town after they fail in Vegas.
They won’t be able to leave Las Vegas for 30 years.
Voting behavior will probably change in 30 years, once the Reagan generation dies out I don’t think corporate welfare will be as popular.
outinleftfield, i would bet you they will move again in less than 55 years, but I’ll very possibly be dead by the time you would collect so that bet probably ain’t fair
Hopefully they build a shiny new stadium before then, owners don’t like it when the stadiums are 20+ years old and lose the luster.
I’m sure Vegas will turn out juuuuuust fine.
I think they will have to move by the end of their commitment in Las Vegas. They may have to file for bankruptcy before then.
The group in Portland trying to bring an expansion team there has something like 5000 people that have placed a $1000 refundable deposit for season tickets for a team that doesn’t exist yet. I doubt the As will draw more than that.
The As will make at least $40 million less on TV in Las Vegas.
They will have spent at a minimum playing in an outdoor minor league ballpark that seats just 10k max. July and August games when it’s 110 at game time are going to be fun. That will put a major crimp on their revenue.
MLB national TV deals are based on potential viewership. Moving to Las Vegas drops that number by 2 million TV households. That will put a dent in every owners pocketbook.
I will be coming up on 118 in 55 years. Probably wouldnt be around to collect.
Hoping they keep their colors.
Nuclear tests are more fitting in Nevada!
… and you are, outta heeeeeeere!
Warriors moved only a 15 minute drive away.
Both NY NFL teams play in New Jersey.
Doesn’t that make Nevada residents legal part-owners?
Yes, they just need to divest all their shares in the state’s traffic lights, highways, and sewer system. Then they can claim their 1/10,000,000th ownership stake in the stadium, as long as they volunteer to work there in some capacity for 1 week/ year.
After a weeks service Las Vegas residents get one gram of meth and hit of fentanyl for their service.
Cohen, I believe they also get one $5.00 poker chip to the casino of their choice.
Forgot about the complimentary chip. I know before the bill passed they were debating whether to give $5 chips or just do a supermarket sweeps style thing where they can raid the buffet dumpster after hours for 5 minutes without recourse.
If you qualify for the diamond club Manny Pacquiao will come to your house and punch you while a hologram of Harry Reid laughs in the background.
@case. Can I VR box Harry Reid while Manny coaches me?
the customer is ALWAYS right.
Bartolo is gonna be mad that you’re giving away his secrets.
I hope the new stadium is dignified and not like the circus tent in Miami.
BPax, either way, it will be just as empty
LMFAO! Dignified in Las Vegas?!
The strip is a circus!
Always rooted for the A’s in the past, now I will just forget about them almost entirely. Unless they make the playoffs. Then I will actively root against them. Tied with the Cardinals for teams that are the equivalent of dried, white dog turds.
It how Seattle feels about the OKC Thunder.
I know all about that. Still remember the post Durant draft pictures of him in those sick supersonic jerseys. OKC can sit and spin, too.
OKC is dead last in attendance post COVID, so the owners are pretty much sitting and spinning.
Remember when one of the owners killed himself to avoid federal charges?
That was funny.
Aubrey McClendon. He was the CEO of Chesapeake Energy and was indicted on price fixing in the oil and gas industry.
One day later he got in a car accident while high on sleeping pills.
Not funny. Someone dying is never funny. It was an interesting turn of events since it happened the day after he was indicted.
We all have different senses of humor, and that’s okay. Death can often be funny, look at Herman Cain. That was hilarious.
Loyal Seattle Super Sonics fans got the short end of that deal.
Herman Cain’s death was not funny. It caused pain for his loved ones.
It was ironic. Some would say it was karma.
Where they playing in ’25
OAkland Alameda County Coliseum Stadium Authority has said they will not extend the lease there. The A’s will be forced to play in the Las Vegas Ballpark, the home of their AAA farm club for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. The owner of that facility, the Howard Hughes Corporation, has said that because of preexisting contracts for other events that they cannot house the A’s beyond 2026, so the A’s would be homeless for at least the 2027 season.
Looking at the timelines for construction of other recent retractable roof ballparks, with the A’s having to wait until the Tropicana is torn down and existing infrastructure is moved, I find it hard to believe that they will even be able to start play in the new stadium by the beginning of the 2028 season.
Booooo
Lame. Gotta wonder how much giants ownership kicked in to NV donations to make this happen.
A’s should have moved to San Jose!
Again. You don’t know giants ownership. They own SJ rights and wouldn’t give them up. At least they invest in the SJ Giants. NOT!!
Giants ownership: $20 beers and stay in our new hotel in right field.
Giants ownership are complete asshats.
MLB and Owners should vote to restore the A’s territory 50/50 with the Giants.
MLB can over ride the Giants at any time regarding territory and other issues and even force them to sell the team if they do not comply.
Fisher and his dad were former owners with giants. Coincidentally they ere part of the ownership group that saved them from moving to tampa bay
and George Bush was part owner of the Texas Rangers, who needs starting pitching?
George Brett: who are the pitchers in this game?
Which makes John Fisher look like an even bigger asshat and backstabber.
Former A’s Owner Walter Haas )Levis Strauss) evern recruited the the new Giants owners to take over from the Tampa investors who had purchased the team and were intent on moving it to Tampa in the 1990’s.
John Fisher may have some stock ownership inherited from his father with the Gap stock, but John Fisher did not get the “green thumb” in business as
we can all see and read about.
Santa Clara County/Silicon Valley territory was supposed to revert back to the A’s according to Bud Selig.
Epic Treachery by the SF Giants.
The A’s put together that Ownership Group that saved the Team from moving to Tampa (Walter Haas) Fisher is an asshat.
Interesting that they are making Fisher sign a non-relocation commitment. Smart of Nevada/Las Vegas to insist on that. If someone cheats on their ex with you and leaves them for you, probably they will eventually cheat on you too.
Fisher should be forced to sell the team.
He has proven that he does not know wtf he is doing.
Move athletics to Nevada and move the Mets to Oakland and build a new stadium. No more New York mutt fans. Everyone wins.
I hate the Mets and their moronic fans, but New York City deserves a NL team as well as the Yankees. Mets will stay put in NYC
I used to go to NYC on business a few times a year. I was always fascinated that guys were either Yankees fans or Mets fans. Never both. Hated the other team. I once asked a guy why, as they were in different leagues? He looked at me with disdain and said, “I hate the Mets, why would I like the Mets?”
