Oakland A’s Make Statement After Announcing Departure

Oakland A’s fans hung their heads low this week when an announcement was made that the team would likely be leaving the Bay Area for a new billion dollar stadium outside of Vegas by 2027. The Oakland A’s departure to Vegas includes a billion dollar 35,000-seat stadium on a 49-acre site near the Vegas strip.

The Oakland A’s Made This Statement on Thursday, April 20th About Their Departure:

“For more than 20 years, the A’s have focused on securing a new home for the Club, and have invested unprecedented time and resources for the past six years to build a ballpark in Oakland. Even with support from fans, leaders at the city, county and state level, and throughout the broader community, the process to build a new ballpark in Oakland has made little forward progress for some time. We have made a strong and sincere effort to stay here. We recognize that this is very hard to hear. We are disappointed that we have been unable to achieve our shared vision of a waterfront ballpark. As we shift our focus to Vegas, we will continue to share details about next steps.”

“It is clear to me that the A’s have no intention of staying in Oakland and have simply been using this process to try to extract a better deal out of Las Vegas. I am not interested in continuing to play that game — the fans and our residents deserve better,” Oakland Mayor Thao

According to Dave Kaval, the president of the A’s, A purchase agreement was actually made last week but the news circulated this week.

Kaval told The Chronicle, ““For a long time we were on parallel paths, and right now, at this moment, and with this transaction that we just entered into, we are really focusing our efforts on Las Vegas and on bringing the 20-year saga of the A’s stadium-venue efforts to kind of a final positive conclusion.”

For fans, they feel gutted. After all, The A’s have been in Oakland for over 50 years. They originally came to oakland in 1968. For many of us, we are one of many generations of A’s fans. I remember taking my Grandpa Atch to A Giant’s vs. A’s game before alzheimer’s took his life. It’s a memory I’ll never forget. The hilarious scowl on his face when he realized we were sitting on the “wrong side” of the field (The Giant’s side). Then, his face lighting up when we used our proximity to The Giant’s players to heckle them as much as possible.

Oakland Coliseum outfield in the 1980s

Losing a sports team does feel like losing a piece of your family history for many of us. However, we aren’t surprised that this is the next step the team is taking after negotiations with the City of Oakland have been long and laborious. The first moves to try and get a new stadium or upgrades were nearly 20 years ago.

Oakland’s new mayor Thao did speak to the decision saying that the City of Oakland will be ceasing their negotiations with The A’s. “I am deeply disappointed that the A’s have chosen not to negotiate with the City of Oakland as a true partner, in a way that respects the long relationship between the fans, the City and the team,” Thao said. “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. Yet, it is clear to me that the A’s have no intention of staying in Oakland and have simply been using this process to try to extract a better deal out of Las Vegas. I am not interested in continuing to play that game — the fans and our residents deserve better.”

Reporter Sarah Ravani for The Chronicle, tweeted about the Oakland A’s departure

There might be more coming in this developing story. Reporter Sarah Ravani for The Chronicle, tweeted about the issue on Thursday. Saying that the city was still in active negotiations with The A’s until the new deal was announced. However, the amount of funds that Oakland was trying to raise wasn’t locked in. Additionally, The City of Oakland wouldn’t have been able to build a stadium until sometime around 2030. Whereas the Las Vegas stadium is slated to be ready by 2027.

Until then, personally, I’ll be rooting for my home team at The Coliseum until they leave The Bay. The A’s remind me of my Grandpa. They always will, no matter where they land.