Commissioner Manfred this week stated the A’s have been instructed to look for possible relocation sites outside of Oakland. They’ve long been associated with the possibility of a new stadium at Howard Terminal as part of a large development to include housing, shopping, and other entertainment venues. There’s been push from the A’s for the city board to take a final vote/commit to the project. There is significant opposition to it due to the tax money required. To be fair, the A’s are putting up a lot of money too. Some have suggested they build a new stadium at the Oakland Coliseum site, but the A’s have been adamant against that idea.
The articles I read, of course, listed several possibilities for relocation, all of which have been hashed and rehashed before. This time the most popular seemed to be Las Vegas. Based on the AAA team there, any ball park built there would make Coors in Denver look like a pitcher’s venue.
The A’s lease in Oakland ends in 2024. They’re biggest issues with relocation are: (1) There is no city not already hosting a MLB team that has a MLB-ready stadium. (2) Here are the potential metropolitan areas to which they could relocate that are as large or larger than their current market: {null set}. (3) MLB’s absurd blackout rules (example—if you live in Iowa, there are six teams whose home games you cannot watch) everywhere is claimed by at least one team already, and would result in said team or teams wanting to be paid *a lot* to step aside.
Fan Interference 