Late on Wednesday night, it was announced that the Oakland Athletics were close to a deal to build a new stadium in the Las Vegas area.
The A’s have been in talks with Vegas for years about a possible move. But with Wednesday’s announcement, it now seems far more likely than not that the A’s will end up in Las Vegas.
Understandably, people in Oakland are not happy. That includes Sheng Thao, the Mayor of Oakland.
Shortly after Wednesday’s announcement, Thao issued a statement, shared in a series of tweets by Sarah Ravani of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Thao, who became Mayor in January, following Libby Schaff’s eight-year tenure, expressed her disappointment with the A’s.
"The City has gone above and beyond in our attempts to arrive at mutually beneficial terms to keep the A’s in Oakland. In the last three months, we’ve made significant strides to close the deal."
— Sarah Ravani / سارا (@SarRavani) April 20, 2023
"I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished as a City, including securing a fully entitled site and over $375 million in new infrastructure investment that will benefit Oakland and its Port for generations to come."
— Sarah Ravani / سارا (@SarRavani) April 20, 2023
Mayor Thao closed her statement by saying that the Howard Terminal negotiations, which had been Oakland’s best chance at keeping the A’s, are being halted.
“In a time of budget deficits, I refuse to compromise the safety and well-being of our residents. Given these realities, we are ceasing negotiations and moving forward on alternatives for the redevelopment of Howard Terminal.”
— Sarah Ravani (@SarRavani) April 20, 2023
Bay Area fans were not happy, with either the A’s or the City of Oakland.
Sure sounds like ballgame https://t.co/UmCSgdqSfc
— Marcus Thompson II (@ThompsonScribe) April 20, 2023
The Town deserves better https://t.co/DOsEmkG2WI
— Function Season Is Here (@donachaidh) April 20, 2023
John Fisher is a blight on the Bay Area. https://t.co/A5JcELnZzf
— Kyle, a Madson (@KyleAMadson) April 20, 2023
https://twitter.com/BayAreaData/status/1648917045151670272
#Oakland @MayorShengThao says the city is “ceasing negotiations” with the A’s, saying they were just using Oakland to get a better deal in Vegas. The cynics were right. The dream is dead. The worst team in MLB is leaving town, and leaving its heartbroken fans behind. https://t.co/lpDA7EvR55
— Doug Sovern (@SovernNation) April 20, 2023
What’s particularly notable here is that five years ago, the A’s were one of three professional sports teams in Oakland. By contrast, San Francisco only had one team. Since then, though, the NBA’s Golden State Warriors have moved across the bay to San Francisco, the NFL’s Oakland Raiders moved to Las Vegas, becoming the Las Vegas Raiders and now, the A’s seem to be following them.
[Sarah Ravani, Photo Credit: KPIX on Youtube]
