With the Oakland Athletics on track to move to Las Vegas while their fans beg the team to stay, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has addressed the situation.
Billionaire owner John Fisher won a vote in the Nevada Senate to pass a $380 million bill for a new stadium on the site of the Tropicana Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.
Fans, on the other hand, staged a «reverse boycott» Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum, filling seats that have been empty all season with one message: Sell the team.
Manfred said he «feels sorry» for the A’s fans in Oakland. However, he doesn’t seem overly apologetic about the imminence of the relocation.
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Oakland Athletics fans pack RingCentral Coliseum during a reverse boycott game against the Tampa Bay Rays on June 13, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Brandon Vallance/Getty Images)
«I’m sorry for the fans in Oakland. I don’t like this result. I understand why they feel the way they do,» Manfred explained, via The Athletic. «I think the real question is, what was Oakland ready for? There’s no offer from Oakland. Is that okay? They never got to a point where they had a plan to build a stadium anywhere. And it’s not just John Fisher… The community has to be supportive. At some point, you realize it’s just not going to happen.»
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Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao recently told ABC7 that a waterfront project at the Howard Terminal site has momentum, saying, «We’re very close to a deal.» But the caveat is that Fisher would have to sell the team.
So, after hearing Manfred’s comments, the Mayor’s Office responded.
«This is totally false,» he said in a statement, via ABC7. A very concrete proposal was being discussed, and Oakland had done everything possible to remove obstacles, including securing funding for infrastructure, providing an environmental review, and working with other agencies to finalize approvals. The reality is that the owners of the Athletics had insisted on a 55-acre multi-million dollar project that included a ballpark, residential, commercial and retail space. In Las Vegas, for whatever reason, they seem content with a 9-acre leased ballpark on leased land. If they had proposed a similar project in Oakland, we’re sure a new stadium would be under construction by now. Oakland showed their commitment to the A’s and that’s why the A’s belong to Oakland.»
Fans have been doing everything they can to keep the team in Oakland, but MLB owners plan to authorize the A’s relocation plan to Las Vegas as long as it passes the Nevada Assembly, according to ESPN.
That 42-person caucus will need a majority vote to send the bill to Gov. Joe Lombardo, who has been a supporter of bringing another professional sports franchise to Sin City, to become law.
Oakland Athletics fans display signs during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Athletics’ Ballpark on June 13, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Brandon Vallance/Getty Images)
Fans packed the Oakland Coliseum Tuesday, chanting, «Sell the team!» Fans wore T-shirts that read «Sell» across the front and signs hung above the railings urging the team to sell.
While the fans came in droves this time around, Oakland has had the lowest attendance in the MLB per game this season, and it’s not even close. They had 8,555 fans per game before the reverse boycott.
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Since losing in the ALDS during the shortened 2020 season, the A’s have been on a rollercoaster ride that doesn’t seem to end anytime soon. They went 86-76 in 2021, the last year under Bob Melvin after spending a decade as the team’s coach.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred speaks to the media before a game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the San Francisco Giants at American Family Field on May 25, 2023 in Milwaukee. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
The A’s, who have a payroll of $60 million, the lowest in MLB, own the worst record in baseball at 19-51 despite a recent winning streak.
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Fisher, the son of Gap Inc. founders Donald and Doris Fisher, has a net worth of $2.2 billion.