Not "Rooted" In Oakland

Throughout the whole A's relocation saga, one thing has really bothered me.  The City of Oakland's attitude.  The city and A's fans have acted so entitled, saying things like the A's "belong" in Oakland.  Sorry, but your outrage is fake.  You only "care" now because the team is leaving.  When the reason the team is leaving is because of the city's and fans' apathy towards the team for years, which is what led directly to their decision.

It's also why I'm glad that the A's won't be staying in Oakland beyond this season.  Their stadium in Las Vegas won't be ready until 2028 at the earliest, so they needed a temporary home after their lease at the Oakland Coliseum expires at the end of the season.  They received an offer to extend their lease, but ultimately decided that they'll play in Sacramento for three years, with an option to play there in 2028, as well, should there be any delays with the new stadium.

In its last negotiations with the A's, Oakland presented a five-year lease, with a team opt-out after three.  It also included a ridiculous $97 million "extension fee" that would've been due in full even if the team opted out.  That was eventually lowered to $60 million, which is still significantly higher than the $1.25 million per season the team currently pays to rent the Coliseum.  The team also owns a portion of the Coliseum site, which the city wanted sold back as part of the agreement, and the A's were receptive to that.  The rest of it, though?  Not so much.

So, they're off to Sacramento, where they'll share a 14,000 seat stadium with the Giants' Triple-A affiliate, the River Cats.  The River Cats are owned by Vivek Ranadive, who also owns the Sacramento Kings and is good friends with A's owner John Fisher.  As part of the deal, they won't use any geographic identifier during their time in Sacramento and will be known only as the "A's" (which is still somehow better than "Washington Football Team").

Which, frankly, is what Oakland deserves.  This is a city that has seen both the Raiders and Warriors move in recent years (the Raiders for the second time, after they left and came back), and both for the same reason.  The Oakland Coliseum is a piece of crap!  And the city has done nothing to fix it, despite the team's repeated attempts to get a new ballpark.  The threat of relocation was always there.  So why were people surprised when they followed through?

Let's not forget, that relocation is how Oakland got the A's in the first place!  The team started in Philadelphia, where it was an original American League franchise in 1901, before moving to Kansas City in 1955.  In 1968, they moved to Oakland.  So, no, the A's weren't "rooted" in Oakland.  They were born in Philadelphia.  And they don't "belong" there.  In fact, the amount of time they've been in Oakland (57 years) is only slightly longer than the amount of time they spent in Philadelphia (54 years).

And, frankly, it's not just the crumbling stadium that's a problem.  It's the attendance.  Which is why I think these "fans" with their reverse boycotts and "sell the team" chants are so ridiculous.  Because if they'd actually showed up to support the team before the move to Las Vegas was announced, then the A's might've been motivated to stay.  But, they're a small market team.  They need to sell tickets.  So, if people actually wanted to give them a reason to stay, they'd actually show up at the ballpark and prove it.

I mean, I do get their frustration to a point.  Why should they spend money to watch a terrible team that's making no effort to win?  But, that also means the A's aren't bringing in any revenue, so they don't have the resources to put back into the team.  That's one of the perils of being a small market club.  Yes, Fisher could invest some of his own money, but how much of his own money would he be willing to lose?  And, yes, he could sell the team.  But a new owner would have the same problems.

Simply put, Oakland had multiple chances to keep the A's.  The team spent how many years trying to get a new ballpark, and submitted how many proposals, to no avail?  It was only after the team started exploring other possibilities (including relocation) that the city started to get serious.  And even then, the city's proposal gave off an air of entitlement, as if they were saying the A's would never dare leave Oakland (because it's not like the Raiders had just done the exact same thing or anything).

After the relocation was announced and approved, the A's still needed to find a temporary home.  Staying in the Oakland Coliseum wasn't just an option.  It's arguably the option that made the most sense.  But you could tell the city had pretty much washed its hands of the team.  If they actually wanted them to stay, they would've made an offer that the A's might've agreed to.  Instead, they gave them another reason to leave.  And another reason to blame it on the team.

That's my biggest problem with these "fan" groups that suddenly came out of the woodwork.  They're acting like the A's are committing some sort of ultimate betrayal by moving to Las Vegas.  Yes, they've been playing in Oakland for 57 years, but where was this support earlier?  And all their protests are doing is further exacerbating the attendance problem that's been plaguing the team for years.  If they actually want the team in Oakland, this isn't the way to do it.

Oakland may think it "deserves" the A's, but what has it done to show it?  The Raiders left 40 years ago because LA was willing to give them what Oakland wouldn't, then they moved back, only to leave again because of the same issues that the A's have.  The Raiders were Oakland's team.  They had the fanbase and actually drew people to the Coliseum for games.  If they were willing to leave (for a second time!), they had to see it coming with the A's.  Frankly, it was only a matter of time.

The fact that they're choosing to play in a Minor League stadium in Sacramento instead of extending their lease in Oakland speaks volumes, too.  Even before the staged protests of the last two seasons, attendance in Oakland was embarrassing.  It looks especially bad when you consider how large that stadium is.  The stadium in Sacramento fits only 14,000 (which includes the standing-room-only sections in the outfield).  The A's have drawn less than 10,000 at each of their home games this season.  Assuming they draw similarly in Sacramento, that stadium will look a lot more full than 10,000 fans in the cavernous Oakland Coliseum.

Is it sad for the City of Oakland and A's fans?  Of course!  But if they really did want the team to stay, they didn't show it.  Instead, they took them for granted.  So, in the end, Oakland got what it deserved.  The A's are leaving for greener pastures in Las Vegas in 2028.  Why draw out the divorce, though?  The 2024 season will be their last in Oakland, which had plenty of chances to keep the team, but ended up driving it away.  Just like the Raiders, Warriors and Raiders again before them.