Oakland A’s need to end the dance with Las Vegas
By David Hill
There had seemed to be positive news in the Oakland A’s quest for a new ballpark at Howard Terminal. The team and the City of Oakland were reportedly close in regards to the terms of a non-binding agreement for a new stadium, with negotiations ongoing. Meanwhile, the team had postponed their third trek to Las Vegas, and a date to return was still up in the air.
The thought was that the A’s were focusing on coming to an agreement with Oakland, bypassing the option to relocate. Instead, they are still looking to pursue that line, and reschedule their trip to the desert.
A's president Dave Kaval asked if team officials have another visit planned to Las Vegas: "We are focused on getting the next trip scheduled. We’re also focused obviously on continuing the conversations here in Oakland. And that’s happening on parallel paths."
— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) August 20, 2021
Oakland A’s still considering relocation to Las Vegas
While there is still optimism about a new stadium, team president Dave Kaval has once again done his part to squash those dreams. He says that the team is still far apart on economic terms, but is looking to work with the city to come to an agreement.
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According to the city, the two sides are close, although Kaval does not appear to be sharing that same degree of optimism. As such, it makes sense for the A’s to look to reschedule their trek to Las Vegas, negotiating the best possible deal they can while attempting to play the two cities off of one another.
But there also comes a time when the negotiations have to focus on one direction. The A’s went out of their way to proclaim their loyalty to the city and fans with their #RootedInOakland campaign when the Raiders moved to Las Vegas. At some point, the team needs to prove that loyalty and show that their slogan was more than just an empty phrase.
That time is now. The two sides are close to an agreement, with just those financial considerations left to be negotiated. Considering that ownership is worth over $1.2 billion, it is time that John Fisher puts his money where his mouth is. It is time to make the Howard Terminal ballpark a reality.
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The Oakland A’s need to show a push to make their ballpark at Howard Terminal a reality. That means ending the dance with Las Vegas.