Stadium/Arena Saga Omnibus

[LMU]

[GDAWG]

 

 

[Red Wolf]

On 7/16/2021 at 11:20 AM, SFGiants58 said:

My pet joke would be to suggest the Anchorage or Honolulu Athletics. Both of those locations are stupid, but I love the idea of the Mariners not having the worst travel schedule in MLB.

 

Well if we're putting forth joke ideas, then I would like to nominate Little Rock, Arkansas. Sure, we don't have a lot of the things that Las Vegas has, but we do have one thing they can never have: water.

 

[SFGiants58]

Anchorage fits the A’s more. Anchorage is a refuge for those who aren’t welcome where they’re from, for a variety of reason. The A’s wore out their welcome everywhere they have gone, much like famed serial killers Robert Hansen or Israel Keyes.

[DG_YouKnowWhatThatMeans]

52 minutes ago, SFGiants58 said:

Anchorage fits the A’s more. Anchorage is a refuge for those who aren’t welcome where they’re from, for a variety of reason. The A’s wore out their welcome everywhere they have gone, much like famed serial killers Robert Hansen or Israel Keyes.

 

Visiting Anchorage is a trip. It's cold, unwelcoming, and clearly populated by a lot of people who escape the mainland for a reason.

But they also have things like Dave & Busters.

 

There's some beautiful scenery not far from Anchorage, so it's got that going for it. I saw a beluga from our tour bus.

[GDAWG]

Although they are on the verge of losing the A's, Oakland has expressed interest in a WNBA team when that league expands again:

 

Oakland Arena votes to move forward with lease to start a WNBA team - Golden State Of Mind

 

Quote

It’s starting to look like professional basketball will soon return to Oakland, and to the funky basketball paradise that is Oakland Arena (formerly Oracle Park). No, the Golden State Warriors aren’t coming back, at least not anytime soon. But the city might be getting an expansion WNBA team, and there isn’t a city in the country that would be a better fit.

 

The African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) has been seeking to secure a 50% stake in the Oakland Coliseum Complex, with their proposal heavily featuring the idea of bringing a WNBA team to the city. In June, the Oakland city council rules committee voted to advance the group’s term sheet to a full city council vote.

 

According to a report from Janis Hashe of the East Bay Express, AASEG is planning on adding a WNBA team that has a “woman-led ownership group.” The organization has already sent a bid to the league, with spokesperson Ray Bobbitt saying that “If everything falls into place perfectly, the goal would be to have a team playing next year,” while admitting that it could take a bit longer than that (it almost surely would).

 

With surging ratings and popularity over the last few years, the WNBA has openly been starting to consider expansion from the current 12-team format. While some executives have been hesitant, due to the potential loss in revenue, players have been outwardly supportive of expansion. With limited roster sizes and teams, the league only has 144 players, which means that even first-round picks are often waived during — or even before — their rookie seasons.

 

[Red Wolf]

1 hour ago, SFGiants58 said:

Anchorage fits the A’s more. Anchorage is a refuge for those who aren’t welcome where they’re from, for a variety of reason. The A’s wore out their welcome everywhere they have gone, much like famed serial killers Robert Hansen or Israel Keyes.

 

Maybe this says more about my friends and me, but I have a friend that loved Alaska. He ended up moving back to Arkansas because of his wife's family. The way he talked about Alaska sounded like the best though. Again, maybe that says something about the kind of people we are.

[Burmy]

2 hours ago, GDAWG said:

Although they are on the verge of losing the A's, Oakland has expressed interest in a WNBA team when that league expands again:

 

Oakland Arena votes to move forward with lease to start a WNBA team - Golden State Of Mind

 

 

And they're losing their IFL team before it even plays a down...the IFL's Oakland Panthers are moving to San Jose and the SAP Center in 2022. (No word as to whether or not they're going to try and buy the rights to the the San Jose SaberCats identity).

So yeah, Oakland has become the place teams go to die...

[FiddySicks]

On 7/15/2021 at 10:25 AM, DG_ThenNowForever said:

I once walked from the BART station to the old Oracle Arena. Man, that is not a fun walk, especially when you're doing it without fellow game attendees. You walk across a long, fenced-in ped bridge kind of all alone and you have no idea who or what will be on that bridge with you. And below, as I remember, is just a rail yard or train tracks and not even moving traffic (and eyes on the streets).

 

It felt like Mad Max to me -- the way a lot of Oakland (and yes, Seattle) does -- and I was glad to be safely back on the BART.

 

Is that still the gameday experience?

Yes, and that’s legitimately one of my favorite parts of the experience. I’ve gotten some of the coolest t shirts ever dirt ass cheap on that walkway. It’s not for everyone, but I love the vibe. It’s so Oakland. Gritty, somewhat intimidating, sort of crazy. It feels like a party at an insane asylum. 

