ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith says that Oakland gave the A’s no reason to turn down a lucrative offer to move to Las Vegas
The Athletics announced recently that they had accepted an offer to move the franchise to a brand new facility just off the Las Vegas Strip. It will mark the fourth home city for the franchise since its inception in 1901 (Philadelphia, Kansas City, Oakland, and now – Las Vegas). Last week, the MLB owners voted unanimously to approve the move, which essentially clears the way and leaves no doubt the transition will happen. And at least one sports commentator has no sympathy for the city for the way they handled their stadium situation.
However, in a recent rant, the always-opinionated ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith was quick to point out that this isn’t a new problem for Oakland, and that they already lost the Raiders due to the same types of issues with The Coliseum.
The huge 63,000-seat cathedral has a rich history, but it has fallen far from the level of the lush and profitable palaces that pro franchises normally call home. The A’s ballpark has essentially been the worst stadium in all of the four major sports for many years. Now, it will no longer be the home of any major league teams, and Smith recently stated his opinion that ownership was given almost no choice: They HAD to move.
“We can feel sorry for the folks in Oakland, ’cause I certainly do,” Smith said, before pointing out the trend that has gone on with the city and its teams. “The Golden State Warriors moved out of Oakland, the Oakland Raiders moved out of the city of Oakland, and now the A’s follow.”
“It’s about how dilapidated and run down those facilities appear to be” Smith concluded. “And somehow, someway… the local government in the city of Oakland didn’t get their act together in time to appease the team in order to cajole them into staying.”
Smith does have a point, in that two generations of local government were very aware of the stadium’s shortcomings. It was a problem that arose in the 1990s, and every effort by Oakland to put a Band-Aid on the situation has now led to them losing yet another major pro sports franchise. And in turn? A major part of the city’s history, as well.
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