Yankees/Knicks/Rangers are on the mainland and they typically are Giant fans as well as fans amongst those teams. Mets/Nets/Islanders are on the island and are typically Jets fans as the Jets used to play at Shea. That’s usually how New York fans are.
Sounds like the Isles need to rebranded as the Sets
Counterproposal, a new Oakland team and the Mets start a blernsball league and gradually put the MLB out of business.
Can’t wait to go there for a game. I’m happy this 2 decade saga appears to be coming to an end.
Fisher has only been involved as managing partner of the A’s since 2016.
Thanks for the unrelated info, guy.
IHL, You realize that FISHER is who was responsible for the failed negotiations for the new stadium at the site of the Coliseum, the stadium in San Jose, and the one at Howard Terminal, right?
What Pads said was totally relevant. Your snide comment showed you don’t understand what has been going on.
Maybe stick to AA hockey.
The A’s have been trying to get a stadium built in the Bay area for more than 20 years. Fisher is only the latest owner to fail to get that done. He might be a terrible guy, I don’t know him, but Oakland has lost all pro sports now which suggests that maybe the blame can be spread around a bit.
I know the idea that Democrat politicians could make mistakes is heresy but it could have a grain of truth.
No. They haven’t. Davis did. The A’s haven’t. In fact, the A’s tried everything they could to stay in the Coliseum since Fisher’s parents first invested in the team in 2005 including forcing a ten year extension on the lease when Davis wanted to tear down the Coliseum and build a new one on the same piece of land.
100% of he failure is on the A’s. They backed out of 3 deals.
When you don’t understand what is going on, its usually best to remain silent. .
When you bring up politics, it 100% means you are on the wrong side of the argument.
espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=3931425
Just one example. Keep grinding that axe though big guy. I’m sure you FEEL right.
Read that Fisher and his inherited Gap stock and money were invested on an smaller scale in the Giants and then the A’s.
Fisher’s dad was quoted as saying he had no interest in investing in a baseball team, but said his son was welcome to do it.
Yes, Fisher and his co-owner Wolff backed out of that deal.
“…the A’s asked Fremont to stop the planning process for the stadium, saying they wanted to reconsider their options.”
Try again. Next time actually READ the article you link to first.
Hard news for the fans but I don’t blame the owner at all. If I owned a business in Oakland I’d want to leave asap as well.
What an ignorant thing to say.
How is that ignorant?
Hardly ignorant. I personally had a large business in northern California for years and our city leaders made an oppressive anti business environment that made operating impossible. If I was the owner of the A’s, I’d do what’s best for the business. As I said, tough for the fans, but the A’s have to do whats best for the organization.
toughknuckles, go fly away on elon’s rocket to mars. we’ll get along fine without greedy selfish clowns like you who would decimate public infrastructure to feed your greed. good riddance
Oh nice, Oaklands Marxist Web Brigade who never created job 1 or manufactured 1 product, is here to complain the evils of business as they loaf in mom’s basement. Lol
you literally just defended a billionaire (inherited), who is already making millions with his baseball team, screwing over an entire fan base so that he might make millions more. A billionaire who demanded hundreds of millions of public funds to do so (billionaire socialism).
so, yes, your mentality is extremely clear. forget the interests of everything but your own morally bankrupt wallet.
I’m a Capitalist not a Marxist. I have no sympathy for the City of Oakland. They blew it and forced the A’s out like so many businesses in CA. There are consequences to electing insane leftists to lead your city. I also don’t have an ingrained hatred of wealthy people conducting legal business like you do. He wants to make a ton, good for him if he can achieve it. Doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Profit is awesome.
Tommy – The people who defend California are the people who agree with its politics. There’s a reason why I and hundreds of thousands of other people have left the state over the last decade. The state is morally bankrupt and its policies have made it impossible to do business there. California will eventually be void of a middle class and consist of uber wealthy libs and unskilled laborers…the exact result they claim they want to avoid.
like i said, you’re perfectly happy to screw over hundreds of people. you don’t care about the environment people have to live in, or if they have quality schools, or decent health care, or anything else. whatever it was that made business ‘impossible’. money money greed.
(since you mentioned a mom’s basement, I’ll assume that’s where you live. otherwise why would you assume that?)
deep – being wealthy is not a crime, whether it’s earned or inherited. I’ve never worked for a poor guy and I can’t imagine how crappy baseball would be if the owners were poor. Making money is good. You should try it…you would have a different perspective.
it is funny. your unrestrained worship of greed is exactly what is pushing so many young people away from capitalism and towards socialism. restrain your greed before it’s too late
100% agree. Well said. I’m also a California refugee, born in the Bay Area and now happily in Nevada. Looking forward to seeing the Las Vegas A’s. Tough luck, Oakland fans.
deep – Greed is the liberal definition of financial success. Again, maybe you should try working at something so you can be successful and your perspective will change instead of being jealous of people who have worked hard and made a good living. Young people today don’t want to work hard and pay their dues. They want it given to them without hard work. When you realize the world doesn’t work that way, you slam those of us who are successful.
My guess is if someone left you a billion dollars, you wouldn’t complain about rich people anymore.
Oh yeah, the USA is so bad. Nobody gets screwed over in Communist and socialist countries. I’m of Chinese heritage. Chinese socialism is awesome right? My grandfather was in jail for political thought. How many others were killed for the perfect socialist society? I’ll also remind my wife’s Cuban family that Communism is awesome lol. In the meantime keep crying about the sorrows of America.
prov, Fisher has lots of money, and he’s making millions with the A’s as it is. There’s the whole Major Leagueness to this. this guy is pooping on a whole area for money he don’t need.
also, there’s a whole f’d up thing about the insane increase in franchise valuations recently that relates to a deeper sickness in our country of spiraling, out of control billionaire wealth.
prov, ‘young people these days…’ c’mon. people been saying that for 200,000 years lol
tuffy, you want to turn me into a straw man, fine. guess it makes it easier for you thinking you beating on the little guy. you know, you are right, this is America, and when stuff ain’t going right, we are supposed to complain about it! And greedy people acting without consideration for the people and nation as a whole to line their already bulging pockets is a big problem.
Exactly. The most ardent of bleeding heart Marxists typically have a net worth of $0.
