Moving

MLB to A’s: Contemplate shifting out of Oakland

Major League Baseball has directed Oakland Athletics to consider moving out of town. This is the final step in the team’s decades-long search for a new ballpark.

Less than three weeks after the City of Oakland refused to commit to the team’s schedule for a waterfront ballpark approval or a request for nearly $ 1 billion in public infrastructure funding, the league responded with one setback: the A’s will keep working on the waterfront ballpark, but they will look elsewhere as well.

The league appeared to rule out the possibility of building a new ballpark at the current location of the Oakland Coliseum. The team’s current owner, John Fisher, prefers the waterfront location.

However, some baseball officials and community groups believe the A’s should chase the Colosseum where public transportation is already available. This also applies to space, as the Raiders left for Las Vegas and the Warriors for San Francisco.

“The Oakland Coliseum location is not a viable option for baseball’s vision of the future,” the MLB statement said. “We’ve instructed athletics to explore other markets while they continue to operate a waterfront ballpark in Oakland.”

Las Vegas, Portland, Charlotte, Nashville, San Antonio, Vancouver, and Montreal would be potential relocation locations. However, none of these markets would be larger than the Bay Area. In 2016, Commissioner Rob Manfred said the league would regret it if the A’s moved out of town.

“I am committed to Oakland as a major league location,” said Manfred at the time. “If we left Oakland, 10 years from now we would probably rather look back than say we made a mistake.”

In fact, the largest market in the United States with no MLB team is the Inland Empire. However, the Dodgers and Angels could veto a team moving there – just like the San Francisco Giants stopped the A’s from chasing a San Jose ballpark.

On April 23, the A’s put their financial cards on the table and suggested private funding for a $ 12 billion waterfront neighborhood centered by a $ 1 billion ballpark. The A’s asked for $ 855 million in public infrastructure funding and asked the city council to approve the project before its summer break.

In response, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf named the financial request “high end for projects of this nature across the country” and only committed to looking at one proposal “this year.”

On Tuesday, the mayor’s office released a statement saying the city shares “MLB’s sense of urgency and its continued preference for Oakland” and will work towards “a new, financially viable, fiscally responsible, waterfront prime neighborhood that our city and region improved “. and keeps the A’s in Oakland where they belong. ”

Alluding to the MLB statement, the mayor’s office said, “The only viable way to get the A’s roots in Oakland is through a waterfront ballpark.”

Manfred has long said the league will not consider expanding or relocating until the A’s and Tampa Bay Rays baseball situations are resolved. Neither was; The Rays property has refused to privately fund a ballpark and has pursued a quixotic split-season plan between Tampa Bay and Montreal.

The league’s statement on Tuesday will almost certainly trigger visits by A senior executives to potential relocation sites, in part intended to increase pressure on Oakland. The Miami Marlins toured San Antonio and Portland to build a new baseball stadium in Miami. Tropicana Field, the current home of the Rays, was also used by the Giants and Chicago White Sox.

No MLB team has moved since 2005, when the Montreal Expos moved to Washington and became Nationals. The only other team to have moved in the last half century: The Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers in 1972.

The A’s, Dodgers, and San Francisco Giants all moved to California – the A’s from Kansas City in 1968, the Dodgers and Giants from New York in 1958. No MLB team moved from California.

The full MLB statement:

“MLB is concerned about the progress made in the new A-Ballpark efforts with local officials and other stakeholders in Oakland. The A’s have worked very hard over the past four years building a new ballpark in downtown Oakland. You have invested significant resources and faced several roadblocks at the same time. We know they continue to be deeply committed to success in Oakland. With two other sports franchises recently leaving the community, their commitment to Oakland is more important than ever.

“The Oakland Coliseum location is not a viable option for baseball’s vision of the future. We’ve directed athletics to explore other markets while they continue to operate a waterfront ballpark in Oakland. Athletics needs a new baseball field to stay competitive. So it is now in our best interests to consider other markets as well. “

The full statement from the Oakland Mayor’s Office:

“We share the urgency of MLB and their continued preference for Oakland. Today’s statement makes it clear that the only viable way to get the A’s roots in Oakland is to have a waterfront ballpark. We have made great strides in getting the EIR certified and approved by the Governor. Now, with the recent start of the financial discussions with the A’s, we are calling on our entire community – including regional and local partners – to band together and support a new, financially viable, world-class waterfront neighborhood that will serve our city and region improves and keeps the A’s in Oakland where they belong. “

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