The night Oakland Athletics fans staged a «reverse boycott» at the Oakland Coliseum to express their desire for new ownership, the organization received word that the Nevada Senate passed a $380 million bill to help to finance a new stadium for the team in Las Vegas.
A’s fans don’t want the team to leave the Bay Area. They want the current owner, John Fisher, who employs the lowest payroll in the MLB at just under $60 million, to give the property to someone who wants to pump money into Oakland.
However, Fisher and the organization seem intent on relocating the team, and their Las Vegas plan now has its first step in motion.
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A general view of the game between the Oakland Athletics and the Cincinnati Reds at RingCentral Coliseum on April 30, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
The bill, according to ESPN, received two key amendments following questions from Nevada lawmakers questioning the use of tax dollars for Fisher’s relocation dream, ultimately leading to a 13-8 vote to favor of the construction of the stadium.
Now, a 42-person assembly must vote to approve it, and Gov. Joe Lombardo can sign the bill into law. ESPN added that Lombardo has been a supporter of adding a Las Vegas MLB team to accompany the NFL’s Raiders and NHL’s Golden Knights, who are on the brink of the city’s first league title.
Yet fans continue to implore the A’s, who have been in the Bay Area since 1968 after starting in Philadelphia in 1901 before moving to Kansas City in 1955, not to leave Oakland.
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The A’s are last in the MLB in attendance and not even close with an average of 8,555 per game. But that wasn’t the case when fans rallied for a reverse boycott Tuesday for a game against the Tampa Bay Rays with one message: Sell the team.
That was the exact chant that broke out outside the Coliseum before tonight’s first pitch. They also chanted «Stay in Oakland!»
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, which was the last year with Bob Melvin after spending a decade as the team’s coach.
Mark Kotsay took his place, and it’s been even worse as the team’s payroll evened wins-loss at the end of the season. The A’s went 60-102 last season, the worst mark in the American League, and with bonuses and benefits included, their payroll was $70 million.
Now the A’s are by far the worst team in the league with an 18-50 record going into Tuesday night.
A general view of the game between the Oakland Athletics and the Cincinnati Reds at RingCentral Coliseum on April 30, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
Fisher, the son of Gap Inc. founders Donald and Doris Fisher, has a net worth of $2.2 billion.
Fans are doing everything they can to keep their team in place, but MLB owners plan to authorize the A’s relocation plan to Las Vegas as long as it goes through the Nevada Assembly, according to ESPN.
Decades of uncertainty surrounded the A’s and their fans, as relocation talks, including moves to San Jose and Fremont, were discussed, but that was about it.
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However, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao told ABC7 that a waterfront project at the Howard Terminal site has momentum, saying «we’re very close to a deal.» The caveat: Fisher would have to sell the team.
Instead, Fisher’s intentions are for a 30,000-seat stadium, which would be the smallest in the MLB, to be located on the site of the Tropicana Hotel.
Oakland Athletics fans receive free T-shirts labeled ‘SELL’ prior to a reverse boycott game against the Tampa Bay Rays at RingCentral Coliseum on June 13, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Brandon Vallance/Getty Images)
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Nonetheless, A’s fans are giving their last chance in Oakland on Tuesday night, hoping their turnout will show the fan base is still with the team … provided ownership changes.