Yeah socialism is great. It’s done wonders in Oakland lol
deep – Fisher owns the team. He can move it where ever he wants to. I understand Oakland fans being upset about the move. But there has been a lack of attendance for years. If it was so important, the fans should have been more supportive. My team, the Angels, have sucked for years but their attendance is always at the top of MLB. That’s the difference.
I’m glad Fisher has lots of money and continues to make lots of money. That’s a good thing and it’s what America is all about. Anyone can make money if they work hard.
“…deeper sickness in our country of spiraling, out of control billionaire wealth.”
Stop demonizing wealth. What’s out of control wealth? People should make as much money as they possibly can. Someone has twisted your thinking.
Billionaires create industry, jobs, and pay the bulk of tax revenue. But oh yeah, let’s get rid of them. Smart… Well wind up like Cuba.
anything that doesn’t wholeheartedly back increasing wealth inequality and funnel more to the top is marxism to you. if you really ran a business, I’d expect you to have more smarts.
Yes we have issues here. Every country has issues. Changing over to a Socialist/Marxist/Communist system whucy gas failed everywhere it’s been implemented wouid not be an improvement. We’d get Oakland and San Francisco on a national scale. No thanks.
“Wealth inequality” should have zero influence on how a business operates.
tuffy, i think your struggle here is that you don’t realize there’s an option between extreme capitalism and extreme communism. there’s actually a place in the middle from that, in which the free market works best for some things and public investment works better for other things. people hold that middle view, including me.
prov, whether a place has extreme wealth inequality or an equal distribution of wealth, it’s a policy choice. neither is natural, it is always a political decision. and considering the power of the wealthy in lobbying politicians, it’s not some act of nature that billionaires are gaining ever greater share of the pie: they are buying politicians in bulk to make it happen
Deepseamon,
A business legally operating in a free market is not extreme capitalism. That’s just silly.
Also, nobody in Vegas or Nevada cares about how sad this is for Oakland. We are thrilled to have the damaged leftovers of Oaklands leftist incompetence. Let’s go Vegas A’s!
Amazing Commie lecture. LET’S GO VEGAS A’S!
You’re bragging on some unfettered capitalism, this article is about Nevada spending $400 million tax dollars. your the frickin Marxist around here. boo A’s. go Ms
take care friend until next time:)
Lol you obv have no idea what Marxism is if you think the A’s getting tax credits and a bond offering is Marxism. Try again Che Deepsemenster
deep – There will always be wealth inequality because there will always be people who are willing to work hard and earn and those who are not who want a hand out. It’s those who are not willing to work hard who will always complain about wealthy people and scream that socialism is the answer. It’s the same in every society, including your “utopian” communist/socialist countries that you seem to want to emulate here in America. There’s a reason why millions of humans are trying to come to American from everywhere.
What was your business name?
No,no…not more Al Avilas…..
Hope Elons rocket has faulty O Rings
He is right. If you are backing corporate socialism, you are not a capitalist.
Solid Marxist thinking. If I don’t get my way I hope people susfder and die. Brilliant
@prov356. Oh, please stop with the “young people today don’t want to work hard” crap. I heard that from my parent’s generation and I’m a boomer. They said that in the 50s and 60s about young people. It has been said about every generation and is still a crock. Yeah, there’s lots of people who feel entitled such as MLB owners who expect tax payers to build stadiums for them, fans who think that teams owe to to them to spend on big contracts, etc. However you find that attitude in every generation as you will find people in every generation who work hard.
Also, the world does not necessarily reward hard work or contribution to society. The system is not set up that way.
As to being left a billion dollars, I’d give it away. Don’t need it to be happy and wouldn’t want it. I have enough, why would I want more? Old school here, learned long ago that money and the love of money corrupts one’s soul.
It’s adorable that you think this is a free market, particularly in the case of MLB.
Remember when Trump said he wanted more immigrants from (socialist) Norway and they were like, no thanks? Communism may be a naive fantasy that has failed everywhere but democratic socialism and neomarxism have plenty of success stories.
Of course there are some league restrictions, but owners are free to seek the best possible deal for their franchise. Relocation is not a new concept in sports. They owe nothing to dysfunctional cities and their insane anti business leaders.
Where has Marxism been a success?
Even Dem socialist counties of northern Europe have plenty of social issues to contend with.
As a framework for analysis neomarxism has plenty of well respected academic papers and theories. One of them breaks down the decline of Detroit, noting that all of these taxpayer funded projects tend to benefit politicians (careers boosted by the special interest groups they serve) and wealthy business owners (that rarely live in the areas they’re developing) but eventually harm the residents that are stuck paying for road, water, and other maintenance of these gradually decaying facilities. Parts of Detroit look like it’s bombed out because the taxpayers couldn’t pay the upkeep of all those 80’s development projects that enriched the politicians/business community but ultimately made the residents poorer.
Tommy NoNuts, That is the first time I have seen you and it will be the last. That must be the most pathetic run of posts I have ever seen.
Tommy, ask the ghost of Henry Ford about the dangers of income equality. In 1914, Ford began paying their assembly line workers five dollars a day, more than doubling the previous wage. When other manufacturers complained to him, he noted that his workers could now afford to buy his cars.
Income inequality is a problem for a number of reasons including undermining the market. As income is skewed upwards, consumers have less money to buy what industry produces. Exports can be a way out of this underconsumption problem but that assumes you are running a trade surplus, which the US does not. Another way out temporarily is consumer debt. The “golden age” for the American working/middle class and for the US in general was the 1950s and 1960s when income and wealth inequality was quite low.
Billionaires do not create jobs. The market creates jobs. For jobs to be created, there needs to be a consumer to buy the product industry produces. We are a consumer driven economy. If consumers stop spending the economy stops. If billionaires stop investing, the economy would stagger along.
The form of capitalism with corporate welfare we practice today in the US is not the only form of capitalism nor is it the form we have used in the past.
As to Cuba and China, things were pretty awful in both countries before their respective revolutions. The Communists in China have been quite oppressive at times but post-Mao have brought a considerable degree of stability and prosperity (unequally) to the country. Cuba? About all we can say is that Castro cleaned up prostitution and corruption and improved their health care system while running the country into the ground. On the other hand, compare communist Cuba to neighboring capitalist Haiti and Cuba looks pretty good. Oh, life expectancy in Cuba is 79.18 years. The U.S.? 79.11 years
People are literally starving in Cuba and have no resources or freedom of expression. What a paradise.
