“If you (ever) build it, they will come”
Examining the Oakland A’s painful quest to get a new Stadium
If you are looking for an old fashioned love triangle, the Bay Area is the place to look. The story goes something like this — Oakland wants to stay with the A’s. The A’s are tired of Oakland and want San Jose. San Jose wants the A’s, but are locked down to the Giants. It’s a nasty stalemate that has the entire Bay Area divided.
The A’s have been playing in Oakland since 1968. They have represented the city proudly winning four World Series, more than the San Francisco Giants have won, and producing a slew of Hall of Famers. Over the last two years, they have been one of the best stories in baseball: a young team with a limited payroll that isn’t afraid of anyone, except Justin Verlander.
Despite all of their success, the organization faces a plethora of problems with playing in Oakland. First, their attendance continues to be among the lowest in baseball at 23rd out of 30 teams. More importantly, the O.co Coliseum is one of the worst stadiums in baseball. For years, their owner Lew Wolff has been searching for a new downtown ballpark for the A’s.
That is the source of all the debate in the Bay Area. Where should the A”s build their new stadium? Here are the options they have:
Scenario 1: Stay in Oakland
In it for the long haul
Staying in Oakland is the sentimental favorite. While I was raised a Giants fan, I went to many A’s games as a kid and loved the environment of the Coliseum. Even today, the fans that do show up to A’s games are enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and festive (Is there anything cooler than the drums coming from the bleachers?). However, the current stadium is an absolute dump. Literally, a dump. Over the past season, there were three separate sewage leaks within the stadium; the last one resulted in flooding the visiting team’s dugout. Time Magazine ranked it as the #5 worst stadium in all of sports. The O.co Coliseum feels like a third-world country, without all of the chaos and excitement that makes third-world countries awesome.
While the city of Oakland publicly states they want to build a new ballpark, they have provided no realistic plan to do so. The current options on the table are:
- Tear down the current Coliseum and building a new Coliseum City, which is similar to what Los Angeles did with LA Live. This would include a new stadium for the Raiders, A’s and potentially Warriors. The plan seems like a “hail mary” to save Oakland’s teams. Wolff and MLB prefer a location that is downtown and near the waterfront.
- Build a stadium at Howard Terminal near Jack London square. While this location would be at least downtown, the city hasn’t even kicked off the due diligence process to see if this is a viable option. The city seems focused on option #1, but for the A’s, this would be a far better option.
There are larger issues with Oakland as a city, which make it more of a questionable choice. Mayor Jean Quan has stated that the city will provide little to no financial support for a new stadium. This means the Oakland owner would have to build a brand new stadium with almost all of his own money. Given Wolff is paying for the stadium, it should be no surprise that he’s questioning whether or not Oakland is a good investment. The short answer is no.
While Oakland has made strides as a city, it frankly doesn’t have the people or cash to support a professional baseball team. The business ecosystem, which is crucial for leasing luxury seats and providing sponsorship dollars is comparatively weak. Only six of the 30 Fortune 500 companies in the Silicon Valley reside in the East Bay.
The city of Oakland has been strapped for cash for years. In 2011, Oakland laid off 18% of its police staff due to budget cuts. In the following year, murders went up 16%, rapes increased by 24%, and burglaries up 43%. Cities cannot print money like the US government. If they spend money on a professional sports team, they are spending less on something else, like teachers or cops. Fans feel Wolff is betraying them by looking outside of Oakland. However, the reality is most of the arguments around keeping the A’s in Oakland are emotional, not economical.
Scenario 2: Move to San Jose
The sexy mistress down the street
Big business and rich people. Lots of them. That is the recipe for success in supporting a professional franchise. It’s no wonder the A’s owner has been so keen on moving to San Jose. With a booming population and an army of Fortune 500 companies, San Jose has the financial muscle to support building a new stadium. The only problem: the A’s legally can’t move to San Jose. This is where things get messy.
Since the San Francisco Giants have always owned territorial rights to San Jose, the plan could only happen if the A’s and Giants negotiate some sort of deal. The Giants understand that much of their fan base is located in San Jose and don’t want lose that support. Naturally, they are unwilling to negotiate.
But why do the Giants have territorial rights in the first place? Baseball is the only sport where relocation is regulated. They have this power because of a 1922 Supreme Court decision, which exempts baseball from US anti-trust laws. It states that, “personal effort, not related to production, is not subject to commerce.” The decision established baseball as a game, not a business. The Supreme Court has had chances to overturn this ruling, but instead said Congress has to get rid of the exemption. I just want to repeat: we are in this mess because of a Supreme Court decision in 1922, that only applies to baseball.
San Jose is now in a legal battle with MLB and the Giants to lift the territorial rights, but that case hasn’t gotten off to a great start. This leaves only two more options for the A’s to move to San Jose. One would be that the Giants decide that they want to settle and name a ridiculously large dollar amount. Given the Giants don’t want to see the A’s in San Jose, they have avoided even giving a number.
The last option is that the MLB Commissioner puts the decision up for a vote with the MLB owners. To date, there are no plans of this and even if it does go to a vote, there is no indication that the owners will vote in the A’s favor. MLB owners know it creates a dangerous precedent for any team to move if they are performing poorly. Imagine how excited the Tampa Bay Rays would be if they could move to Brooklyn and thereby, encroach on Yankees/Mets territory.
For now, all signs are pointing to San Jose being a distant dream.
Scenario 3: Look for other options
Single and ready to mingle
If Oakland and San Jose don’t work out, then there are a few different ways this could play out:
- Wolff could sell the team to a different ownership group that has intentions of keeping the team in Oakland. This is similar to how Sacramento kept the Kings from moving to Seattle last year. The one tiny problem with this plan is Wolff has no intention of selling the team.
- Move the team from Oakland to another city. While this certainly is dependent on a number of factors, my “far too early to be guessing” guesses are: Portland, Sacramento Las Vegas, and Mexico City (?).
What should the MLB Commissioner do?
The only person who can do anything in this hot mess is the MLB Commissioner, Bud Selig. Selig is in a tough spot as he doesn’t want to upset the Giants, yet cannot provide a viable alternative for the A’s.
The move from Oakland to San Jose makes a lot of sense not only for the Bay Area but for baseball. Look at the Washington Nationals who moved from small market Montreal to Washington DC. After moving into a new stadium, they expanded their payroll and have turned into a winning organization.
Being a Giants fan who grew up near San Jose, I am the exact reason the Giants don’t want to lose San Jose. Territorial rights are an asset, so the Giants deserve to be compensated. Selig needs to get the A’s and Giants together to sort out a settlement amount that works for both parties. No MLB owners want to take sides in this matter, so only a deal that satisfies both parties will get sufficient support. If the Giants are unwilling to negotiate on San Jose, then other cities like Portland or Sacramento deserve a look.
In the meantime, the A’s will continue to play in their sewage-filled stadium for a few more years, while shopping for better options. Their fans will remain conflicted — whether to root for their team, or cut ties with a relationship that seems doomed for failure. I guess, all is fair in love and war, right?
