THE A’S AND B’S OF BASEBALL
Part II
Gary Norris Gray-Staff Reporter
The Oakland Athletics will have their last game in the East Bay in the middle of September 2024. Green and gold fans have done everything in their political power to keep the team in the city of Oakland. But this action shows that rich owners and Major League Baseball do not care. The last five Oakland City administrations have done very little or nothing to keep the team and have not taken the move threat seriously. The proposed Howard Terminal Stadium was half bake and failed. Just like the late 3-year extension plan failed. Owner John Fisher did not want to be in Oakland, California.
The green and gold are now off to Sacramento for the next three years. The keys to the city were given to Tech companies, new restaurants, store fronts and still city leaders messed it up. City leaders were not giving this owner a new ball park when the city had major social and economic issues to deal with every day.
There is a message being send to new Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher and the rest of his rich owner friends. They are going to have to do more for the city and spend more or give up their teams(shiny toys).
The A’s will now move north to Sacramento and share small Sutter Health Park, home of River Cats while they wait for their new home in Las Vegas. The 14,000 seat minor league park with major league improvements will have to suffice until the Nevada move three years from now.
These new owners showed their cards early with the Atlanta Braves move out of Fulton County Stadium-Turner Field in 2017. The Braves moved to the suburbs in Cobb County. This year the citizens of Kansas City voted against funding a new park for the Royals and the Chiefs. The Royal owners have threatened to move the team to Texas and now the A’s are truly in their last year playing baseball in Oakland.
In another wild scenario The Oakland A’s could move back to Kansas City if the Las Vegas deal fails and the Royals vacate their stadium. That’s how crazy this mess could finish.
The once proud city of Oakland had the World Champion Warriors, the Super Bowl Champion Raiders, and the World Series Champion Athletics. The only losing professional team in the city were the National Hockey League’s California Golden Seals. After September 2024 the City of Oakland will have zero professional sports teams.
There is also a nasty racial and economic tone to all of these moves just as the move in Atlanta for the Braves, the Warriors move to San Francisco and the Atlanta Thrashers move to Canada. Minority fans feel left out after supporting their team for over 50 years.
In this east bay city, it was a battle between the residents of the flatlands of Oakland vs. the residents of the Hills of Oakland and the Hills won again. Stating that we the citizens are not paying to rebuild the stadium for another rich owner with the residents paying taxes too. The flatlands residents are the major part time employees of the Coliseum and are majority black and brown people.
The economy of the East Bay will be severely impacted for years to come if they don’t find another professional team quickly. The same incidents are occurring in Kansas City and Atlanta, fans and residents are saying no, we are not helping and abetting rich millionaires to put more money in their pockets while we pay for a new building with taxes. Public opinions are turning against large subsidies for sports teams and their exceedingly wealthy owners.
This move hurts the city of Oakland. It hurts fans because of the great memories of players wearing the green and gold from Mike Norris to Dave Stewart, from Campy Campaneris to Reggie Jackson, from Gene Tenace, Ray Fosse, to Terry Steinbach. The great running of Rickey Henderson and Mr. Herb Washington. As a child living in South Central New Jersey I rooted for the A’s, Warriors, and Raiders.
This move forces east bay fans to root for their arch enemies across the bay or travel miles to see their old team. The Raiders had their own following with their weekly four plane loads of Black and Silver fans to LAX- Los Angeles back in the middle 80’s to 1990. This will not happen with the Athletics moving to Las Vegas because of the bitterness between fans and a stubborn owner.
The Oakland Ballers minor league baseball team and the two soccer teams are set to take the Coliseum Field but it will never be the same again. It has lost its sports soul with The Raiders in Las Vegas, The Warriors in San Francisco, and the Athletics in Sacramento.
The past five administrators failed the city, the past two Oakland Athletic ownerships failed the city, and the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Commission failed the city. They have nothing to show for it.
A very sad day in Oakland, California.
glcgray@gmail.com
©Copyrighted Gary Norris Gray @ Gray Leopard Prod
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