And China brought stability sure. I wonder if the Chinese citizens currently in political prisons or forced labor camps are as fond of it as you.
Once you bring up politics, you prove your own ignorance and incompetence at talking about baseball and business.
Websoulsurfer. That’s utterly ridiculous. Baseball, business and politics are all intricately intertwined. You thinking otherwise is just sadly naive.
Your comments contain so many factual errors and your personal biased opinions that belong on a politics site not a baseball comments section.
That is complete bullsheep!
The causes of Detroit’s problems are very complicated and go much deeper than that:
Racial segregation, “blockbusting” of housing and manufacturing out of the City and into suburban areas, economic policies at the national level that decimated the manufacturing sector in the entire upper Midwest, trade policies that were devastating to the middle class, out sourcing millions of high paying middle class manufacturing and and professional jobs to cheaper labor countries in the Far East.
Try reading a few books and doing some research and lay off just sharing talking points from talking heads who never did their own research and/or fact checking.
What factual errors? Please be specific.
Also how are my opinons “biased”? Again, specifically.
And I didn’t turn the conversation political. I starred saying I was bummed for the Oakland fans but I understood that the owner wanted to make the best deal for the business. That sent some people into a frenzy. As if it was some off the wall notion that a business owner wouid want to make more money.
I’ll give.you my phone number, you can give it away to me.
I need money
I need lots of.money.
I know for a fact, yes, it makes ALL the difference in the world.
We need rich people to guide the market, spend absurd amounts of money on silly, extravagant things…like cell phones….to push and develop the markets.
I need lots of.money just to get a wife and or gf.
You may not.
I DO
Fisher didn’t work for a damned thing he got his money from mommy and daddy (trust fund).He’s a terrible owner wholl screw over Las Vegas.There is plenty of blame to spread around on Oakland not getting a stadium but fisher is garbage
Like rats jumping off a sinking ship.
The Owner is a terrible business man who has no business owning an MLB team.
He’s definitely crap at owning a baseball team. Pretty good at making money though.
In business parlance, he would be referred to as a vulture capitalist who makes money, but leaves economic destruction where ever he goes.
That’s a bit of a simplistic assessment since it negates all of the community outreach the organization did. Do vulture capitalists usually support youth sports, education, diversity and equity, LGBT rights and the black community?
The only things remaining in Oakland are syringes and crack pipes.
Pretty much
and wealthy Oakland hills residents looking down on your hillbilly ways.
Orinda is a suburb of Oakland and its literally the wealthiest town in the US. Alameda County, of which Oakland is a part, has a median household income of $117,000, $50,000 more than Clark County Nevada. The City of Oakland has a median household income about $20,000 higher than Las Vegas.
Brian sounds like someone that has never been to Oakland.
We just put a condo we bought as an investment on 4th St and Jackson with a view of the Embarcadero and Jack London Square in Oakland up for sale for just under $1 million. Its within walking distance of Howard Terminal. Its in a completely remodeled building built nearly 100 years ago and its gorgeous. The view is stunning. Ask your realtor to get you a tour. Don’t take people like Brian’s opinion. Come look for yourself.
I have an office and a home in Heyward. I get what you are saying.
oaklandside.org/2023/02/16/oakland-methamphetamine…
DOJ – “Las Vegas is the big center of meth trafficking in the western US”
justice.gov/usao-sd/pr/las-vegas-man-sentenced-15-…
news3lv.com/news/local/meth-forcing-major-issues-i…
landmarkrecovery.com/the-resurgence-of-methampheta…
worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/drug-use-…
Make sure you scroll down and then click on meth use the past year.
Here is the government agency the data comes from, samhsa.gov/data/
73% of Nevada’s population lives in Clark County, so these numbers for the state are indicative of the problem in Las Vegas.
The problem is worse in Las Vegas and southern Nevada by far. Keep on trying to spread your special kind of bull bleep.
My post is about Oakland. At least try and pretend to act like reading comprehension is fundamental.
Las Vegas meth use is higher. Its literally a hub for meth in the Western US. 1st read the articles. Then read the DOJ and SAMHSA stats. They are linked there.
As you tried to say to me, “At least try and pretend to act like reading comprehension is fundamental.”
Go easy on him Pads. He is a short bus kind of guy. That is way too many links for a guy that just reads the headlines.
What a completely dumb statement from Alabama poster.
Such an ignorant comment.
Some would consider it a racist comment.
“7 in 10 Oakland residents feel less safe than they did 2 years ago, survey shows”..ABC7..October 2022
Take the L and move on.
Las Vegas Valley property crimes rise, including Strip
reviewjournal.com/crime/las-vegas-valley-property-…
As has been shown clearly and without question on the threads about the Las Vegas stadium, overall crime in Las Vegas is worse than in Oakland with property crimes being 5 TIMES higher.
Take the L and move on.
Damn. Pads bringing the sledgehammer of receipts.
The casinos will buy up all the luxury suites for high rollers and vips and probably buy hundreds if tickets each per year. They will sell plenty of tickets. They will be more a barn storming team than a local one. Wonder if there will be slots in the concourses?
Slots in the Concourses would be a great name for a chick band.
Just put a screen behind each seat. They’ll come in handy for the morning Bingo crowd and $10 breakfast buffet.
Hasn’t worked for the Raiders who are 30th in attendance in LV.
Casinos are not allowed to buy luxury suites or tickets. Its against Nevada gambling laws.
What a sad day for every Oakland A’s fan throughout the years. I’m sorry that you have to see your team go. As a Seattle sports fan, I know what is like to watch your team leave (sonics, and almost mariners too). MLB will likely never be back in Oakland, sad to say. My condolences. I don’t know what I would do if the mariners left Seattle.
I was born in the Bay Area, I’ve lived in California my entire life, and I’ve been an A’s fan since the 80’s. I love that they’re moving to Las Vegas. California is terrible and the Bay Area is one of if not the worst part of it. Las Vegas is a longer drive for me than Oakland and I’ll watch them play a few times per year. I haven’t been to Oakland since 2012. Not all A’s fans are upset. Mostly the ones from the bay area and people who don’t like public money being used for building stadiums.
So what you are saying Shark is that you work in fast food and can’t afford the Bay Area.
You struggle with reading comprehension.
You struggle with reality.
