Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher released an open letter to fans Thursday, hours after all 30 Major League Baseball team owners voted to allow Fisher and his partners to move the team to Las Vegas in 2028.
"I know that today is a very difficult day with the vote by MLB owners allowing for the A's relocation from Oakland to Las Vegas," Fisher said in the letter addressed to "Fans of the Oakland A's."
"I share a lot of those emotions -- sadness that our team will be leaving its home since 1968, pride in what we have accomplished together on and off the field in Oakland, but also hope and optimism about the future of the A's in Las Vegas," Fisher said in the seven-paragraph letter.
Fans and the city of Oakland had for years resisted the move, which is all but final after the vote, pending one last challenge by a teachers' union in Nevada that opposes the public funding being allocated for the proposed new ballpark at the Tropicana site on the Las Vegas Strip.
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The team also released a statement on behalf of Fisher, thanking owners and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred for "their thoughtful deliberations and positive votes in favor of our relocation to Las Vegas."
Fisher said the need for a new stadium was clear before he and business partner Lew Wolff bought the team in 2005.
He said the team spent the last six years exploring options for a new stadium in Fremont, San Jose, or Oakland, including options at Laney College, Howard Terminal, and the Coliseum site, but none worked out.
Elected leaders in Oakland reacted to the owners' vote with consternation. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said in a statement that she was disappointed by the vote and vowed to fight to keep the franchise from taking the name and logo with them in the move.
U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, called the owners' vote "shameful."
Fisher thanked Oakland officials for their efforts and said he was not to blame for the team's move.
"I also understand their disappointment and frustration, and the desire in the media to place all the blame on me and the A's organization for the inability to make this work. All I can say is that we worked as hard as possible for 6 years to find a solution in Oakland," the letter said.
Fisher, who cast one of the votes Thursday to move the team, ended the letter with an apology to fans.
"To our fans, I am truly sorry. While I know that today is a sad day, I hope that it is also the start of a new and bright future for the A's."
The team will play the 2024 season at the Oakland Coliseum but won't make the move to Las Vegas until a new stadium is built in 2028. The team is exploring multiple options for the interim.
Meanwhile, a political action committee backed by the Nevada State Education Association called Schools Over Stadiums is seeking to reverse the allocation of $380 million in public funding from the state of Nevada for the new ballpark through both litigation and a ballot initiative.
