The Oakland A’s could become the Las Vegas A’s if the Howard Terminal plan falls apart for a downtown stadium in Oakland. Vegas came up as one of the top cities the A’s could relocate to. The A’s have been in Oakland since 1968. ( photo from the Las Vegas Review Journal)

Oakland A’s Stadium Soap Opera – Built It or Relocate-

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

OAKLAND–Major League Baseball instructed the Oakland Athletics to explore relocation options as the team tries to secure a new waterfront park in hopes of keeping the team at Oakland, where they have played since 1968. AP Reported that MLB released a statement Tuesday expressing its longtime determination that the current Coliseum site is “not a viable option for the future vision of baseball.”

A’s President Dave Kaval remains hopeful of a stadium deal, but there is beginning to be a time crunch; “we’re going to immediately start working with the league on exploring other markets and working hand in hand with them to identify which ones make the most sense and pursuing that right away,” A’s President Dave Kaval told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “We need to keep our options know. People know, we can’t even keep the lights on here at the Coliseum.”

The goal had been to inaugurate the Howard Terminal Park in 2023, but now, even if approved by the City of Oakland City Council this summer, it would not be ready until the year 2027. So, you can draw your own conclusions, but to me it seems the City of Oakland is more focus on giving their citizens a guaranteed salary than keeping the Major League franchise in their city.

Again, we see how local politics could kill another stadium proposal, a few years ago it was Fremont, here in the Bay Area. For us who have lived most of our lives in the Bay Area, if the Athletics leave, we should not be that surprised. Remember how long it took for the San Francisco Giants to get their new park.

Las Vegas would make the most sense, they could play at their AAA park where the Aviators play, until they finish the construction of their new park and they will still be in the Western Division, but there are other options if they move out of Oakland. Other cities that were mentioned for an A’s relocation Portland, North Virginia, Vancouver, Charlotte, and Montreal.

If you wonder if rebuilding at the Coliseum location was a possibility (like many have said in the past) MLB said in a statement today “it is not a viable option for the future vision of baseball.

Join Amaury Pi Gonzalez for all the play by play of Oakland A’s baseball with Manolo Hernandez Douen on the A’s flagship station 1010 KIQI LaGrande San Francisco and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com