A Potential Move for the Oakland Athletics
On Wednesday, June 14th, 2023, the Athletics Stadium deal won its final legislative approval in Nevada. This was the largest hurdle to finalizing the deal in Las Vegas regarding the possible relocation of the current Oakland Athletics. Nevada legislature will fund a portion of the proposed $1.5 billion stadium. Although the proposal still needs to be approved by the Governor and Major League Baseball, both are expected to be done before the 2024 season.
Athletics owner, John Fisher, has had full ownership of the organization since 2016. Alongside Billy Beane, the two have managed the team for the past years, hoping to bring championships to the city and fans of Oakland. Since Fisher’s management, the Athletics have not ranked higher than 23rd out of 30 teams. Their payroll has slowly trickled down year by year, especially after missing the playoff once again in 2021. After the season, they nearly cut their payroll in half by going from $90.4 million to $40.8 million. Ultimately in 2023, they have the lowest MLB payroll of $60.1 million. With that, the A’s have had many star players who have great potential, but unfortunately, due to the lack of development and investment, most players left the organization.
Nonetheless, Fisher has seemed to invest in every other team the same way he does with the Athletics. He is a current majority owner of an MLS team, the San Jose Earthquakes. Like the A’s, he doesn’t invest in many players, as the Earthquakes rank at 21 out of 29 MLS teams in terms of payroll. When it comes to success, the Quakes are no different; San Jose hasn’t had a winning season at all. The closest they got was going 13-13 in 2015. A possible reason John Fisher could be omitting the chance for a new A’s stadium is that he invested in an Earthquakes stadium in 2015, and so far, the Quakes have shown no improvement. It is safe to say that there is a trend with John Fisher when it comes to payroll and success.
If the Las Vegas proposal gets approved and a deal is signed, the A’s will have a new stadium. This should be an upgrade for players, as the Coliseum is currently falling apart. From possum infestations in the broadcast booth to sewage problems, the Oakland Coliseum is not in the best shape. There have been previous malfunctions with the stadium lights and even outfield walls collapsing. Regardless, the Coliseum has held some historic moments for fans, and to many, it is a second home where generations of Athletics fans have shared memories. The Las Vegas stadium, if built, would include a retractable roof and be located on the Las Vegas strip with many attractions, but it would take a while for fans to accustom themselves to the team.
With that, the Oakland Coliseum has hosted many historic moments. About ten years after moving to the Coliseum, the Athletics won three straight World Series titles in a row. At the time, they were Major League Baseball’s most successful team with players such as Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers. The last of the A’s strong success ended after their strong pennant run from 1988 to 1990. In 1989 they won the World Series against the Giants. Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire led the team. From then on, the Athletics would go on to be a devastating team, even with exceptional players like Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, and Frankie Montas. With low fan attendance and poor performance, they were soon MLB’s worst team for many consecutive years. Although having a playoff appearance in 2018, 2019, and 2020, they only won one playoff game in 2020 and have had a losing record ever since.
This season, A’s fans issued a “reverse boycott” in which fans packed the fans with signs, posters, and shirts, protesting against the move. More than 27,000 people were in attendance at the Coliseum that day, one of the largest crowds that Oakland has seen in a while. Additionally, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred responded to the movement and expressed how great it was to see “...almost an average Major League Baseball crowd in the facility for one night”. Disregarding the situation, Manfred turned to Oakland fans stating that there was no Oakland offer to build a new stadium. In that case, there was no alternative option for the Athletics to stay in Oakland. In return, Oakland mayor Sheng Thao released a statement in response to Rob Manfred’s claims stating that there was a proposal made which was similar to the idea in Las Vegas. With all of this back and forth, it is safe to say that Oakland is committed to keeping the A’s in their city, but the ownership seems to be looking in a different direction.
Furthermore, there is no question that A’s fans are one of the most loyal fanbases in all of baseball. Through the many ups and downs their team has faced, many fans have stuck with them through it all. Therefore, Oakland fans don’t deserve to go through all of this or lose another team to a larger market city. In just six years, Oakland sports fans have seen their NBA, NFL, and now MLB teams relocate to other cities. The purpose of the “reverse boycott” on Tuesday, June 13th, was to show the Athletics front office that there are still many fans in Oakland who watch and support their team. Moving the team means losing thousands of loyal fans who have supported this team through thick and thin.
In all, the next step to continue the process is to issue a vote amongst the 29 other MLB owners, which requires 75% approval. In that case, as of now, the deal is not finalized nor close to being done, but it is in process. For most MLB fans across the country, it is difficult to see what will be taken away from A’s fans in Oakland. As much as baseball is a business, it also is a sport in which fans enjoy cheering on their home team, and for some, that might be soon taken away.