On Thursday the Oakland A's and officials from the City of Oakland and Alameda County met to discuss a possible lease extension for the team to play their games at the Coliseum from 2025-27. Their current lease at the site, where they have called home since 1968, is set to expire following the 2024 campaign.
One interesting piece of news that came out via Front Office Sports is that Billy Beane actually urged owner John Fisher to reengage with the city about a lease extension. Beane stepped away from his role with the club last season and is currently serving as an executive advisor.
A's fans have been wondering where Billy went, and well, here you go.
While these negotiations could end up amounting to nothing, if the A's were to stay in Oakland for this lease extension, Beane could have saved baseball in the East Bay. Maybe that's too grandiose, but let's play this out for just a moment.
If the A's are playing games (or set to) in Oakland in 2025 and the Las Vegas relocation blows up, then it would be in the team's best interest to just stay in Oakland, with or without Fisher attached. Being the interim home for the A's holds a nonzero chance that the team will just stay there permanently, and that goes for any of the three options the team currently has, with Sacramento and Salt Lake City also in the mix.
There were also reports yesterday that Oakland and MLB have had preliminary discussions about the city being granted an expansion team. The fact that MLB is potentially considering an expansion team in Oakland is further than many thought those conversations would ever go. It's still unlikely that Oakland gets an expansion club, but they're sure going to ask for one.
The other demands that the city is reportedly making are that the A's name and colors stay in Oakland and that Fisher sells his half of the Coliseum site at fair market value. If the franchise is re-branded in Vegas, that would be a smaller win for A's fans, but it would be a nice consolation prize. The ultimate goal is to keep Major League Baseball in Oakland.
The city and Mayor Sheng Thao have all of the leverage in these negotiations, even while it's been "leaked" that Sacramento is the frontrunner to land the A's for the interim seasons. The fact that Beane was able to convince Fisher to send team president Dave Kaval back to the table to negotiate is impressive. Granted, there is a $70 million incentive for the club to stay in the Bay Area, like keeping their deal with Comcast Sports California intact.
The A's relocation saga has had numerous twists and turns in just the past 48 hours. It's going to be a wild ride.
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