The A’s ownership can look elsewhere for a new stadium.
The people who really run Major League Baseball, the owners, are 30 of the most cutthroat business people you will ever meet. The 30 owners through the Commissioner Rob Manfred wiped out Minor League Baseball as it existed and set up a new entity to replace it, lopping off more than 40 minor league teams. Now MLB is telling Oakland elected officials you better take care of the needs of the Oakland Athletics ownership group and approve the building of a stadium village on the San Francisco Bay waterfront by Howard Terminal and throw in some money or else. MLB said it was “concerned with the rate of progress on the A’s new ballpark efforts with local officials and other stakeholders in Oakland.” And, “The Oakland Coliseum site is not a viable option for the future vision of baseball.” Meaning there is not enough money that can be generated from the Oakland Coliseum property because MLB is just a business not a sport.
The Oakland Athletics president Dave Kaval said “Oakland’s down to its last bats. The time is here for a decision on our future, and it is unclear to us and MLB whether there is a path to success for the A’s in Oakland.” In other words, Kaval wants the Oakland movers and shakers to get something done now or Kaval will take his ball and glove and end up in some other city. MLB blocked an attempt by former Athletics owner Lewis Wolff to move the team to San Jose because San Jose was part of the San Francisco Giants franchise territory. Oakland is part of the fifth biggest American market and near the Silicon Valley. There should be TV and corporate money in abundance for the franchise. All the Athletics ownership group wants from elected officials is permission to build a money-making stadium.
Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
