Please Oakland or Las Vegas elected officials free John Fisher and give him money.
Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics ownership has waived the white flag and the team will not be very competitive this year because of its stadium’s revenue problem. The Oakland Coliseum, which goes by some corporate name, just does not produce enough revenue to keep good players around. That is, of course, the fault of Oakland politicians who are not ready to hand over hundreds of millions of dollars to help finance a stadium-village complex on the Oakland waterfront. But according to Athletics’ president Dave Kaval, if politicians send money for a new facility whether it is in Oakland or Las Vegas, the team will spend money to keep its best players.
“They are two sides of the same coin, constantly recycling the team and trading players because we don’t have the revenues associated with a new stadium,” Kaval said. “Period. That’s our problem. We certainly have the reputation to win with less more than most. But with more revenues, we want to turn a playoff team into a World Series team. That’s why we’re fighting so hard for a new stadium, whether it’s in Las Vegas or Oakland.” All sports leagues claim that they provide bona fide competition. Clearly Major League Baseball’s claim of producing bona fide competition can be questioned here. The Athletics’ ownership is pushing to get a deal done with local officials to build a stadium-village on the San Francisco Bay-Oakland waterfront or in Las Vegas. The Athletics owner John Fisher continues to try and raise the stakes in his bid to get a new stadium built somewhere. The Las Vegas option is still alive even though Oakland officials are moving closer to getting a framework for a deal done. That is how the stadium game works. Meanwhile Fisher may have a substandard product that he is trying to sell to the public.
Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com
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