Associated Press May 25, 2023 7:24pm ET4 Minute Read
MILWAUKEE — Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred says a vote on the Oakland Athletics’ potential move to Las Vegas could take place when the MLB owners meet June 13-15 in New York.
“It’s possible that a move will be voted on as early as June,” Manfred said Thursday in Milwaukee during his tour of major league stadiums to speak with players. “It’s very difficult to have a timeline for Oakland until a deal can actually be considered. There is a relocation process internally that they need to go through and we haven’t even started that process yet.”
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo said Wednesday that lawmakers and the athletics had reached a tentative agreement on a $1.5 billion stadium funding plan that would lure the franchise to Las Vegas. A funding bill has yet to be approved by the legislature.
Manfred was asked if he thinks the possibility of the Athletics remaining in Oakland, where the team has played since 1968, is completely closed.
“I think you’d have to ask the mayor of Oakland that,” Manfred said. “She said she broke off negotiations after an announcement was made in Las Vegas. I have no idea where anything is going to go. There is no definitive deal in Las Vegas. We’ll have to see how that plays out.”
The Athletics have agreed to use land at the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip where the Tropicana Las Vegas casino resort is located. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao issued a statement following the Athletics’ land purchase in Nevada, saying she was disappointed the team had not negotiated with the city as a “true partner.”
The Athletics are looking for a new ballpark to replace the Oakland Coliseum, which has served as their home stadium since arriving from Kansas City and where the team’s lease runs through 2024. The A’s looked at a location near the Howard Terminal in Oakland before shifting their focus of the state.
With their future uncertain, track and field teams are battling it out on the field and in the stands at historic levels.
They started 10:41 on Thursday after drawing level with the 1932 Boston Red Sox and the 1897 St. Louis Browns and posting the fourth-worst 50-game start in major league history. Their average home attendance of 8,695 is nearly 3,600 fewer fans per game than any other team.
Manfred was in Milwaukee when Wisconsin lawmakers debated possible funding plans for American Family Field, the Brewers’ home field since 2001. Manfred was confident that the state would find a solution.
The Brewers’ lease, which runs through 2030, calls for the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District to handle the repairs. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the team said the district doesn’t have enough money to pay for what is needed and the state surplus offers a chance to fund the repairs without imposing a new tax or borrowing money.
“This is a gem of a ballpark,” Manfred said. “It’s really important that the existing lease obligation is funded so that this great ballpark is regularly maintained. This must be done in good time.”
Evers proposed spending nearly $300 million in taxpayer money to make improvements to the stadium, a plan that Republican Convention Speaker Robin Vos declared dead on his arrival. Republicans, who control the Legislature, have yet to present their own alternative, but talks are private.
Vos has said he wants to negotiate a deal that would include the team’s commitment to staying longer in Milwaukee and less relying on funds from a one-time budget surplus that is expected to be around $7 billion.
“The choices that are made between the different ways public money can be spent are choices that legislators have to make,” Manfred said. “What I can say is this ballpark is a win. The Brewers are interested in a long-term relationship, an extension of the lease that keeps them here.”
Manfred noted that Milwaukee’s situation “is actually the opposite of what happened in Oakland.”
“This is a top class facility when built,” said Manfred. “It has been well maintained. The owner is not only committed to putting a competitive team on the pitch, but also to doing his part to keep this stadium alive. Most importantly, the fans here have been enthusiastically supporting the team. I think that.” The real decision that needs to be made here is what we can do to sustain this really great momentum.
“Oakland, unfortunately it’s a facility that was never as good as this one when it opened. They made some unfortunate decisions not to maintain the ballpark the way it needed to be maintained. This resulted in a drop in attendance, which had an impact on the quality of product the team could afford to bring to the pitch.”