Analyzing the Future of the Oakland Athletics
As an A’s fan who’s been to countless games at the Coliseum throughout my whole life, it’s frustrating to see what has been happening to the franchise’s reputation as the future of baseball in the East Bay finds itself deeper in limbo. The pressure of relocation to Las Vegas is growing, the Coliseum continues to fall apart, ownership is making false promises that has alienated the fanbase, and the team projects to be awful for years to come with a lack of an overly promising farm system. What was once one of MLB’s proudest, most successful franchises is starting to lose its identity, all while the passionate fans of Oakland continue to hold on to hope that they won’t lose their 3rd major sports franchise since 2019. That being said, the Athletics aren’t going away anytime soon, so what does the future look like for them, whether it’s in Vegas or elsewhere?
The move to Vegas is appealing for sure from a money-making standpoint. The City of Sin has proven itself to be a massive market for sports fans, with the NHL’s Golden Knights and NFL’s formerly-Oakland Raiders selling out games and causing buzz throughout the growing city. Of course, the presence of the UFC, sports gambling, and tourism in general adds to the allure of a team owner wanting their squad in Nevada. The MLB has made it abundantly clear that they’re signaling they want the A’s in Vegas for these very reasons. The city of Las Vegas has shown they want the A’s as well, and the process of getting a stadium built there would be far less tedious than it has been in Oakland.
The fit seems perfect on paper, except of course, for the fact that the A’s are an Oakland team: their unique identity and rich history belongs to the city of Oakland. The green and gold uniforms, the white cleats, Moneyball, and even the Coliseum itself as outdated as it is are all symbols that define the underdog, blue-collared representation of the city of Oakland and its ballclub. Perhaps most importantly, their fans are among the best in baseball, and their recent attendance doesn’t reflect how much this team means to the people of Oakland. While there might be “more” fans waiting in Vegas, there’s something to be said about the “true” fans of Oakland, and seeing this team in Vegas just doesn’t feel right.
All this being said, as an A’s fan myself, I think that ultimately the best thing for the future of team that we love is to move to Vegas. The bottom line is that the A’s need a new stadium, no one can deny that. At this point the idea of a new stadium being built at Howard Terminal, or anywhere in or near Oakland, just seems like a fantasy at this point: there’s way too many hurdles to clear and way too many people opposed to the idea of it happening. Additionally, and more importantly, we as fans deserve to be treated better by our team’s government, and we deserve to see a better product on the field. No more paying way more than we used to for tickets, food, and parking, no more letting President Dave Kaval declare to us that he’s #RootedInOakland when his eyes have been on Vegas this whole time, no more watching us trade Josh Donaldson, Matt Olson, and countless others in the prime of their careers and getting pennies in return. As much as it would hurt, I would rather watch the green and gold on TV playing in a shiny new stadium where I don’t have to feel bad for our players, than go to a stadium that’s falling apart to watch players that don’t want to be there lose over 60% of their games. Playing in Vegas means more revenue for the team, which means the A’s can operate like an actual MLB team instead of continuing the rinse and repeat Moneyball experiment. Surely free agents would be much more attracted to play for the Las Vegas A’s, as well.
With Spring Training under away and the 2023 season on the horizon, it’s best to have realistic expectations for this team’s future. We’re most likely going to be watching a ballclub that a casual MLB fan can’t name 5 players on lose 100 games again, and trading away their best talent out of the very little they have left at the deadline in the process. Each subsequent year in Oakland will be much of the same until a new stadium is built, hopefully in Oakland, but most likely Las Vegas. Although that sounds like such a bleak ending to such a magical story, I do think the future will be bright again afterwards. My advice to the Oakland A’s diehards to cope: go to at least one game in the Coliseum before it’s gone. Soak it in, don’t worry about the results of the game, just close your eyes and take in the sounds and smells that you’ve associated with good times for years. Don’t switch team allegiance after they move, especially not to the Giants, and look forward to the day the next Bryce Harper or Kris Bryant wants to play for their hometown team. Be excited for a quick weekend flight from the Bay Area to Vegas to watch some A’s baseball and take in all the other exciting entertainment Vegas has to offer. Don’t be sad that it’s over, be happy that it happened.
