It appears that even the Oakland Athletics are part of the wave of Californians leaving the state in search of a better life.
According to ESPN, on Thursday, the Oakland Athletics, one of MLB’s most legendary franchises, revealed that they had acquired land in Las Vegas, Nevada, after an unsuccessful quest to find land for a new stadium in Oakland. The A’s will now construct a colossal $1.5 billion, 35,000-seat stadium in Sin City for the team.
“For a while, we were on parallel paths [with Oakland], but we have turned our attention to Las Vegas to get a deal here for the A’s and find a long-term home,” team president Dave Kaval told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Oakland has been a great home for us for over 50 years, but we really need this 20-year saga completed and we feel there’s a path here in Southern Nevada to do that.”
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has given his complete endorsement to the relocation, but Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has expressed her dissatisfaction. As a result, the city has formally terminated negotiations with the team to retain them within city limits.
“I am deeply disappointed that the A’s have chosen not to negotiate with the City of Oakland as a true partner, in a way that respects the long relationship between the fans, the City and the team,” Thao said in a statement given to ESPN. “Yet, it is clear to me that the A’s have no intention of staying in Oakland and have simply been using this process to try to extract a better deal out of Las Vegas. I am not interested in continuing to play that game — the fans and our residents deserve better.”
It is possible that Oakland citizens would counter Mayor Thao’s sentiment by asserting that they also deserve better from their city administration, particularly in terms of the district attorney’s office. Pamela Price, a prosecutor backed by George Soros, is implementing policies that have largely contributed to the surge in crime observed across the nation. Fox News cited an instance where Price sought to offer a plea bargain that would have reduced a triple murder sentence to only 15 years, rather than the typical 75-to-life sentence for such appalling crimes.
Although the A’s did not explicitly cite state policies as a factor in their imminent departure, it is hard not to speculate that California’s hostile business environment and overall governance chaos under the leadership of Governor Gavin Newsom (D) might have played a part in their selection of tax-free Nevada.
