On Tuesday, delegates from the Athletics’ ownership met with representatives from Oakland and Alameda County. Their agenda: Delve into the city’s latest proposal aimed at retaining the team, slated for relocation to Las Vegas, within the confines of the Coliseum until at least 2027.
Despite the earnest discussions held within the team’s headquarters, a conclusive agreement remained elusive. Anticipating this outcome, the Athletics are now set to engage in talks with officials from Sacramento on Wednesday. Sacramento’s pitch involves hosting the team for a minimum of three seasons starting from the upcoming year.
KGO-TV in San Francisco was the first to report the news of the meeting with Sacramento.
“Oakland made a fair and reasonable offer to the A’s,” according to a statement from the office of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao. “We await their response and look forward to continuing discussions as necessary.”
The approach of playing two Northern California cities against each other appears reminiscent of the A’s controversial “Parallel Paths” strategy. This involved negotiating concurrently with both Oakland and Las Vegas, ultimately revealing their decision to relocate to Las Vegas in April of last year. Now, in a similar fashion, the A’s are engaged in simultaneous negotiations with Oakland and Sacramento, with Salt Lake City also in the mix to a lesser extent — all vying to become their temporary home.
Vivek Ranadive, the owner of the Sacramento Kings and a close confidant of A’s owner John Fisher, envisions a Major League Baseball franchise as the next milestone in Sacramento’s journey toward becoming a prominent big league city. Ranadive also holds ownership of the Triple-A Sacramento RiverCats — affiliated with the San Francisco Giants — whose home base is in West Sacramento. Should the A’s relocate temporarily to Sacramento, it could potentially pave the way for the city to become their permanent home, especially if the move to Las Vegas does not materialize.
On Wednesday, Oakland presented an initial proposal for a five-year lease, featuring a team opt-out clause after three seasons. Notably, the current lease is set to conclude at the end of this season. While the A’s anticipate relocating to a new ballpark in Las Vegas by the commencement of the 2028 season, this projection hinges on a seamless timeline for the construction of the ballpark in the parking lot of the current Tropicana Casino and Resort site. It’s worth noting that plans for the Tropicana site’s redevelopment were already in motion prior to the announcement of the A’s relocation deal.
In a statement released to KGO-TV, the A’s said, “We appreciate Oakland’s engagement and also we are far apart on the terms needed to agree on an extension.”
