Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, and other city leaders, will call on Major League Baseball owners to keep the A's in Oakland Tuesday, and the city council will vote on a resolution re-affirming the city’s support for the team.
This comes as MLB owners take a vote next week on the team’s plans to relocate to Las Vegas.
“There’s not really anything of substance that I’ve seen in Las Vegas,” said Stu Clarey, an Oakland A’s fan.
He spearheaded the infamous “reverse boycott” in June, getting fans to pack the Coliseum, urging Oakland A’s owner John Fisher to sell the team.
But as early as next week, Major League Baseball owners could vote on a proposal for the A's to move to Las Vegas.
The team needs 75% of owners to vote in favor of the proposal to make the move.
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It’s why Clarey believes there’s still hope for the A’s to remain in Oakland.
“It’s not a done deal. It will be done deal when they put shovels in the ground somewhere,” he said.
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Thao and other city leaders will hold a press conference Tuesday, urging MLB owners to keep the team in Oakland.
NBC Bay Area reached out to them Monday night, but no one was available to speak.
The city council will also vote on a resolution reaffirming its support for the team, including adopting approvals for the Howard Terminal Project, and securing more than $400 million in grants to build a new stadium.
This comes as a Nevada judge tossed out a petition Monday, allowing Nevada voters to decide if taxpayer money should be used to build the new A’s ballpark in Las Vegas.
“That says a lot to Major League Baseball that maybe the issue is not the city of Oakland, maybe it’s A’s ownership,” said Chris Dobbins of Save Oakland Sports.
He said it’s a smart move by the city to show it has a plan in place.
And he says it’s now up to the owners to decide if the best path forward is to keep the A's in Oakland.
“The city needs to reaffirm all the work that they’ve done,” said Dobbins. “There’s been so much effort and work.”
