OT: Oakland A's moving to Vegas

[JimmyPlopper]

Wonder if they will rebrand at all or retain the color scheme. I always liked the green and yellow

[payton2kemp]

Who wants to play baseball in that desert heat lol have fun. They just need an NBA team now I guess.

That's true, the A's and the Raiders would have picked another city instead

You guys ever heard of the Diamondbacks?

Yea and its not pleasant at times in Arizona as well at times.

Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks are taking steps this week to protect fans from a record-setting heat wave during their upcoming home stand this weekend in Phoenix.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/amid-phoenix-heat-wave-mlbs-diamondbacks-take-steps-to-protect-fans

[DonaldSanders]

Why is it a blackeye, Oakland's attendance has been **** for yrs on yr on end. I don't get why leagues try to keep sports teams in cities that don't want/support em. Arizona in hockey is the thing

A's front office/owner has been the cheapest in all professional sports and refuses to field a competitive team and trades away all of their good players and prospects once it's time to pay them. Complete BS because they would actually be supported if they cared and tried but the fans see that and say "Why would I spend money to support that?"

Also one of the oldest stadiums.

Yeah it's frustrating, I grew up watching the A's and Warriors which were located right next to each other. You could take public transportation (BART) to either game. I stopped watching baseball as much, but also what is the point of being an A's fan at a certain point? I kept them in my RealGM profile out of support for Oakland, but the A's have just been a sad tale for a long time now.

Why would fans bother showing up to support a team you know is never going anywhere? You get to watch players come up in your system and then go get paid somewhere else. Just no fun, it's no real mystery why nobody wanted to go to A's games.

Back in the 90s the A's had huge support and people did in fact go to A's games, you could find the house filled on a weeknight because -- gasp -- they fielded a competitive team that battled for a title! Sadly I've been to a Giants game more recently and I'm not even a Giants fan.

[Triple M]

The A's ownership has been terrible for years. I guess im going to take my baseball fanhood to another organization.

[JDR720]

Why is it a blackeye, Oakland's attendance has been **** for yrs on yr on end. I don't get why leagues try to keep sports teams in cities that don't want/support em. Arizona in hockey is the thing

A's front office/owner has been the cheapest in all professional sports and refuses to field a competitive team and trades away all of their good players and prospects once it's time to pay them. Complete BS because they would actually be supported if they cared and tried but the fans see that and say "Why would I spend money to support that?"

Also one of the oldest stadiums.

Yeah, two of the Braves best players (Olson/Murphy) were on the A's. They got traded because they didn't want to pay them. And this is the Braves, who let Freeman and Swanson leave because they were too expensive and extended both of Olson/Murphy as soon as they traded for them.

[Clav]

I get it, but I don't get it.

A's had poor attendance and old stadium, owner needs a change and he's unwilling to invest into Oakland more I guess?? Whatever, Moneyball.

But why Vegas? He's gonna build an indoor stadium right ? And if it isn't a dome, it will be 110 on the field during June through September. Just seems like a bad investment location. Vegas too has some water supply issues going on, it just seems unstable for the moment.

No more SF bay-series.... sad times.

Water supply issues is BS. Vegas is one of the best at recycling their own water. Why would they keep building houses here if they are so worried about the water?

To answer your question directly: there's a demand and builders can supply houses in LV easily. I only mention the water issue because it's been a major talking point for my friends in Vegas, and population can shift if things aren't great there. A baseball team is a long-term investment, so it just seems like a poor choice of location, and it takes away a team from a city which had it for half a Century. I don't have a better suggestion just my 2 cents

[rpa]

Why is it a blackeye, Oakland's attendance has been **** for yrs on yr on end. I don't get why leagues try to keep sports teams in cities that don't want/support em. Arizona in hockey is the thing

A's front office/owner has been the cheapest in all professional sports and refuses to field a competitive team and trades away all of their good players and prospects once it's time to pay them. Complete BS because they would actually be supported if they cared and tried but the fans see that and say "Why would I spend money to support that?"

Also one of the oldest stadiums.

Yup. A cheap owner that refuses to spend money. Is going to move the team. While completely **** on loyal fans & supporters.

I've been an A's fan since I was a kid, but I've honestly never blamed ownership for being cheap on things. The way I see it, they've had little to no incentive to do so--not because of a loyal fan base, but because the territorial rights* issues in the bay area would yield almost zero return on investment. Ownership could spend a boatload building a new stadium, but because they only have rights to most of the poorer parts of the bay area they'd never be able to even get back to even again--and that's before we start talking about spending more on players.

* TLDR: the A's gifted the Giants territorial rights to the peninsula and south bay (the more well off--generally--areas of the bay) in the early 90s when the Giants were thinking about moving. The idea being that those rights would make it easier for the Giants to build a stadium somewhere. Between now and then the Giants have monetized those rights and refused to give them up or share them (I believe at one point the A's wanted to build a stadium in/near SJ and the Giants actively undermined the effort).

[Pelon chingon]

Really sad for the die hard fans I remember when The Kings to seattle was supposedly a done deal and feeling crushed.

[Wallace_Wallace]

That's true, the A's and the Raiders would have picked another city instead

You guys ever heard of the Diamondbacks?

Yea and its not pleasant at times in Arizona as well at times.

Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks are taking steps this week to protect fans from a record-setting heat wave during their upcoming home stand this weekend in Phoenix.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/amid-phoenix-heat-wave-mlbs-diamondbacks-take-steps-to-protect-fans

I just don't want the roads to be so crowded all the time, and the city is totally not ready for another team right now. Most importantly, don't put every arena/stadium around Las Vegas Blvd.

[Scoundreldays]

Maybe the A's will stop playing money ball so frustrating as a fan. They are HORRIBLE this year.

[CS707]

Sucks for the Bay but they still got solid teams up there to root for.

No A's or Raider fan is rooting for those teams. Ever.

[Dr Aki]

Wonder if they will rebrand at all or retain the color scheme. I always liked the green and yellow

Maybe rebrand as the Las Vegas A(ces)? White, Red and Black uniforms

[jehosafats]

Last four years Oakland has lost the Warriors, Raiders and now the A's

These are all teams with serious Oakland pedigree. The A's moving to Vegas is like the Orioles whisking off to Virginia. Outrageous. I'd rather my team move far, far away, like the Dodgers from Brooklyn to LA.

[JDR720]

All these teams moving to Vegas is mostly about gambling money.

Vegas is a transplant city, and not that large of one at that. If these teams aren't good, people will forget about them pretty quick.

[BigGargamel]

I just watched my Cubs play a 3 game set in Oakland and it was embarrassing. They barely have any major league talent, the minor league system isn't good, they had Triple A attendance numbers and the stadium is disgusting.

I feel bad for long time A's fans. When I was a kid the bash brothers A's were the cool team to root for. Unfortunately this divorce was a long time coming.

Hope they keep the colors and branding though. So many iconic players wore the green and gold.

[whatisacenter]

The A's ownership has been terrible for years. I guess im going to take my baseball fanhood to another organization.

I feel ya. I was a Raiders' season ticket holder and returned them for a refund when they announced they were going to move. Not only did I stop rooting for them but I stopped being a NFL fan as well. But I love having my Sundays free!

[CallMeKahn]

To a point, I get it. They've been needing a new stadium for 30 years. Anytime they've almost got something done, a Major League C*ckblock would happen. Cheap ownership aside, this was going to be the end result after the last one fell through.

[CS707]

A's front office/owner has been the cheapest in all professional sports and refuses to field a competitive team and trades away all of their good players and prospects once it's time to pay them. Complete BS because they would actually be supported if they cared and tried but the fans see that and say "Why would I spend money to support that?"

Also one of the oldest stadiums.

Yup. A cheap owner that refuses to spend money. Is going to move the team. While completely **** on loyal fans & supporters.

I've been an A's fan since I was a kid, but I've honestly never blamed ownership for being cheap on things. The way I see it, they've had little to no incentive to do so--not because of a loyal fan base, but because the territorial rights* issues in the bay area would yield almost zero return on investment. Ownership could spend a boatload building a new stadium, but because they only have rights to most of the poorer parts of the bay area they'd never be able to even get back to even again--and that's before we start talking about spending more on players.

* TLDR: the A's gifted the Giants territorial rights to the peninsula and south bay (the more well off--generally--areas of the bay) in the early 90s when the Giants were thinking about moving. The idea being that those rights would make it easier for the Giants to build a stadium somewhere. Between now and then the Giants have monetized those rights and refused to give them up or share them (I believe at one point the A's wanted to build a stadium in/near SJ and the Giants actively undermined the effort).

I'm not sure how old you are but the A's were top 5ish during the bash brother years and middle of the pack during the early 2000s playoffs. The interest was there, they just opted to keep costs low and maximize their share of revenues. So badly in fact that they were cut out at one point and the players union filed a grievance against them.

[rpa]

I'm not sure how old you are but the A's were top 5ish during the bash brother years and middle of the pack during the early 2000s playoffs. The interest was there, they just opted to keep costs low and maximize their share of revenues. So badly in fact that they were cut out at one point and the players union filed a grievance against them.

The Bash Brother A's were my introduction to baseball actually.

So, a couple things:
1) Even when the A's were good (in recent memory) their attendance was trash. They made the playoffs in 2018, but were 26th in attendance. They made it again in 2019, but were 23rd in attendance. They made the playoffs (and won 2 divisions) from 2012 to 2014. Attendance? 27th, 23rd, 24th
2) Even with poor attendance a team can make money via broadcast these days. For the A's, though, that's nearly impossible because locally the Giants "own" (via, ironically, a gift from the A's) the parts of the bay area that would bring in higher broadcast rates. Regionally (e.g. central valley) it's always been pretty bifurcated as far as I can remember.

So, basically, the territorial issue that the A's have (via the Giants) makes it nearly impossible (and thus highly risky) for them to recoup any investment they make into the team (be it for salaries, a new stadium, etc). As someone who's both an A's and a Kings fan I was pissed at the Maloofs for being cheap **** back during the 2000s because there was an avenue for them to realistically break even (or better)*, but I have a hard time faulting A's ownership for cheaping out because they'd essentially be burning money with little way of making it back.

* They cheaped out because they were **** at business (think Succession-level incompetence) and had to use all available funds to keep from completely going under.

[jokeboy86]

I know people talk about Seattle losing the Sonics or SD losing the Chargers or other cities that have lost pro sports teams but simply no city in the country has suffered the way Oakland has. At least those other cities have still had another pro sports team in town. In a matter of 7 years they will have lost the Raiders, Warriors, and now the A's leaving them with none of the 4 major sports when they used to have 3. The writing was on the wall for the A's but still this is still stunning. Wow.