A’s have signed a binding agreement to purchase land for a future ballpark in Las Vegas.

sean1562

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Is New Orleans no longer viewed as a viable MLB market? It seems I never hear it mentioned as a candidate for expansion or relocation anymore.

In the 1970s, New Orleans courted the Indians pretty hard, but that was largely because they were constructing/recently opened the Superdome. They might have been successful if they had simply pushed for a complete relocation, but they were floating a concept of a shared team like the more recent Tampa Bay/Montreal proposal, which was never going to receive enough support from the other owners (I believe the White Sox had already played some games in Milwaukee when it was between franchises, and all it did was hurt attendance in Chicago).

Obviously the Superdome would no longer be a point of attraction, but I'm also not aware of any city already having anything close to an MLB facility just waiting to be used. I guess Charlotte and Nashville might have better football stadiums to use while a baseball stadium was being built.
NOLA is the 47th most populous metro region in the US, similar in size to Salt Lake City and Hartford, CT, and might be underwater in 30 years. I don't think that city should be investing cash into a new baseball stadium.
 

teddywingman

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a basement on the hill
Throughout the Expos 36 year history, they were in the bottom half of NL attendance for all but 5 years. They finished dead last 8 times and several years they were second to last. The South is a hotbed for baseball and in the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky , Arkansas, and West Virginia (more than 1/5 of the states in the union) there is exactly 1 MLB team. Just my opinion, but I believe Charlotte and Nashville have a better chance of being more sustainable than Montreal. I get where you are coming from though.
As I've said repeatedly, if Montreal is an AL East team, you can forget about previous attendance.
 

teddywingman

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That's a whole lot of games drawing 10,000 more fans than TB.

Montreal made no sense in the NL. An AL East team is a completely different animal.

And in those other games where Montreal isn't playing the Sox, Yanks, or Jays; I'm gonna bet they draw more than the Rays at that shitstain park.
 

teddywingman

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You might be right, but I have a firm belief that another AL East team that's closer to millions of serious fans, closer than NY or Boston, and easily more affordable to many families; that's the team baseball needs.

Plus if the stadium and management is legit, there's a large pool of sports fans in Quebec that could be courted.

I feel like Charlotte and Nashville are in states that care more about college sports, and that's not going to change.
 

Ale Xander

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They should tear down the place and build some affordable housing and a grocery store and move the A’s
 

Comfortably Lomb

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They're gone, right? And all that's left is the crying?

At this point it feels like the A's unofficially entirely gave up on dealing with the city of Oakland, the city isn't interested in whatever the A's want, and now the fans are (justifiably) checking out.
 

Awesome Fossum

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What's the timeline? Their lease runs through the 2024 season. If they're going to have a new stadium ready for them somewhere for April 2025 (not necessarily required, of course), construction needs to start by like April 2023, right?
 

Hoya81

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If the move is eventually to Vegas, they could work out a deal with the Hughes corporation to use the Aviators' stadium while a new one is under construction. But that only seats 10,000 and there isn't much room there to put up temporary seating.

UNLV's baseball stadium only seats 3,000. But Sam Boyd Stadium is currently unoccupied now that the football team made a deal with the Raiders to use Allegiant Stadium and that seats about 35,000 in a football configuration.
51363
 

cannonball 1729

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Seems that all the bad press that the A’s have been getting (and deserved bad press at that) has gotten to the Current president of the A’s. Who seems to be tweeting thru it.
View: https://twitter.com/DaveKaval/status/1519135667447422976
The kicker, of course, is that in addition to selling off stars and openly flirting with Las Vegas....last offseason, the A's hiked ticket prices by about 75% around the park, doubled the price of parking, and discontinued the A's Access programs that gave perks to season ticket holders. In other words, they a.) removed any benefits to being a season ticket holder, b.) priced out the rest of the fans, and c.) gave the fans nothing to watch on the field. So Kaval's bleating about attendance is disingenuous at best and trolling at worst.
 

YTF

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If the move is eventually to Vegas, they could work out a deal with the Hughes corporation to use the Aviators' stadium while a new one is under construction. But that only seats 10,000 and there isn't much room there to put up temporary seating.

UNLV's baseball stadium only seats 3,000. But Sam Boyd Stadium is currently unoccupied now that the football team made a deal with the Raiders to use Allegiant Stadium and that seats about 35,000 in a football configuration.
View attachment 51363
Not sure how you would configure a baseball field there. You can fit a football field inside of a baseball field, but it doesn't usually work the other way around.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Well, I have no idea how much this moves things along, but the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission has rejected the Seaport Authority's concerns and ruled that the A's stadium project can move forward in the Howard Terminal area.

https://ballparkdigest.com/2022/05/03/new-oakland-as-waterfront-ballpark-receives-ok-from-waterfront-commission-staff/
I think that the A's owners absolutely suck; probably the worst in the league. BUT Oakland definitely deserves (if this is a thing) to keep their team. They do have a fan base and they can pack the park, and Oakland is such a funky little town I want them to keep the Athletics. If they do move, I hope it's not to Vegas. Despite what Bill Simmons tells you, Las Vegas sucks. It's hot. It's soulless. Nobody will give a shit about that team there, especially considering that they're starting out behind the Raiders and the Knights and maybe a half-step in front of the inevitable NBA expansion team.