My reality is great! I look forward to watching some A’s games in Vegas. Good luck with your delicate, bitter life, kid.
Not on your fast food salary you won’t. My grandkids are older than you are.
That would put you at about 90. Act your age old man, and don’t get so emotionally devastated when someone has a different opinion that you do. It makes you sound vaccinated.
Ok, now I know you are 12.
Kind of a bummer. My company is HQ’d in the East Bay and I would always try to plan my travel around when a decent team would be in town. Cheap and available seats. Just had to watch my back walking from the BART station to the stadium.
F
Great news! The young players have something to look forward to want to sign and they’ll actually have some money to play with soon. For once
Why would you expect them to spend money on the team? Just because they’re being given a $380M handout and Manfred is waiving the $300M relocation fee?
AND great strip clubs!
LMFAO! Young players won’t be getting contracts from cheap skate and terrible “businessman” John Fisher.
They will have less money soon. $40 million less from TV and they will not draw any more than the A’s did pre-Fisher.
Change the name, I’d rather cut off completely from this disaster and ownership.
Geez man, just pick a new team. Why be miserable?
It’s the same ownership.
That name is historic. It should always remain with the team. Too bad they didn’t move back to Philadelphia.
Philadelphia is not big enough to support two teams with baseball of today’s economics. The A’s should never have been allowed to move from Kansas City. They had a new stadium offer from the city. The A’s could have played in what is now Kauffman Stadium. Roaming Charlie Finley though was finally able to convince the other AL owners to let him move the team. He was never happy anywhere. Always trying to move to just about anywhere other than where the team was.
Worst owner in the game gets a free ride from the Commissioner and his fellow owners, gets free land and tax payers hard earned money to help him build a stadium. The greedy owners are trying to get the A’s in Vegas and the Rays stadium issue settled ASAP so they can get their grubby fingers on the mega bucks they will share in from the gigantic expansion fees they will charge for two or more teams. The rich get richer and then raise ticket prices and parking and concessions to scalp the fans.
You’re right. But, unfortunately the owners don’t care, they will ruin the sport if they expand. 30 big league clubs are too many. Already we see that half the pitchers in the majors don’t belong, and the want to add to that? Crazy. Major League Baseball should contract 26 teams. 14 per league and end inter-league play.
What’s wrong with inter league play?
Guess where the first expansion team will go? hint. It won’t be going to Nashville, or Portland or even Charlotte. It will be going to the largest remaining market in the US that also happens to have the highest per capita income in the nation.
This deal will force Fisher to sell sooner rather than later. He has no liquid assets. 75% of his net worth is in two sports teams $1.18 billion in the A’s and $500 million in the San Jose Earthquakes. His stock in the GAP is worth only $340 million after being worth $1.5 billion just 2 years ago. I think the other owners also realize that this will eventually force him to sell and then they are rid of him.
Unfortunately, any team or owner in Las Vegas is screwed. A 30k seat stadium means revenue is capped, especially if they ever play in the playoffs. Playing in the 41st largest TV market means the least money of any team from that source, even from streaming. Sports media journals are saying its possible that in the current RSN situation, the A’s will not be able to sign a local TV deal at all. They will go from a deal in Oakland that was paying them $41 million average through 2032 and $60 million in 2023 to zero local broadcast money. MLB and the other teams will end up footing the bill to make sure the A’s are at least streamed.
Anyway. LFGSD.
sfchronicle.com/sports/athletics/article/oakland-m…
That would be MLB admitting that MLB screwed this thing up badly, which, without a doubt, they did,.
However, getting MLB to acknowledge that is going to be tough.
If you are meaning the Bay Area, NOT happening.
Read the article he posted and listen to Manfred’s press conference. A team will be back in the Bay Area.
He can only read headlines. WAY too many words in the articles here and God forbid he would need to read the articles about the subject on other websites.
That is what MLB is implying, just to pacify the local press and fans.
MLB and Fisher lied, mislead, deceived local officials and fans throughout this process in Oakland and SF Bay Area.
I would not trust anything MLB and/or Fisher says unless it is in writing, signed, notarized by 20 notaries etc and recorded at the County Courthouse under the penalty of perjury.
To be fair, it takes two to tango. The Nevada politicians didn’t have to accept this deal and, unlike MLB owners, have a duty to their constituents. To let themselves get railroaded by an owner who has little leverage at this point is sad.
On the other side of the coin, getting the A’s out of Oakland and into Vegas is good for baseball and good for the owners, so they couldn’t care less about the particulars.
Fisher is 62 yrs old and has no kids. So who will he pass this generational wealth down to when he inevitably sells this team once the stadium is done. He obviously doesn’t care about sports how he cheaply runs the A’s and San Jose earthquakes. Maybe wants more money for his precious art collections and donating to Republican Party
Bay Area has become a cesspool thanks to the state and local politicians. Anyone who can leave does.
Such nonsensical BS. Some of the most expensive places to live — because people want to be there.
Is that why San Francisco is the new Detroit? Business’s are leaving the city in droves due to crime. And yes it is expensive, but that will change soon too.
SaltLAke, All except for the facts
San Francisco is outpacing all the rest of California in small business starts. fundingcircle.com/us/resources/norcal-outpaces-soc…
According to the DOL, California still leads the nation in small business starts.
So instead of listening to the MSM, try looking at the facts yourself.
So instead of
If I’m correct, California has pretty high costs placed on real estate development. That would certainly explain part of it.
There are definitely great areas in any city. I’ve lived in the Bay and outside of it. If you don’t see that the Bay Area is a cesspool due in large part to politicians, you’re blind. California has valuable land and terrible everything else.
In Oakland proper the median household income is $20k higher than Las Vegas.
40M people would disagree with that statement,+
You couldn’t make it there, then move to Alabama or Mississippi.
CA won’t miss you at all.
You will easily be replaced by more productive others who want to live in CA.
Alameda County is growing. 1.8% in 2023. Oakland is in Alameda County
Contra Costa County grew.
San Francisco County grew.
Marin County grew.
San Mateo County grew
Santa Clara County grew.
Solano County grew.
Sonoma County grew.
Napa County grew.
Those are the 9 counties that make up the Bay Area. All of them grew.
According to the census bureau, the current metro area population of San Francisco in 2023 is 3,328,000, a 0.3% increase from 2022.
Try again.
Complete BS from an out of Stater.
