MLB Stadium Saga: Oakland/Tampa Bay/Southside

[Wings2]

The Oakland Roots might literally be the only team left in Oakland..............for now. 

[GDAWG]

 

[bosrs1]

2 hours ago, GDAWG said:

 

 

Until the A’s say they have a deal, this is politician hot air...

[bosrs1]

Anyone else notice the A’s ticket prices lately? Seem to be some of the priciest for most of the non-premium seating. Cheapest obstructed view tickets are $24 bucks. You can go visit any of the nicer parks in California, except Dodger Stadium, for far less.

[Red Comet]

7 hours ago, bosrs1 said:

Anyone else notice the A’s ticket prices lately? Seem to be some of the priciest for most of the non-premium seating. Cheapest obstructed view tickets are $24 bucks. You can go visit any of the nicer parks in California, except Dodger Stadium, for far less.

I don’t think the A’s could sell out the Mausoleum even if they gave each fan a bar of gold with their ticket. Really feels like they’re done with Oakland and the people have responded in kind. 
 

Pandemic or not, getting 3,000 fans to your game paints a picture that all the concept art for a stadium that will never be can’t. 
 

EDIT: Wait, they’re charging more? A’s ownership pictured: 

Edited July 31, 2021 by Red Comet

[FiddySicks]

On 7/25/2021 at 12:02 PM, Wings2 said:

The Oakland Roots might literally be the only team left in Oakland..............for now. 

That whole thing has been an absolute DISASTER since they moved up to USL, too. They’ve had multiple games moved or cancelled because of the wacky ass turf they’re trying to use, and the whole thing just looks like they were entirely unprepared for the promotion to USL and are completely in over their heads. 

[bosrs1]

9 minutes ago, FiddySicks said:

That whole thing has been an absolute DISASTER since they moved up to USL, too. They’ve had multiple games moved or cancelled because of the wacky ass turf they’re trying to use, and the whole thing just looks like they were entirely unprepared for the promotion to USL and are completely in over their heads. 

 

Yep. Not sure they've even played a real home game yet this season. Any momentum they had from NISA has been completely lost between COVID and their disaster of an attempt at an opening game. 

[bosrs1]

3 hours ago, Red Comet said:

I don’t think the A’s could sell out the Mausoleum even if they gave each fan a bar of gold with their ticket. Really feels like they’re done with Oakland and the people have responded in kind. 
 

Pandemic or not, getting 3,000 fans to your game paints a picture that all the concept art for a stadium that will never be can’t. 
 

EDIT: Wait, they’re charging more? A’s ownership pictured: 

 

I mean I think it's a calculated move by the A's FO to drive away even more fans than normal to make the case for relocation, be it to Vegas or a new Oakland ballpark. But if it's the latter, driving away fans so you're only drawing in the sub-10,000 range seems an odd way to go about it. I mean they're going to need fans back eventually, and they didn't have many to begin with. Driving away the few your have leaving you no core to build back up the fanbase in a new park just seems like a really bad idea to me. 

 

Maybe you're right and they really do favor relocation at this point even with Oakland almost there on meeting the A's where they want them. 

[GDAWG]

 

[Dilbert]

https://ballparkdigest.com/2021/09/22/as-to-narrow-field-of-vegas-sites-after-playoffs-three-sites-cited-by-locals/

 

At this point to me its not an if but when the A's move to Las Vegas. Supposedly according to local insiders and politicos there are three sites mentioned for a possible ballpark: South end of strip near Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas Festival Grounds, and The Rio Hotel & Casino.

 

Though they havent officially named any sites specifically, the A's should announce potential sites after the postseason

 

 

[kolob]

18 hours ago, Dilbert said:

https://ballparkdigest.com/2021/09/22/as-to-narrow-field-of-vegas-sites-after-playoffs-three-sites-cited-by-locals/

 

At this point to me its not an if but when the A's move to Las Vegas. Supposedly according to local insiders and politicos there are three sites mentioned for a possible ballpark: South end of strip near Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas Festival Grounds, and The Rio Hotel & Casino.

 

Though they havent officially named any sites specifically, the A's should announce potential sites after the postseason

 

 

 

I think my favorite plan is the Mandalay Bay site, because of it's easy access from I-15 and 215. The Rio isn't bad. But, the Festival Grounds has potential, especially if A's ownership wants to develop the area. There's a lot of need near the Festival Grounds. 

 

I am excited. I hope the A's make the jump.

[MilSox]

Vegas is one of my favorite cities, but I don't think it'll be the slam dunk that MLB thinks it is.

The Knights work because they were the first major franchise in Vegas.  They also play on an ice plant which I would imagine the locals find to be a nice change of pace from what they normally deal with.  Last time I was in Vegas (a few months before COVID), I was honestly taken aback by how much Knights paraphernalia I saw around town. They've really embraced that team.

The Raiders work because of all NFL teams, they probably have they fanbase that's the least affected by geography.  They also play their games on the weekend in a tourist destination, so even when they have lean years, they can rely on the other team's fans to fill the seats.

The only way I see Las Vegas working for MLB is if they somehow manage to build a ballpark on the strip and make it an absolute uniquely Vegas novelty/monstrosity that has to be experienced.  I don't see too many locals wanting to spend a summer evening in Vegas baking in the desert sun. The  only thing I can think to compare them to is the Diamondbacks, who may not even break a million fans for the entire season. 

