Manfred: Oakland A owner focused on moving to Las Vegas

Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred says Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher has been focusing on Las Vegas as a new home for the franchise lately.

Manfred, speaking at the Cactus League baseball day on Wednesday, does not close the door on the team left in Oakland.

“I think Mr. Fisher wants to get the best possible deal to secure the future of first graders, whether it’s in Oakland or Las Vegas,” Manfred said. “They need a new stadium. I think it’s non-negotiable.”

The A’s have been playing at the Coliseum since 1968 and their loan will expire after the 2024 season. After scrapping plans to build baseball stadiums in Fremont and San Jose, the team announced in November 2018 that it had found a waterfront site for a new baseball stadium at Howard Terminal, near Jack’s London Square neighborhood.

But the Howard Terminal proposal was halted due to money and concerns about affordable housing in the area.

“I don’t think they agree on affordable housing,” Manfred said. “The threshold issue now, I think in Oakland, is how to deal with infrastructure funding.”

The A’s also worked on funding issues when it came to a possible Las Vegas stadium.

The uncertain future of Oakland is one of the reasons the Major League payroll was $49 million last year.

The rift between baseball’s big sponsors and its smaller market clubs prompted Cincinnati Reds president Phil Castellini to reportedly inform a group of fans in January that an increasing number of clubs were not competing on opening day.

“I think most people who pay attention to our game understand that we have a problem with the inconsistency in the game, both in terms of revenue and therefore the ability to spend on players,” Manfred said when he was asked about Castellini’s remarks.

“I think sometimes in the markets it causes frustration that leads to what I consider to be unfortunate comments rather than helpful ones.”

San Diego is considered a small market, but it has one of the biggest payrolls after signing an 11-year, $280 million contract with Xander Bogarts in December. Manfred praised Padres owner Peter Seidler for his investment in his club and said the Padres have gone from being a revenue earner to a paying team.

“The trick for smaller markets has always been sustainability,” he said. “I take my hat off to Peter Seidler. He took on a huge financial commitment to make it all happen. The question is how long can you keep doing this, and what happens when you have to go through a rebuild.”

___

Follow Jay Cohen on

___

AP MLB: and

Content Source

Dallas Press News – Latest News:
Dallas Local News || Fort Worth Local News | Texas State News || Crime and Safety News || National news || Business News || Health News

texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

Related Articles

Back to top button