Posted on 04/20/2023 10:27:40 AM PDT by lowbridge
“They were in Philadelphia, then Kansas City.”
1968 the Athletics moved to Oakland. So that’s 55 years.
“There’s absolutely nothing positive about Oakland.”
Oakland has really nice weather, actually. And there are some good restaurants... and some surprisingly beautiful homes up in the hills. So “nothing positive” is too strong. But, like San Francisco, four or five decades of hard left politics have taken a toll.
I grew up as an Oakland A’s fan, and I particularly loved the Billy Martin era, so it’ll be sad to see them move to Vegas. With that said, the “Howard Terminal waterfront ballpark” that the teams has been pushing for years was an asinine boondoggle. The Coliseum site has freeway, parking and BART. Howard terminal has none of those three, and was a disastrous idea. Better to let the team go to Vegas than to bankrupt the city on a costly, inaccessible, half-baked copycat of the Giant’s park across the bay.
I went to an A’s game once as a kid. It was bat day so I got a little green A’s bat. That was in 1970 or 1971.
My takeaway from that experience is that it’s better to watch the games on TV, as we were in the nosebleed seats and could hardly see anything. Plus it was a doubleheader and took forever!
Those poor 51s; now they’re gonna have to move, too.
Yes.
Las Vegas is not the greatest place either.
I’ve never been there but I’ve heard Yankee Stadium is in a bad neighborhood. I’ve also heard people say there’s a big police presence and security on game days and that they feel safe going there.
I’ve never been to the Oakland Coliseum but I wonder if people were afraid to go there because it’s in a bad area?
Well...bye. Live in the Bay Area for 20 years, drove through Oakland twice during the daytime. That was enough for me.
Fenway is only 34m seats. Its a 102 year old dump but has on average one of the highest ticket prices in MLB. NESN is where the Red Sox make all the money. You do not make a lot of money off the fans in the upper deck of the stadium.
They should build this place with a roof that can open and close depending on the weather. Vegas is a tourism city. I could see flying there for a weekend series. Taking in a couple games on a weekend.
Keep in mind that stadiums like Tampa make more money when the Yankees or Red Sox are in town playing the Rays. Especially early in the season and in September IF their respective team is making a run.
First the Raiders, now the A’s... shame there’s no NBA team in Oakland, eh?
The difference there is that unlike almost anywhere else, the taxpayers in Las Vegas are mostly the visitors that come for vacations etc. The residents are actually a minor player in the taxes that will fund this. I suspect that residents of Southern California alone will pony up more than the residents of Vegas.
I have been to Yankees games in the Bronx. I stayed in Manhattan though. Everyone takes the subway to the game and then back out after the game. I wore my Red Sox hat too. I felt safe, but did not hang out in the Bronx after the game or very long before.
Seems that perhaps the good people of Oakland do not fancy large gatherings in such a crime-ridden city.
Can’t they get a homeless grant or something like that?
Point well taken.
Plus, I suspect the players will not mind the fact that all the HOME games in NV are in a NO INCOME TAX state.
I wonder if fans will be able to get a hummer in the new ballpark?
California has 5 MLB Teams. I’m sure they can spare one.
Oakland Athletics
San Francisco Giants
L.A. Dodgers
L.A. Angels
San Diego Padres
Maybe they can go back to Kansas City or where they started - Philadelphia.
Royals ain’t exactly packing them in, neither.
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