Don’t believe it will work. Vegas is a small market, and while visitors may help boost attendance, baseball needs the biggest population base of all 4 major sports.
The Golden Knights success has deluded the other leagues.
Wonder why the Brewers owner is head of the hearing committee. It’s rumored they might be the next team to relocate if they can’t fix the maintenance their park needs. Possibly make it easier for them to move later on?
Yet another move in a list of moves by the Athletic organization. They’ve jettisoned Philly and KC before. Obviously it’s different circumstances, but nobody should be shocked that they are moving again.
The Os bandwagon has plenty of room if yall need an up and coming team to grow with!
Love the Orioles. I would love to see a repeat of my Pirates and your O’s in the World Series sometime. We had a couple of great ones back in the 70’s
In 1980, the A’s averaged 3,787 fans per game. That’s a season total of 306,763. They’ve been dumpster divers for decades. Billy Beane held them together with duct tape and Elmer’s glue for years. I do feel really bad for their hard-core fans.
Do you make up numbers to suit your opinions? I checked baseball reference and a couple of other sites on the Internet. According to baseball reference, Oakland drew 842,259 fans in 1980 or more than 10,00 a game. In 1981, drew over 1.3 million, 1.7 million in 1982.
Sorry Skep, you are correct. It was 1979 when they drew the above pathetic numbers. My bad. And no, I don’t make up my own numbers but in 1972, the Chicago White Sox drew 37 people..FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON!
When your team “fire sales” players every 4-5 years and starts another rebuild, then that is to be expected
Fans pay a lot of money to take their family to games and expect a completive product.
When you have a terrible, incompetent, greedy owner
not investing in the team and venue, then there will be problems.
NOT THE FAULT OF THE FANS.
Sox drew 15,094 per game that season. They actually drew more than the Yankees per game.
baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/1972-misc.sh…
Baseball Reference is your friend. Use it.
bpax, In 1980 the A’s averaged 10,398 fans per game. baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/1980-misc.sh…
The following year under new owner Walter Haas it went up to 23,287 per game and they were 8th in MLB in average attendance. During his tenure as owner the A’s were usually closer to the top in attendance than the bottom.
Billy Beane has not been involved in baseball operations since 2015. Once Fisher took over for the 2016 season, Beane sold his shares in the team and was “promoted” to VP of Baseball Operations and then “senior advisor” a few years later. Basically put out to pasture. Forst has been the one doing Fisher’s bidding in dismantling the team.
Two things. The ballpark might have been open to start 2028, a year later than the A’s originally wanted it to be ready, but because of the diversity requirements on this project it will take 6 months longer to even get started.
The Coliseum has said that they will not extend the lease at that facility. The facility is losing money on the deal the A’s are currently on and the deferred maintenance that would have to be done to continue to play there beyond 2024 would cost $24 million. So the A’s would have to triple or quadruple their current lease payment and pay another $24 million to fix the stadium to bring it back up to code. With the $500 million more that will either not be paid to Fisher or that have been added to the team’s costs on the stadium in Las Vegas, I sincerely doubt Fisher is going to come up with an extra $40 million to continue playing in Oakland for 3-4 years and I doubt more than a handful of fans would show up at any game in Oakland while the stadium is being built in another city.
The State of Nevada has spent as much money on the Athletics as Fisher has on payroll since 2017.
I need to pick a new favorite team. I’m leaning towards the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.
I’m done with baseball. I’ll still keep A’s hats since I love 59fiftys. I’ve also bought some WBC hats on sale, may just end up wearing those. But I’m done being emotionally invested in one team
“I hate it when taxpayer money is used to feed poor people!!!!! Using to give half a billion dollars to billionaires is fine, though.”
While the other owners could block this from happening i see no reason to do so. So it’s a matter of “when”, not “if” at this point.
It is interesting that they bring up next season though as MLB waited until September 29th 2004 to announce the Montreal Expos would be moving to Washington for the 2005 season so i do wonder if they will try to forego what would be bound to be an embarrassingly disastrous 2024 season in Oakland and announce, say somewhere around September 21st (last home series) that the team is relocating for the ’24 season.
According to one of the trade rumors articles a couple owners were openly annoyed with the new union agreement reinstating the A’s into revenue sharing after they clearly embezzled all the money. That’s probably the only area they would do anything.
Breaking down a franchise for a new stadium, real estate deals, then immediate resale is pretty standard for modern MLB.
Not sure where they would play in 2024 if not the Coliseum. The Las Vegas Ballpark where the A’s AAA team plays has said they can house the A’s for the 2025 and 2026 seasons only. Existing commitments won’t allow the Howard Hughes Corporation that owns the park from doing so outside of that time frame. The Coliseum authority in Alameda county has said that they will not extend the A’s lease there.
The AAA stadium could probably be fast tracked to house the team by next season. The Jays played in Dunedin and Buffalo during Covid so it can be done. Perhaps MLB would consider letting them play in their spring training facility for the season. Anything would probably be preferable to returning to Oakland for one more year after the way this has played out
Have you been to Hohokam Stadium in July or August? Neither has anyone else. Because you can’t play a baseball game at 115 degrees out in the Arizona sun. You would have to start games at midnight.
And the difference between there and the AAA facility in Vegas in July/August?
About 5 degrees. That may be why the MLBPA is now saying they may not agree to games in the AAA Las Vegas Ballpark. The As are talking to Reno about playing some games there.
They should be trying work something out with the Raiders to see if Allegiant Stadium could be converted for Baseball for the next few seasons.
Mark Davis hates Fisher. He blames him for the Raiders having to leave Oakland.
Read all the things he’s said about Fisher. Not likely he would do anything to help the As.
sfgate.com/athletics/article/raiders-mark-davis-tr…
clutchpoints.com/raiders-news-mark-davis-blasts-at…
The irony is it was the Raiders that destroyed the Coliseum that caused all of this mess for the A’s to begin with
If the players union approves playing there, I am sure that MLB will come up with the cash to buy out those existing events at The Las Vegas Ballpark.
Sad for Oakland. Vegas is a growing economy and re-location destination for people. In addition to what’s already there, tourist wise.
Oakland and the Bay Area have become so crime ridden I can see the whys on the outside. But losing the team makes Oakland worse in so many ways. No sports. No destination. No desire to do anything. One of the Greatest two team Metropolis areas gone. Finished. And SF is going thru its own demise. Covid yes. Tech downfall yes. Politics absolutely. Makes me want to leave too. Many reasons to think about it. I would totally move to Vegas.
