A’s Stadium Update: Not Much Has Changed

Nearly three years after Bud Selig appointed a special committee to oversee all of Oakland’s stadium options, the A’s still remain in limbo. The A’s remain prisoners in the confining cavern that is O.co Coliseum, and MLB isn’t doing much to help free the A’s.

General manager Billy Beane and the rest of the A’s front office are being held as captives of this on-going stadium issue, and as a result, cannot layout any long-term plans. Not being able to plan accordingly could do some serious damage to the A’s. For a team that missed the playoffs for a fifth-consecutive season this year, the A’s would like to turn things around sooner rather than later.

It is quite sad that, as a major league team, the A’s play in one of the most outdated stadiums in baseball. Heck, the A’s minor league affiliates, like the Sacramento River Cats, play on better fields than the A’s. Owner Lew Wolff has repeatedly state before in the past that the team is likely, if granted permission, to move out of Oakland.

His main target destination, after a deal in Fremont fell through, is San Jose. Unfortunately, the San Francisco Giants are holding onto San Jose with all their might, saying that the A’s lack the territorial rights to San Jose. Selig and his appointed committee are wrestling with the notion of allowing Oakland permission to build a stadium in the Giants’ “territory.”

Some fans, however, wish to keep the team in Oakland. Those fans feel the team belongs in Oakland and that the ownership, Mr. Wolff in particular, should do everything in their power to build a new stadium in Oakland. Other fans, meanwhile, are just looking for some kind of resolution to this whole stadium debacle.

Personally, I find this whole stadium mess one huge distraction. It’s crucial for the A’s to find some resolution for their stadium troubles. Selig and MLB need to address this pressing issue sooner rather than later if they truly wish to help the A’s escape the prison that is O.co Coliseum.