Oakland first. Portland second. Anywhere else third. Vegas dead last.
 

LogansDad

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I think that the A's owners absolutely suck; probably the worst in the league. BUT Oakland definitely deserves (if this is a thing) to keep their team. They do have a fan base and they can pack the park, and Oakland is such a funky little town I want them to keep the Athletics. If they do move, I hope it's not to Vegas. Despite what Bill Simmons tells you, Las Vegas sucks. It's hot. It's soulless. Nobody will give a shit about that team there, especially considering that they're starting out behind the Raiders and the Knights and maybe a half-step in front of the inevitable NBA expansion team.

Oakland first. Portland second. Anywhere else third. Vegas dead last.
I agree with you on all counts, but especially Vegas. It might be because I lived there for 4 years, but it's the one place I've ever been that you couldn't pay me enough to go back to.
 

pokey_reese

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Only somewhat related, but I was shocked looking at Frankie Montas's game log. He has made 11 starts this year, and the As have scored 0 or 1 run in eight of them. They have scored more than three runs in a game he started one time. Hard to get excited to come out and watch your ace lose every game 2-1.
 

soxhop411

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https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/sources-lombardo-lawmakers-on-board-with-planned-1-billion-las-vegas-baseball-stadium
A’s have a tentative deal to build a new stadium in Vegas near the Raiders facility. NV governor on board, as is the legislature.
View: https://twitter.com/caseyprattabc7/status/1648922115301847041?s=46

Statement from the A’s
Statement from Oakland A's:

The A’s have signed a binding agreement to purchase land for a future ballpark in Las Vegas. We realize this is a difficult day for our Oakland fans and community.

For more than 20 years, the A’s have focused on securing a new home for the Club, and have invested unprecedented time and resources for the past six years to build a ballpark in Oakland. Even with support from fans, leaders at the city, county, and state level, and throughout the broader community, the process to build a new ballpark in Oakland has made little forward progress for some time. We have made a strong and sincere effort to stay here.

We recognize that this is very hard to hear. We are disappointed that we have been unable to achieve our shared vision of a waterfront ballpark. As we shift our focus to Vegas, we will continue to share details about next steps.
“Sincere”

Even someone born yesterday would not believe that bullshit.

Your efforts were the opposite of sincere. Fisher should be ashamed of himself
 
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Flynn4ever

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This is heartbreaking. I first went to the Oakland Coliseum in 1979 and it was gorgeous pre-Mount Davis, much better than Candlestick back then. I have been post-Mount Davis as well and it's a dump, but the fans were still great (this was 2003.) Losing the Warriors, Raiders, and now the A's is a shame for a former great sports city. By the way, will a fourth city be a record for relocating the same baseball team? I can't think of any that moved more than once.
 

soxhop411

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View: https://twitter.com/sovernnation/status/1648944987319730178?s=46

The #Oakland Little League, @nollsoll, is supported by the @Athletics. The #A’s just hosted us Friday. Now they’re turning their back on all those kids.

Have to hand it to my son. At age 4, when he saw the Howard Terminal plan, he scoffed “Yeah, THAT’ll never happen.” Smart kid
the above is from a political reporter from KCBS (radio) up in Nor Cal. We seem to sometimes forget that a lot of the Mlb teams help fund/sponsor little league teams in the area. And with the A’s leaving these little leagues will need to find other ways of getting funding
 

BoSox Rule

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This is a pretty sad day for baseball. Shitty owner kills storied franchise for a new stadium in Vegas. One of the great teams in the 70’s and ushered in a new era of baseball in the early 2000s.
 

Gdiguy

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Here’s an article from the local Vegas paper. Has a bit more detail about the site, and what a stadium might look like.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/athletics/oakland-as-enter-binding-agreement-to-buy-las-vegas-ballpark-site-2764701/

My sympathy goes out to A’s fans —losing your team sucks.
The A’s have been working with Las Vegas economist Jeremy Aguero of Applied Analysis, who determined that the new ballpark would draw around 400,000 incremental visitors annually to Las Vegas.
.. really? I guess maybe if you count people from suburbs / towns an hour away, but 400k visitors due to a baseball team seems... aggressive
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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This really sucks for A’s fans and the city of Oakland. Las Vegas is not the sports oasis in the desert that MLB thinks it is. The only team that seems to be a success there is the Knights and I think that’s because they were a. first and b. not stolen from another city.

Glad to see a shithead owner purposely fuck up and get rewarded for it. Great system we have here. Just the best.
 

splendid splinter

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.. really? I guess maybe if you count people from suburbs / towns an hour away, but 400k visitors due to a baseball team seems... aggressive
I don’t know, that’s a little less than 5000 out-of-town fans for each home game. That doesn’t sound outlandish. Vegas doesn’t care if they’re coming from an hour away or flying in from LA or NYC.
 

voidfunkt

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I have a hard time feeling bad for the city of Oakland here. They've had plenty of time and warning that The As wanted a new stadium and have done nothing to accommodate that except throw up roadblocks.
 

sodenj5

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I wonder if having the Raiders there is actually beneficial to the A’s. Most transplanted teams have nothing tying them to the area, but the A’s and Raiders will at least have each other, and that may make it more appealing for fans in the area to either travel to see games or buy a streaming service to watch the games.

