Arizona Diamondbacks Latest Team to Use A's Relocation as Boogeyman
If you've ever stopped and wondered why 30 MLB owners would approve relocation for a plan that has no financing, no independent economic report, no renderings, and not much going for it in the way of local support, the Arizona Diamondbacks just gave you an answer.
As we said months ago, other teams will be using the Oakland A's potential relocation to Las Vegas to get more out of their own cities for either ballpark upgrades or new venues altogether. Two of the three owners on the relocation committee, the Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers, have already started down that path. Per Forbes, "The Milwaukee Brewers are receiving assurances from government agencies that $500 million in public funding will be available to renovate the 2001-opened American Family Field."
The Royals are looking to build a new ballpark with an estimated price tag of $2 billion, half of which would be privately financed. The other half may come from a 3/8th-cent sales tax, but that could end up being left up to the voters.
That brings us to the Diamondbacks, who on Monday sent out Managing General Partner Ken Kendrick and president Derrick Hall to say they want a piece of the pie too.
To be clear, the Diamondbacks are not saying that they are leaving town just yet, but they certainly left the door open with, "We may run out of time in Phoenix. We hope that won't happen."
As someone that has seen the A's relocation attempt unfold, this is textbook. A team starts off by saying how much they love the city they're in (rooted in Oakland), and then if the city doesn't cater to them and hand them a bunch of free money, then all of a sudden they're looking elsewhere for a place to play.
In the clip above Kendrick also says, "There are opportunities available. There are other cities that would covet having Major League Baseball....Those names, they're prominent cities that would love to have a Major League team. We're not in dialogue with those communities, but we are aware of what's going on.
"There is likely to be, in time, expansion of our sport to a couple of additional cities. Cities are letting MLB know their interest. Their interest in getting a team is specific. They would be happy with a brand new franchise, but they would certainly be very happy with, frankly, a successful existing franchise."
It's no coincidence that the D-Backs are using this time in particular, right after a World Series appearance, to make a push for public money for upgrades to their ballpark. Those renovations would cost in the neighborhood of $400-500 million with public funding taking care of some of the burden.
Last week it was the Chicago White Sox, already in a top-tier market, asking the public for $1 billion for a new ballpark. While that seems comically high, the Sox attempt to get a new ballpark will be fascinating to watch. It won't be as easy for that team to threaten relocation since they are in the third-largest media market in the country, behind just New York and Los Angeles.
In addition to the A's current situation, there is also the fact that once MLB expands to 32 teams, there will be fewer "legitimate" markets to use as threats for relocation. Las Vegas will have either the A's or an expansion team. Salt Lake City could end up with one or the other as well, depending on how the A's situation shakes out, so it's imperative that these teams get their hands on some of that public money while they can still dupe public officials with bogus relocation chatter.
It's no coincidence that once the A's said they're moving to Las Vegas that all of a sudden a slew of other teams start talking to their municipalities about either new facilities or ballpark upgrades. The A's situation is the boogeyman, and the billionaire owners are going to take as much free money as they can extract from the communities they claim to serve.