It is my understanding that Major League Baseball team owners are moving closer to voting on the relocation of the Oakland Athletics from Oakland to Las Vegas.
From 1980 to 1994, I was vice president of business operations under the Haas family ownership, when the A’s were winning games, filling seats and exemplifying the very best of teamwork, leadership and trust throughout the Northern California market.
Relocating the franchise to Las Vegas would be a major mistake for MLB and all of its franchises, including the A’s, for years to come.
Oakland, the Bay Area and Northern California have seen 80 million A’s fans pass through the turnstiles of the Oakland Coliseum to watch the A’s win four World Series, six American League pennants and 17 American League West titles.
It seems as if MLB is about to approve the team’s desired move from the sixth-largest metro area in the country to the 40th.
The Athletics franchise became an essential part of the hearts, minds, souls and philanthropic programs of the community.
You can add in Billy Ball, Krazy George, Charlie-O the Mule, Stomper the Elephant, colorful uniforms, a mechanical rabbit, white shoes, Moneyball, dot racing, the drummers, a press box possum and multiple Hall of Famers.
Why is MLB approving and promoting a move from one of the most ethnically diverse communities in the country to one of the least when baseball’s percentage of African American players is shrinking every year? Why would MLB abandon a community that has produced Frank Robinson, Curt Flood, Vada Pinson, Joe Morgan, Willie Stargell, Rickey Henderson, Dave Stewart, Jimmy Rollins, Marcus Semien and many others? They have been major forces in promoting diversity in every way for baseball and daily life in Oakland, Northern California and beyond.
Why is baseball letting a team relocate to Las Vegas when the commissioner has advocated two expansion
franchises with a price tag of $2.2 billion? Shouldn’t Las Vegas be a prime candidate for expansion instead of relocation?
Why did MLB originally state the A’s would have to pay $500 million to relocate to Las Vegas and then reverse the decision to no fee?
Why did A’s owner John Fisher get the Nevada Legislature to give him $385 million of taxpayer support when he has categorically stated that 100% of his new ballpark project and beyond would be 100% privately financed? Where is the remaining billion dollars-plus
coming from to build a domed ballpark in Las Vegas and
rebuild a once-proud franchise?
Three years or more playing in an outdoor Minor League ballpark with stifling temperatures. What will Tony Clark and the MLB Players Association have to say about that?
Fisher has owned the A’s for 18 years. He purchased the team for $180 million. As of today, Forbes Magazine has it valued at $1.2 billion, 28th out of the 30 MLB franchises. Many sports economists believe his play is totally focused on increasing his net asset value. If the A’s ever have heavy equipment digging out a ballpark foundation anywhere, his dysfunctional franchise team could double in value.
These are also bottom line economic reasons why the A’s should never leave:
Market size
• Northern California: 7 million
• Las Vegas: 29th, 2.2 million
• Many of the workforce in Vegas are part of a 9-5 market. They go to work at 9 p.m. and get off at 5 a.m.
Media markets
• The Bay Area is sixth. Las Vegas is 40th.
• Per capita income: The Bay Area is fourth. Las Vegas is 84th.
Oakland Coliseum
The site can be completely leveled and rebuilt as a sports, housing, entertainment and retail magnet, similar to what the Giants have created at Mission Bay.
Attendance
• Two baseball teams won’t work in the Bay Area. Yes they can. In 1990 and 1991, the Giants and A’s outdrew the Yankees and Mets. In 1988, ’89 and ’90, the Bay Area teams outdrew the Cubs and White Sox by 2.6 million fans.
• The current A’s attendance crater is completely self-inflicted through convoluted logic that they can’t draw without a new stadium. Fisher has benefited from MLB profit-sharing for years while decimating his roster and destroying the team’s fan base.
We understand that the color of the fluid that flows through the veins of sports is green. How soon do MLB’s
consultants show significant monetization from legalized betting to their bottom lines?
We ask MLB to think through this relocation decision, which will inject red ink into the transactional arteries of MLB for years to come.
Andy Dolich operates Dolich & Associates, a sports consultancy, in Los Altos. A local resident, he has more than 30 years of experience as an executive for professional baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer teams.
