Oakland set to make lease extension pitch to A's on Tuesday
The A's and the city of Oakland are set to meet on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of extending the team's lease at the Coliseum for at least the next three seasons. Their current lease in Oakland runs out following the 2024 campaign, and the proposed Las Vegas ballpark isn't expected to open until the 2028 season at the earliest, leaving the A's without a home from 2025-27.
Recently there have been rumors that Sacramento is making a strong pitch to land the A's for that three-year period, and they are seen as the main opposition to the A's finding a deal with Oakland. Salt Lake City has also been in the mix and certainly provides benefits, but given the timeline the team is on to have a site secured, that could come down to how much work they've done on securing a tv deal, or what kind of a deal they could get from MLB for streaming their games. That feels like it would take longer than the A's have to hammer out.
So we are left with Oakland and Sacramento. A's fans have been avoiding going to games this season in protest of the team's owner, John Fisher, and his attempts at relocation. So far the team's announced attendances have been 13,522 for Opening Day, 3,837 for the first Friday game of the season, and 5,425 fans for the first Saturday game. That's a total of 22,784 for three games against the Cleveland Guardians. It doesn't help that the team is 0-3 with a -19 run differential to start the season.
According to Casey Pratt of ABC 7, the city has some terms for a lease extension. While ESPN originally reported that Oakland had dropped the previous demands for an expansion team, that isn't exactly the case, as they have since clarified.
A five-year lease extension with an opt-out is one heck of an olive branch. It provides the A's with a solution in the instance that they run into delays in Las Vegas with construction or funding without having to search for another temporary home.
Then there is the $19.4 million per season as Casey puts it, but according to ESPN it's a $97 million extension fee. Casey just divided the 97 by five. If the A's were only around for three seasons, then it would be right around $32.3 million per year since the $97 million is a flat fee, no matter how long the team sticks around in that five-year period.
At this point, many people are likely saying to themselves that the team would never do that. They may be right. However, the reason that it's on the table is because if the team stays in Oakland, they get to continue to collect the roughly $70 million per season in tv money from Comcast Sports California. Oakland is asking for a little less than half of that each year.
The A's have been paying much less in rent each season, typically between $1-1.5 million, so this would be a big increase in revenue for the city. The big question here is how much would a potential tv deal be with CSC if they renegotiated the deal for the Sacramento A's? What do the finances look like after taking that hit, plus having to relocate the franchise and the entire operation to Sacramento? Who pays for needed upgrades at Sutter Health Field? The answers to those questions could determine how feasible this ask is, and it's either fairly close, or well in Oakland's favor.
Keep in mind that Fisher will need to spend money on payroll at some point to get the team ready for a Vegas debut. Would players be more willing to sign with the A's in Oakland, a big-league ballpark, or in Sacramento, a minor-league facility that would split time with a minor league team? Even if Fisher is trying to spend money he could run into some issues if he heads up north.
Pratt also points out the sale of Fisher's half of the Coliseum site, which would allow Oakland to develop that area how they see fit without the A's owner. This would be another win-win for both sides, as Fisher could use the money from the sale of the land to help pay for the domed armadillo in Vegas.
The last point could be the big sticking point in the negotiations. Oakland wants either one exclusive year to line up owners to make a pitch for an expansion franchise to MLB, or, they would like the A's name and colors to stay in Oakland, or they would like to facilitate the sale of the A's to a local group. Mayor Sheng Thao has said numerous times that there are plenty of local people that would love to buy the A's. Warriors owner Joe Lacob is figured to be among them.
While this isn't a guarantee of an expansion franchise, it's probably the best offer that may result in an agreement. MLB could grant the exclusive period and then just not give Oakland an expansion team anyway. That's certainly an option. If the A's land in Las Vegas, then Salt Lake City and Oakland could be the top two possibilities in the west for when the league decides to expand in a few years. Sacramento could also be in the mix, but the Giants already blocked the A's from moving to San Jose where they have another affiliate, so Sacramento could run into some trouble there.
The hope for A's fans is that through all of their hard work with reverse boycotts, actual boycotts, Unite the Bay events, and Fan's Fest, that the public across the country and the media have taken note that baseball can succeed in Oakland with a different ownership group.
On Tuesday we may find out where the A's intend to play for the next few years, and the fate of baseball in Oakland with or without them.