At least somebody gets it. Oakland is a sh#thole. Nobody in their right mind wants to risk going there to watch the crappy A’s. San Bernardino by the Bay.
Lots of “negative nancys on this forum who are not knowledgeable about the facts.
SF Bay Area is very rich area with 550 billion GDP per year which is higher than many countries. Las Vegas has 136 million GDP per year.
The math and numbers do not add up for Las Vegas.
If they move, other teams will be subsidizing the A’s with TV revenues and revenue sharing. They may get a new building with a worse financial outcome for MLB.
John Fisher and MLB better set aside some funds for litigation coming with the City of Oakland and Alameda County since a storm is brewing there.
A SF Bay Area Editorial was very nasty and critical of John Fisher and MLB recommending that if the Owners approve the move, that the OA Coliseum just evict Fisher ASAP and take back the land he acquired around the Coliseum as the first step to building the new stadium in Oakland.
And, the State of California is considering legislation requiring any sports franchise leaving and/or relocating out of State to be assessed 10 years additional State and local taxes as a “don’t let the door hit you on your backside on the way out”..
The State and local governments invested a lot in these teams especially infrastructure and deserve to be made whole etc…
As others have pointed out ad nauseum, crime in Las Vegas and Clark County overall is higher than in the Bay Area. Even in Oakland. Violent crime is higher in Oakland, but overall crime is lower.
SF leads the nation in small business start ups. Its population actually grew so far in 2023.
The more of you that leave, the more room we haec for people that want to be here and are starting all those businesses that make California the 4th largest economy in the world.
READ THE LAS VEGAS AND NEVADA PROPOSAL AND THEN READ
THE OAKLAND-ALAMEDA COUNTY DEAL FOR THE A’S
THE OAKLAND PROPOSAL IS A MUCH BETTER DEAL FOR THE A’s THAN THE LAS VEGAS DEAL
SOMETHING IS VERY FISHY ABOUT THIS DEAL
SOMEONE OR MANY SOMEONE’S IS/ARE LYING OR EXAGGERATING ABOUT WHAT IS REALLY GOING DOWN HERE.
The Oakland Deal includes: office complexes, housing, commercial property.
Government agreed to help pay for infrastructure improvements.
And, there is a much larger acreage 55 ACRES INVOLVED and land and development favoring the A’s and Oakland.
Las Vegas deal: just a small 8 ACRE PARCEL ON LEASED LAND FOR THE STADIUM ONLY no commercial, housing, office complexes that the A’s participate in. It is a much smaller site.
In Las Vegas, the A’s are also required to pay for an entire list of items (IF they have high enough attendance).
With only 30,000 seats, the A’s would have to sell out all 81 games plus many more concerts and other events for the A’s to break even and for any of the extra community social service monies to even be required for A’s to pay.
Plus, John Fisher would need to come up with 400-600 million in cash and credit that Fisher just does not have?!
Plus, the TV deal in Las Vegas will be much smaller than the A’s N Cal TV deal.
Oakland and Alameda County had a much better deal at the finish line with the A’s
It appears that John Fisher, the A’s and MLB NEGOTIATED IN BAD FAITH WITH OAKLAND AND ALAMEDA COUNTY.
55 acres in Oakland to create a year-around destination with bars and restaurants requiring major infrastructure improvements due to the fact that there is mostly nothing around it.
9 acre property in Las Vegas with basic infrastructure in place, surrounded by hotels/casinos, restaurants and bars serving tourists year-around for years.
All the infrastructure costs were being paid for by Oakland at Howard Terminal. In Las Vegas Fisher will be responsible for roughly $100 million in infrastructure costs.
The appreciation at the Jack London Square site would be enormous for any well heeled owner/investor.
The Las Vegas site is a lease of 8-9 acres.
There is no appreciation.
All the potential revenue streams from surrounding properties, parking etc are already locked in and spoken for.
And, the stadium ownership transfers to a public authority so no money for Fisher there either.
This Nevada deal proves the complete incompetence of Fisher as an MLB Owner, investor and businessman.
It is a desperation rebound deal by John Fisher who completely screwed up much more financially lucrative deal in N California.
The Oakland deal is a 12 billion dollar redevelopment deal.
The City of Oakland and County of Alameda had much more cash and credit in that deal than the State of Nevada and Las Vegas has in their proposed “rebound” deal.
Fisher and the A’s stood to gain a sparkling news stadium on the San Francisco Bay near Jack London Square plus massive commercial, industrial and housing development worth billions.
The Vegas deal will have Fisher “panhandling” for the cash and credit needed to close that deal. Fisher’s gap stock has, apparently, tanked. It appears that Fisher was using team revenues, shared MLB national and Regional TV revenues and his fire sale of players to keep both the team and his own finances afloat. That is why the Nevada legislature left their financing open to any MLB team including an expansion team.
CLEARLY, THE STATE OF NEVADA DOES NOT HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT FISHER CAN HOLD UP HIS END OF THE BARGAIN.
The Las Vegas Metro area is larger than , Kansas City, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Milwaukee and is one of the fastest growing metro areas in the USA with an expanding media market. The stadium size is okay considering the average attendence for the entire MLB is 26,000 and if they put a competitive team on the field demand for seats will drive the price per seat up. Oakland had their chance and the local politicians lost three franchise within a few years, got to be a record. Oakland kept talking about their deal but wouldn’t pass it.
Yea, by chance you mean they didn’t hand out enough public money.
The Las Vegas metro area went from the 40th to the 41st largest media market the last two years. See the Nielsen DMA rankings.
Las Vegas is not even on the list of the top ten fastest growing cities in the US either in total number or percentage.
Here is a list of the 15 fastest-growing cities by %, according to the Census Bureau:
Georgetown, Texas—14.4%
Santa Cruz, California—12.5%
Kyle, Texas—10.9%
Leander, Texas—10.9%
Little Elm, Texas—8%
Westfield, Indiana—7.7%
Queen Creek, Arizona—6.7%
North Port, Florida—6.6%
Cape Coral, Florida—6.4%
Port St. Lucie, Florida—6.4%
Conroe, Texas—6.3%
Maricopa, Arizona—6.2%
New Braunfels, Texas—5.7%
Lehi, Utah—5.6%
Medford, Massachusetts—5.2%
worldpopulationreview.com/us-city-rankings/fastest…
The stadium size is the smallest in MLB. Take the A’s and Rays out of the equation, the two teams that MLB said absolutely had to have new ballparks, and MLB has averaged 29,347 over the last 2 seasons. In other words, the rest of MLB has averaged a sell out of all 81 A’s home games in Las Vegas.
