Baseball
Related: About this forumOakland A's will move to Sacramento next year ahead of Las Vegas relocation
WEST SACRAMENTO The Oakland Athletics, who arrived in the Bay Area in 1968 and won four World Series championships, are in their final season at the Coliseum.
Owner John Fisher, a target of fan scorn for his plan to relocate the As to Las Vegas, has struck a deal to temporarily move the team to a minor-league ballpark in West Sacramento for the 2025-27 seasons, with an option for a fourth season.
The teams Coliseum lease expires after this season, and Fisher needed an interim site while his stadium is built on the Las Vegas Strip and wont be ready until 2028 at the earliest. No lease extension was struck in a Tuesday meeting with Oakland and Alameda County officials, though the city said Wednesday it offered a deal Tuesday in which the team would pay $60 million over three years to stay put. As representatives met Wednesday with officials in Sacramento, where they were greeted more positively.
Link (paywall): https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/athletics/article/a-s-close-deal-play-sacramento-triple-a-ballpark-19384712.php
Oakland's initial fee offer for the three year lease extension was $97 million, which IMO, was a giant fuck you directed to owner John Fisher.
Well, I feel the same way. While I'm sorry to see the A's and their incredible, memorable, and fun legacy leave Oakland, the franchise has been dead to me for years under Fisher ownership. Good riddance, you piece of shit.
Bleacher Creature
(11,436 posts)Just embarrassing.
ProfessorGAC
(69,888 posts)Adding outfield seats to get it to 14,000.
Still ridiculously small.
Can't believe A's owners are getting rid of this. Spending under 40% of revenues on the product, then complaining nobody shows up.
rsdsharp
(10,121 posts)I guess they probably will; Oakland only averaged 10,275 per game last year. They wouldnt even have filled the minor league park, so there wont be a loss of revenue to the other clubs who have to play there.
So the As will be not just the first MLB team to play in 4 cities, but in 5.
Diamond_Dog
(34,640 posts)ificandream
(10,522 posts)Auggie
(31,801 posts)Management can only work with they're given, i.e.: budget.
Veteran players are traded away for draft picks before they can negotiate higher salaries. Other small market teams do this, but the A's are merciless.
It's clear Fisher bought the A's to profit. The Las Vegas move will increase their profit by hundreds of millions. And then watch Fisher sell.
oasis
(51,705 posts)having to travel to a "stadium" with rinky dink accommodations.