Don’t feel bad for Oakland at all. They’re going to lose the Raiders and the A’s in about a 6 year span. Feel bad for fans that grew up watching the A’s when they were good.
 

AlNipper49

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Selfishly, the only games that I'll avoid every year are the Oakland games. Throw the time difference in there as a tiebreaker, but it's the worst stadium in the world to watch a game at, at least on tv. What sounds you can make out are hollow, it has no soul, and that foul territory is a travesty.

Unlike others, I love Vegas when it's used for its intended purpose. If you stay more than 48 hours you will not ever want to go back, but it's easy to get into, it is cheap to get there, and easy to leave. I'd 100% consider going to a Sox series out there.
 

Van Everyman

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Selfishly, the only games that I'll avoid every year are the Oakland games. Throw the time difference in there as a tiebreaker, but it's the worst stadium in the world to watch a game at, at least on tv. What sounds you can make out are hollow, it has no soul, and that foul territory is a travesty.
FWIW, my father in law was the biggest and most knowledgeable baseball fan I’ve ever known. And when he and my brother in law took a west coast trip to all the ballparks there a few years before he passed away, he swore up and down that the Colosseum was the best of all.
 

Ale Xander

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What a horrible last 5 or so years for the sports fans Oakland. But this was inevitable. The city simply doesn’t want to pay for stadia.
that’s four titles out the door here. A legacy in the 70’s.

Obviously they will have a roof, but the novelty of baseball games in the desert in July and August will wear off in a few years.
 

8slim

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I feel for A's fans. The team didn't want to be there and the city didn't want to keep them. And the pain dragged on forever.
This is where I’m at. Obstinate city officials and duplicitous ownership used the fans as pawns for decades.

I don’t think they’ll do well in Vegas. They won’t hit those projected visitor attendance numbers. The novelty of traveling to Vegas for a baseball series will fade quickly, and most teams will be there every year. It’s so different than football where most visiting teams are going there infrequently, so a trip is more of an event for fans.

Plus, Vegas immediately becomes one of the smallest markets in MLB. Putting 25-30K in a stadium 81 times a season, from scratch, isn’t gonna happen. I bet we see a lot of empty seats there starting in year 2.
 

BigSoxFan

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This is where I’m at. Obstinate city officials and duplicitous ownership used the fans as pawns for decades.

I don’t think they’ll do well in Vegas. They won’t hit those projected visitor attendance numbers. The novelty of traveling to Vegas for a baseball series will fade quickly, and most teams will be there every year. It’s so different than football where most visiting teams are going there infrequently, so a trip is more of an event for fans.

Plus, Vegas immediately becomes one of the smallest markets in MLB. Putting 25-30K in a stadium 81 times a season, from scratch, isn’t gonna happen. I bet we see a lot of empty seats there starting in year 2.
Don’t the Golden Knights do well? Looks like their attendance is quite good. Why couldn’t a baseball team draw well, especially with all the constant convention and hotel promo assistance? The A’s are going to have several high picks over the coming years. Their team is just awful so if they hit on some, you could have some nice talent coming up along with hopefully more payroll flexibility to spend in FA.

I always feel bad for fans who get screwed. Not their fault the city and ownership screwed the pooch but I ultimately think this move is a positive for the franchise. They are an absolute joke right now. Absolutely zero MLB talent on that team.
 

Ale Xander

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Don’t the Golden Knights do well? Looks like their attendance is quite good. Why couldn’t a baseball team draw well, especially with all the constant convention and hotel promo assistance? The A’s are going to have several high picks over the coming years. Their team is just awful so if they hit on some, you could have some nice talent coming up along with hopefully more payroll flexibility to spend in FA.

I always feel bad for fans who get screwed. Not their fault the city and ownership screwed the pooch but I ultimately think this move is a positive for the franchise. They are an absolute joke right now. Absolutely zero MLB talent on that team.
NHL- Season in the winter, 1/2 the number of games, play opposing teams only twice or once, salary cap.

plus NHL’s expansion draft got them (and Kraken) good real fast.

there’s always more hype for expansion than relocation I think.
 

LogansDad

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Any word on timing? Building a stadium takes at least 3-5 years right? Will they start playing there sooner?
I don't know what the right answer is, but when I lived there a decade+ ago there was already a stadium that could hold more than the team currently draws. No idea if it is still there, but it might be an option until tge new one is built?

I can't imagine this news will get more fans to come out to games in Oakland.
 

tims4wins

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NHL- Season in the winter, 1/2 the number of games, play opposing teams only twice or once, salary cap.

plus NHL’s expansion draft got them (and Kraken) good real fast.

there’s always more hype for expansion than relocation I think.
One more factor, 1/2 the seating capacity. Even with a small baseball stadium of say 35K, that is 2.8M seats per season. So with half as many games, and half the seating capacity in hockey, you only need to fill like 700K seats per season.