Anyone that has lived in Las Vegas knows that locals don’t go to the strip unless they have to. Unless they work there or have visitors come in that want to go, they avoid it completely. Locals will not be filling that ballpark.
The A’s are claiming that they will draw 8,000 out of state visitors to all 81 games on average. The Raiders are averaging less than 6,000 and they only have 8-9 home games per season. They are also not selling out games.
The price per seat going up will not draw more people to the ballpark. Clark County has about half the median household income that Alameda county does. With household income of less than $70k per year. its doubtful many will be able to afford games if the ticket prices stay the same as they are in Oakland today.
Oakland passed the deal. It was done. The EIR was completed. Funding had been approved by the City Council. They had won all the possible lawsuits against the ballpark. All that was left was Fisher to sign off on it. Instead he asked for $350 million more in public funding. So please don’t try to float that garbage.
If they do change their name which I don’t think they should, my suggestion, Las Vegas Black Jack or the Bighorns (state mammal and thrives in the desert).
Socialism for the rich Oligarchs. Taxpayer cash given free by guys who scream about the evils of socialism to rich guys who scream about the evils of socialism. If taxpayers pay they must own the team. Packers, countless soccer teams, past O’s team all owned by fans/regions/taxpayers. Enjoy more blackmail by MLB Oligarchs in 10 years, taxpayers of Nevada.
Be careful when the big money like this happens, there are always bribes going left and right.
I hope the team keeps its colors and elephant logo. I’ll catch a game a year.
Pay the rent in Oakland. Move to the AAA park. Sell 5,000 season tickets in 2 separate packages to build a local fan base. This leaves 5000 seats per game for visitors, tourists, and one game purchases. this will allow you to build your fan base. You could also still play AAA games in the same city. The Twins have AAA team in St Paul.
Wait for it !!!!!!!!!! Cost overrun’s coming.
This is good for the Athletics future. They will probably have far more fan in Nevada than they have Oakland. This was needed. I was quite the admirer of the team myself in the late 80’s. Next best thing after the relocation would be the team being sold to a new owner that actually cared about competing.
That is funny. You do realize that with a 30,000 seat stadium in Las Vegas that they can never approach the A’s biggest crowds or seasonal attendance in Oakland, right?
Interesting development today. The MLBPA is saying that they would not be likely to agree to games in either Las Vegas or Phoenix outdoors during June to August. It is necessary to get their approval.
Now the As are saying they are talking to Reno and the Diamondbacks about hosting games there during those months for 2025-2027.
The owner of the land at the Railyards in Sacramento and the CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council said that if Fisher doesn’t follow through with Las Vegas that they would provide a package that is better than what Las Vegas is offered.
This is getting weirder and weirder.
This was typical California at work that cost A’s Fans there team.
.Look howt quickly the state of Nevada was able to get this done.
If it were a team moving to California from Nevada, it would have been a protracted series of events that would have taken at least a couple of years to get it resolved and approved.
Meanwhile the cost of the project would of escalated .
.Angel owner Arte Moreno got tired of dealing with the City of Anaheim and California with its mandates of affordable housing.
And a Mayor looking for some $$$$$.
And said F it I’m out.
You are comparing Apples to Pineapples.
Oakland stated that years ago they offered a “scaled back deal” on
the current land of the Oakland Coliseum that was a better deal than Las Vegas is now offering. Fisher and Manfred turned it down.
And two separate billionaires offered to buy the A’s and build a stadium on Oakland Coliseum land. And, they were rebuffed by Manfred and Fisher
Fisher and Manfred had “dollar signs in their eyes”
and insisted on the water front Jack London Square deal for the A’s.
There is a huge difference between a small 9 acre stadium on leased land with all the surrounding development already done
and a 12 billion dollar development on a major water way the San Francisco Bay
that requires many more permits and approvals.
Everyone in the Development community knows these facts.
The Howard Terminal site was approved. The city council had voted on it. The infrastructure costs were approved. The environmental impact study was complete and signed off. They had won all the lawsuits that could be brought against the project. All that was left was Fisher to sign on the dotted line. That is when he chose to ask for $350 million more taxpayer dollars.
Oakland didn’t f up. Fisher did.
Arte was trying to run a scam. It cost the Mayor his job. Like Fisher he wanted the city to give him hundreds of millions worth of land for free. He wanted exclusive rights to develop the area around the ballpark. After the mayor resigned, the city council said you can pay market value for the land or you don’t get it AND you have to pay to do the upgrades on the Big A that you have been putting off for years. At that point Arte said, “Fine! I will just sell the team then” like a spoiled rich kid. That he didn’t get the park built is 100% on Arte. He STILL owes a couple hundred million in deferred upgrades and maintenance.
ANYONE that is an Angels fan will be glad when that POS is no longer the owner of the team.
So please, try commenting about something you understand. This is obviously not a subject you have even an inkling about.
One more win for corruption & bribery.
That the rich can get hundreds of millions in free stadium money every year after bribing state and local pols, all while paying off Congress for their long term antitrust exemption SHOULD result in increased search engine returns for [boiling in oil] and [sharpening guillotine blades, how to].
Just found out why the Coliseum won’t allow the A’s top extend their lease. The City of Oakland reached an agreement with AASEG to do a $5 billion development at the site of the coliseum that includes renovating the stadium for football and other entertainment events. The Coliseum will be shut down and construction will start the day after the 2024 season to turn it into a 100% football venue.
All the EIR and public meetings have been completed there for more than a decade, so that could have easily been the site of a new ballpark for the A’s too.
“AASEG says it is aiming to bring a Black-owned NFL franchise and a WNBA team to Oakland. In addition to renovating the Coliseum, the developer is planning a complex with homes, a convention center, a hotel, restaurants, museums and an outdoor amphitheater for youth sports.
The Coliseum, built in the circular, multi-purpose style of the 1970s, will be upgraded so it can be configured not just for an NFL team, but also a WNBA basketball court, and a venue for concerts and events like Disney on Ice.”