Oakland city leaders, community make one final pitch to keep the A's in their city
OAKLAND — "Stay in Oakland" chants filled the Oakland City Hall chamber Tuesday as the city made one last push to keep the A's in Oakland.
City Council passed a resolution to reaffirm that the A's belong in Oakland. Mayor Sheng Thao along with city council members held a press conference beforehand to send a message to MLB owners: They want to keep the A's in Oakland.
"Bottom of the 9th, two outs, there's still a chance," said Jared Isham, an A's fan who was inside the City Council chamber.
Fans sat and cheered as Mayor Sheng Thao started the press conference. It comes as MLB owners are set to meet next week to vote on whether to approve the relocation of the A's to Las Vegas.
"People started to get really energized and enthusiastic, and then as the mayor started speaking, you could tell there was an energy that was jolted into the fanbase," Isham said.
And Thao was right there with them.
"We are here to send a very clear message, and that message is the Oakland A's should stay rooted in Oakland," Thao said.
Thao added that the city has shown a commitment to making a stadium happen in Oakland, adding that they have options.
"I'm speaking to the owners, owners of all of MLB teams: Oakland has multiple sites. There are viable options," she said, adding that they asked A's owner John Fisher to come back to the table. "We have a roadmap to get this done. Las Vegas is just getting started, right? Square one, while Oakland has the finish line in our sight. Hey, if you want a ballpark at the Coliseum, we got you."
KPIX 5 talked with Howard Stutz, senior reporter at the Nevada Independent, about where things stand with the A's in Las Vegas.
"Nothing can really be done until MLB either approves the relocation or denies it, and I think that's what everybody is waiting for," Stutz said.
The proposed ballpark would be on the strip at the site of the Tropicana, but no new renderings have been made public.
"I've heard through the grapevine it's a non-retractable roof stadium. Remember, this is only on nine acres," Stutz said. "We think we'll see them next week maybe when they go in front of the owners."
He said he's seeing both support and opposition in Vegas for the relocation. The Raiders have had success in getting fans to Allegiant Stadium, but Stutz said many are visiting fans.
"We don't know if baseball fans will travel like that," he said.
And he pointed out that there are a lot more home games in baseball than in football.
"You're talking about a two-week homestand, trying to get fans out of town, trying to get local fans to go. It's a real challenge," Stutz said.
For Isham and many other local fans, they're holding onto one last hope that somehow the A's will stay in Oakland.
This last season, A's fans proved they can show up with the reverse boycott at the Coliseum and their "sell the team" chants at other ballparks.
"It's tiring for fans for sure, but one thing that I know for a fact is that this has unified fanbases from all different teams," Isham said.