[The_Admiral]

On 7/16/2021 at 9:23 AM, DustDevil61 said:

The only 2 Canadian cities without a team that I would think are viable are Montreal or Vancouver.

I'm of two minds on Vancouver. As a local market, I think it makes more sense than Montreal does, but I have to believe that the idea behind a second Canadian team would be 162 days of programming for Bell, the non-baseball-having half of Canada's telecommunications duopoly, and it's hard for Vancouver to make the most of that when about two-thirds of the country lives in Eastern or Atlantic Time, which all but dictates Montreal. But screw both of 'em, the Oakland A's don't belong in either one.

[SFGiants58]

Like the Braves in Milwaukee, the A’s should’ve stayed put after moving the first time. Let Atlanta have an expansion team, while the Giants use the mausoleum as a threat while trying to flee Candleshart.

[tBBP]

On 7/17/2021 at 11:33 AM, Red Wolf said:

 

Well if we're putting forth joke ideas, then I would like to nominate Little Rock, Arkansas. Sure, we don't have a lot of the things that Las Vegas has, but we do have one thing they can never have: water.

 

 

You stay putting on for LR, don't you?  But yes, plenty of water. (And right now, plenty of runoff in that water from that OMGWTFIZTHEYTHANKIN 30Crossing bridge project--but we ain't finna talk about that right now.) Hopefully that's all finished by the time I make it back down there...

 

On 7/17/2021 at 12:37 PM, SFGiants58 said:

Anchorage fits the A’s more. Anchorage is a refuge for those who aren’t welcome where they’re from, for a variety of reason. The A’s wore out their welcome everywhere they have gone, much like famed serial killers Robert Hansen or Israel Keyes.

 

I don't know...from what I understand, the locals/natives will tolerate you, but ain't too keen on people trying to move up in there and take over. And now that the oil money is drying up, they're starting to feel the effects in the local economy (again, this is from reports I get from the buddies I had in the trucking world; I can't vouch for their validity). That said, I've actually been up there before, albeit a long time ago, and it was...different, I'll say that. I don't know that I could live there, per se (despite the fact that I went up there to investigate a job opportunity), but visit, yeah I can do that all day.

 

Side note: do we have anyone on these boards actually in or from Alaska? I half-remember one being around here back in the day...

[bosrs1]

Looks like Vegas wouldn't be much of a downgrade attendance wise. The Las Vegas Aviators drew just under 6,000 fans yesterday, despite the weather being humid, brutally hot and intermittently broken up by thunderstorms. The currently playoff qualifying A's on a perfect sunny 75 degree day in Oakland,  only drew 8,572.

[GDAWG]

Tomorrow is a big day for the A's as the City Council will vote on their Howard Terminal plans.

[bosrs1]

49 minutes ago, GDAWG said:

Tomorrow is a big day for the A's as the City Council will vote on their Howard Terminal plans.

 

It's a big day, but not for the reason you list. Tomorrow the city council will vote on their own Howard Terminal plans that they released on Friday. The A's have already said if they vote yes on that plan, it's a no vote on the project. 

 

The A's have implored the city to vote on the plan the A's presented back in April and asked for a prompt vote on (the OCC thinks 3  1/2 months is prompt). But so far no indication the OCC will be voting on the A's plan for Howard Terminal. The A's are already planning another trip to Vegas for Wednesday. 

[GDAWG]

 

[bosrs1]

1 minute ago, GDAWG said:

 

 

1 vote against - 0 votes for...

 

7 members of the council yet to make their position known. Of course we've yet to find out what they're actually going to vote on. 

[bosrs1]

Meanwhile, the A's just landed on the receiving end of yet another bad piece of news, of their own making regarding their half assed treatment of their minor leaguers in Stockton  just hours before the Oakland vote.

 

https://www.sfgate.com/athletics/article/Exclusive-Most-Oakland-A-s-single-A-players-in-16323267.php?utm_campaign=CMS Sharing Tools (Mobile)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

 

Even the Astros, loathesome as they can be seen, aren't hanging their Single A guys out to dry like this...

[GDAWG]

 

 

 

[OnWis97]

12 hours ago, bosrs1 said:

Meanwhile, the A's just landed on the receiving end of yet another bad piece of news, of their own making regarding their half assed treatment of their minor leaguers in Stockton  just hours before the Oakland vote.

 

https://www.sfgate.com/athletics/article/Exclusive-Most-Oakland-A-s-single-A-players-in-16323267.php?utm_campaign=CMS Sharing Tools (Mobile)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

 

Even the Astros, loathesome as they can be seen, aren't hanging their Single A guys out to dry like this...

I was just told about something similar by a friend who's former player (he's a high school coach) is playing A ball in Peoria (Cardinals organization).  He said the players prefer road trips because they lose money at home.