![]() The game of baseball liar's dice continues in Oakland. Baseball will not go back to a market where they already have the Giants." "It's not like Oakland is going to get an expansion team if they lose this team. "And if they move, there is no going back," Conway added. So, you've got to think about that seriously." "There is a basketball team that used to play in that Oakland arena now it doesn't. "There is a football team that used to be called the Oakland Raiders. EVER FORWARD CLUB OAKLAND PROThe executives with a history of MLB experience suggested caution moving forward, as the risk of losing a third pro sports team is greater than ever. Will they let MLB escape like the NFL and the National Basketball Association, whose Golden State Warriors relocated across the Bay to San Francisco? Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf used her media appearance on Wednesday to express optimism about the A's staying. "But those are difficult times – those single and two-year renewals."Įventually, city officials will reveal their dice, too. "It's easy to say 'let the lease run out, and then you can do whatever,'" he said. Now a sports business professor at Georgetown University, Conway said the decision could come down to the wire in 2024, when the A's lease expires. I think it's just another level of confusion that has to drive their fans crazy." "One of the hardest things to do is to end up owning one. "One of the easiest things to do in sports is to say you're going to buy a sports team," Dolich said. The speculation about the A's future is all over the place. Las Vegas, where the former Oakland Raiders of the National Football League now reside, is tweeting about its interest. There is a push in Nashville, where former A's legend Dave Stewart is helping to lure a team. There is a sense among some sports bankers that Fisher wants to remain in the Bay Area, and if he can't land a new park, perhaps he'll sell the team or move.Ī move to Sacramento might work. ![]() The A's want public money, though, and Oakland officials appear in no hurry to provide it. The $12 billion number is for the entire waterfront development project, but landing a new park at the terminal location would cost $2 billion. He's the son of Doris and Donald Fisher, the founders of retail empire Gap Inc., and he's relying on Kaval to land him a new park the same way Kaval did in 2015 for the San Jose Earthquakes, a Major League Soccer franchise Fisher also owns. ![]() Still, A's owner John Fisher remains out of the spotlight. And right now, the A's are in first place in the American League West division. The team is historically known for mastering the use of baseball analytics, thanks to Billy Beane. The A's are worth roughly $1.12 billion, according to Forbes. "What usually works is you end up selling to somebody, and they move it." "And if you're the owner, moving a baseball team and remaining the owner is a difficult situation," Conway added. "There are a few more pieces on the board to think about," Conway said, adding the league still needs to resolve labor issues with players before seriously worrying about stadium problems. "We're going to do everything we can to keep advancing that."īut if the city doesn't approve, what will the A's do? Other towns can be used for leverage, but where would the A's play? And would MLB owners approve relocation to an expansion territory and miss out on a $2 billion fee? "It's either Howard or bust for Oakland," A's president Dave Kaval told an NBC Sports Bay Area earlier this week. The team presented its plan and is hoping for approval this summer. The development would feature a 35,000-seat stadium, shopping, hotel property, commercial and residential units. The A's have their eyes on a new park at Oakland's Charles P. The Expos are now the Washington Nationals and play in an over $600 million stadium that opened in 2008. "It just became impossible to go forward with," said Conway of playing at Olympic Stadium. MLB's first Canadian team moved in 2004 after a battle to replace the aging Olympic Stadium, which hosted its first baseball game in 1977. ![]() Conway, who served as a special assistant under former MLB commissioner Peter Ueberroth, compared the A's dilemma to the Montreal Expos. ![]()
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