If the Oakland Athletics decide to leave the Bay Area before their new stadium is ready in Las Vegas in 2028, they will have to pay a high price for it.
The A’s lease at the Oakland Coliseum expires on December 31, 2024, but for the past two years the team has been considering a move to Las Vegas, and attendance at the old facility has been the lowest ever. of Major League Baseball (MLB).
This has prompted the team to explore the possibility of playing at a temporary site before its possible official move to Las Vegas, which is scheduled for the start of the 2028 MLB season.
But despite the team’s lease on the Oakland Coliseum ending after next season, the team in 2019 reached an agreement to purchase the Alameda County portion of the Coliseum Complex for $85 million, to be paid in installments for seven years. That complex includes the Coliseum, the adjoining Oakland Coliseum Arena, former home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, and 120 acres of grounds.
The city of Oakland, which owns the other 50 percent of the complex, said in a recent update to its website that if the A’s left Oakland before 2026, the team would have to immediately pay the county any outstanding amounts. As of this year, that amount stands at $45 million.
The A’s have a contract to pay the county $15 million each year between 2024 and 2026. Which means that if they leave Oakland after next season, when their lease on the Coliseum ends, the team would still have to pay 30 million dollars to Alameda County.
A’s president Dave Kaval has indicated on several occasions that the team could share the Las Vegas Ballpark with its Triple-A affiliate, the Aviators, in the 2025 MLB season.
Sacramento’s mayor recently hinted in a radio interview that the city was also convincing the team to play in its minor league ballpark between the time their lease ends in Oakland and they open their planned stadium in Las Vegas.
The move to Las Vegas is contingent, of course, on the passage of the team’s stadium funding bill, Senate Bill 509, into law. This law includes up to $380 million in public funding for the stadium project.
The city of Oakland is also working with a group to potentially sell its 50 percent interest in the complex for $115 million, the city said. African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) intends to bring other professional sports teams, including a WNBA franchise, to the complex. Any redevelopment tied to that deal would require cooperation between the city of Oakland and the A’s.
The A’s unveiled plans last month to build a $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat stadium with a partially retractable roof on the land where Tropicana currently stands.
If the remaining balance owed to Alameda County appears too heavy a burden to pay up-front to leave Oakland before its new Las Vegas stadium is complete, the team would have to negotiate a new lease with the Coliseum Authority. The team must pay $1.25 million for the final year of his lease in 2024.
With both the city and county having to approve a new lease, and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has indicated that she believes the A’s dealings with them in a potential stadium deal at Howard Terminal were bad faith, it could be difficult.
With the possibility of increased attendance and ticket prices for playing in a smaller, minor league stadium, the A’s could suck it up and pay what’s left of their agreement with the county and see the potential benefits.
It’s unclear if the A’s would keep their 50 percent of the complex or if they would sell it to the city of Oakland or AASEG.
Representatives for the A’s and Alameda County were not available for comment Thursday.
2023-06-02 19:18:09
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