[DustDevil61]

19 hours ago, Dilbert said:

https://ballparkdigest.com/2021/09/22/as-to-narrow-field-of-vegas-sites-after-playoffs-three-sites-cited-by-locals/

 

At this point to me its not an if but when the A's move to Las Vegas. Supposedly according to local insiders and politicos there are three sites mentioned for a possible ballpark: South end of strip near Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas Festival Grounds, and The Rio Hotel & Casino.

 

Though they havent officially named any sites specifically, the A's should announce potential sites after the postseason

 

 

 

44 minutes ago, kimball said:

 

I think my favorite plan is the Mandalay Bay site, because of it's easy access from I-15 and 215. The Rio isn't bad. But, the Festival Grounds has potential, especially if A's ownership wants to develop the area. There's a lot of need near the Festival Grounds. 

 

I am excited. I hope the A's make the jump.

Between this, the higher prices for attendance (and apparently $30 parking!), and the political climate in Oakland/Alameda County, I think it’s a foregone conclusion that Fisher and Co. Athletics are going to be playing somewhere else—in the realm of 99.5% that it’s  Las Vegas—within the decade.

 

My biggest concern is that the Las Vegas market will become too saturated too soon, going from 0 to 3 teams in the space of a decade—notwithstanding the stigma of gambling preventing teams from going to Vegas or its “destination city” reputation.

 

Sure, if I had my way, they’d at least give Portland or Salt Lake a glance or two (cities with a baseball history, the latter of which IMO is still close enough to tap into Las Vegas), but I think all of us, myself included, knew it was either “stay in Oakland” or “move to Las Vegas.”

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by DustDevil61
IMO

[bosrs1]

51 minutes ago, DustDevil61 said:

 

Between this, the higher prices for attendance (and apparently $30 parking!), and the political climate in Oakland/Alameda County, I think it’s a foregone conclusion that Fisher and Co. Athletics are going to be playing somewhere else—in the realm of 99.5% that it’s  Las Vegas—within the decade.

 

My biggest concern is that the Las Vegas market will become too saturated too soon, going from 0 to 3 teams in the space of a decade—notwithstanding the stigma of gambling preventing teams from going to Vegas or its “destination city” reputation.

 

Sure, if I had my way, they’d at least give Portland or Salt Lake a glance or two (cities with a baseball history, the latter of which IMO is still close enough to tap into Las Vegas), but I think all of us, myself included, knew it was either “stay in Oakland” or “move to Las Vegas.”

 

 

I wouldn't be surprised if we get a preliminary announcement during the off season and next year is their last year in Oakland. Attendance is going to tank with the in some cases 70% increase in ticket prices. The A's were already far pricier than they had any business being given their team and stadium. Now... they're going for Expos or worse levels of attendance to make their situation in the Bay Area untenable. And now that they're opening up avenues to pay for the stadium in Vegas that won't involve public funding, I'd say it's a foregone conclusion they're already out the door. It's really just a matter of to which specific Vegas site and when do they make the official announcement. 

[GDAWG]

2 hours ago, DustDevil61 said:

 

Between this, the higher prices for attendance (and apparently $30 parking!), and the political climate in Oakland/Alameda County, I think it’s a foregone conclusion that Fisher and Co. Athletics are going to be playing somewhere else—in the realm of 99.5% that it’s  Las Vegas—within the decade.

 

My biggest concern is that the Las Vegas market will become too saturated too soon, going from 0 to 3 teams in the space of a decade—notwithstanding the stigma of gambling preventing teams from going to Vegas or its “destination city” reputation.

 

Sure, if I had my way, they’d at least give Portland or Salt Lake a glance or two (cities with a baseball history, the latter of which IMO is still close enough to tap into Las Vegas), but I think all of us, myself included, knew it was either “stay in Oakland” or “move to Las Vegas.”

 

 

 

When they are done with trying to move the A's to Oakland, Las Vegas will make phone calls and write emails to Adam Silver about Las Vegas being the 32nd NBA team.  Also three prospective ownership groups, one of them being the Golden Knights are trying to get the MLS to come to Las Vegas.  

[DoctorWhom]

So are The Raiders & A's just attached at the hip at this point or what?

Since it seems like once again they'll be moving to the same city. 

[Cujo]

A postseason game. For the defending AL Champs. Versus a team that travels incredibly well.

 

[Ridleylash]

47 minutes ago, Cujo said:

A postseason game. For the defending AL Champs. Versus a team that travels incredibly well.

 

And a team in the midst of trying to pull off one of the most blatant relocation ploys in recent memory playing in one of the worst ballparks in the MLB. At the end of the day, this is pretty decent for a team that's both as historically unsuccessful as the Rays have tended to be and are in the midst of trying to fulfil a loudly-broadcasted and massively-unpopular dual city setup.

 

Plus, MLB attendance going down across the board doesn't help matters, either; even markets like NY are seeing declining numbers, so it's really a baseball problem in general.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

They were home

30 minutes ago, Ridleylash said:

And a team in the midst of trying to pull off one of the most blatant relocation ploys in recent memory playing in one of the worst ballparks in the MLB. At the end of the day, this is pretty decent for a team that's both as historically unsuccessful as the Rays have tended to be and are in the midst of trying to fulfil a loudly-broadcasted and massively-unpopular dual city setup.

 

Plus, MLB attendance going down across the board doesn't help matters, either; even markets like NY are seeing declining numbers, so it's really a baseball problem in general.

 

Seattle would have sold out a playoff game. Even it it were against the Seahawks playing next door.

[See Red]

Don't know how anybody can look at the Lightning and not realize that if you gave the Rays a stadium that wasn't a pain in the dick to get to and an owner that was halfway likeable, people would show up.