Oakland and Las Vegas want the A’s, Rays need a partner..
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is singing again, but it is the same old tune. Oakland and the Tampa Bay area need new ballparks or the teams could move, well one of them, Oakland to Las Vegas. The proposed Tampa Bay Rays’ ownership “sister-city” plan splitting Rays home games between St. Petersburg or Tampa, Florida and Montréal, Québec is dead in the water. Athletics owners are playing Oakland against Las Vegas in the stadium game. Tampa Bay Rays’ ownership could eventually see a Tampa versus St. Petersburg battle for the team or may have to look out of the market for a home in 2028. Oakland has been a Major League Baseball trouble spot for more than four decades and various Athletics owners have tried to find a new stadium in Oakland, Fremont and San Jose.
Manfred said, “there’s work to do on the Oakland side. I think the A’s prudently have continued to pursue the Las Vegas alternative. We like Las Vegas as a market. Again, it’s in the same category as Tampa. We need a solution in both of those markets, and the time has come for that solution.” Manfred has never before uttered the words we like Las Vegas. “I think there is urgency with respect to Tampa Bay. I’ve said this before and I’m going to say it again, there needs to be a resolution in the Tampa Bay region for the Rays. So, we are getting to the point where, wherever it is in the region that has an interest in having 162 baseball games, they need to get to it. Get with the club. I know the Rays are anxious to get something done. And see if a deal can be made.” Manfred has devalued the Tampa Bay market to put pressure on elected officials to build a ballpark.
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