Oakland sports fans are on the brink of losing the last professional team they have.
First, the Golden State Warriors left. Then the Oakland Raiders followed suit. Now, the Oakland Athletics seem to be looking in the same direction.
This isn’t the first time the A’s have just picked up and left town. They originated in Philadelphia in 1901, where they stayed until they encountered financial problems brought by the team’s poor play quality and the rising popularity of the Philadelphia Phillies. This would lead to the A’s move to Kansas City in 1954. They relocated once again in 1968 and have called Oakland home ever since.
Since the team has arrived in Oakland, they have connected with their fans as they carried home multiple World Series titles for the city. Now, after over 50 successful years based in Oakland, the A’s are planning to move to Las Vegas at the end of the 2024 season, leaving behind countless bitter fans who have supported the team for decades.
“I’ve been a fan of them since I was a little kid,” senior Abhinav Satheesh said. “Now they’re moving to a different city, so I can’t really go to their games anymore unless they come play another Bay Area team.”
The relocation effort revolves almost entirely around the lack of progress the team has made with the Oakland Coliseum. In 2005, the A’s put together a plan for a new and improved stadium as the condition of the Coliseum continued to deteriorate. The A’s were the only professional sports team left in Oakland, though that didn’t seem to give the city enough incentive to meet their standards.
The Warriors had already left Oakland in 2019, lured away by the promise of playing at the $1.4 billion Chase Center in downtown San Francisco. The Raiders promptly followed in 2020, leaving Oakland for the $2 billion Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Now, the A’s are being tempted by yet another offer from Las Vegas to build them a brand new $1.5 billion stadium, a price tag that the city of Oakland is simply unable to match.
Following in the Raiders’ footsteps, the A’s have turned to fabulous Las Vegas for a shiny new stadium. A vote will be held in November, where they need 75% of the 30 team owners to vote in favor of the move.
Oakland sports fans are exhausting every method of protest against the relocation. They have organized reverse boycotts where they chant and hang signs urging the current owner of the A’s, John Fisher, to sell the team and keep the A’s in Oakland. With no other professional teams set to arrive or return to Oakland, the A’s may be their last hope.
Senior Vihan Shah is another one of the many baseball fans at DVHS who feel like a part of their childhood is leaving with the A’s. As sad as he is, he is not going to stop cheering them on.
“Just because the A’s are leaving doesn’t mean I’ll become a Giants fan, or another local team’s fan,” he said. “I will always commit to them, wherever they are and wherever they go.”
