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<\/p>\nRecently, Maury Brown, who writes about the business of baseball, had the opportunity to\u00a0talk with Oakland Athletics president Dave Kaval\u00a0about the team\u2019s proposed move to Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The interview wasn\u2019t really about the recently revealed renderings of the stadium design, so I\u2019m not going to touch on that here. (If you\u2019re interested, Brown has recently written\u00a0an article about the stadium design.)<\/p>\n
Instead, Brown and Kaval discussed what the A\u2019s might expect in a move to Las Vegas, and I\u2019m going to agree with Brown that Kaval has \u201cdelusions of grandeur.\u201d<\/p>\n
From the article linked above:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThis is the most important MLB venue since Oriole Park At Camden Yards,\u201d Kaval says of the Vegas ballpark.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an extraordinary statement, and nearly impossible to believe. Here\u2019s Kaval touting the smallest seating capacity ballpark with a unique roof and little else, as the most transformative ballpark in the last half-a-century. It may not be the first of the modern ballparks (the White Sox holds that honor), but OPACY defined the return of the baseball-only facility and ushered in a wave of others with a retro vibe.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
COMMENT:<\/strong>\u00a0I agree with Brown\u2019s take here, both about OPACY and the new proposed venue in Las Vegas. The new venue has issues\u00a0that I\u2019ve touched on earlier; even if it gets built in some form close to what\u2019s been proposed in the renderings, the small capacity is going to make it difficult for the A\u2019s to make money.<\/p>\n
But wait! There\u2019s more!<\/p>\n
\nIf the comment about the ballpark design being akin to Camden Yards was extraordinary, Kaval moved into delusions of grandeur in response to my comments.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like the example of the Dodgers,\u201d Kaval says. \u201cOur relocation is most similar to the Dodgers move out of Brooklyn.\u201d<\/p>\n
At this stage I have to think he\u2019s trolling. No one can honestly believe this. Paired with the Giants, the Dodgers relocating from Brooklyn to Los Angeles remains one of the most significant moments in Major League Baseball\u2019s history. No clubs had ever been west of the Mississippi River at that stage. Los Angeles was a vast and growing market. It came as commercial air flight was entering the mainstream. Walter O\u2019Malley had Dodger Stadium built with an eye toward the experience patrons at Disneyland received with a spotless venue and an iconic location where the PCL had been the alternative to MLB.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
COMMENT:<\/strong>\u00a0Brown is correct again. The Dodgers move to California, along with the Giants joining them there, transformed MLB from what had been strictly a midwest and northeast sport to something national. Los Angeles wasn\u2019t the huge metropolis in 1958 that it is now, but it can be argued that the Dodgers moving there was part of L.A. becoming that city.<\/p>\n
The A\u2019s moving to Las Vegas, if it happens, isn\u2019t going to be transformative like that. If Dave Kaval believes that, he\u2019s in for an unpleasant surprise.<\/p>\n
Brown reaches this much better comparison and concludes:<\/p>\n
\nIf there\u2019s a situation and key players in this moment for the A\u2019s that harken to baseball\u2019s past, it is the Marlins. Fisher, who has been tormented with \u201cSell the team\u201d reminds one of former Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria. As for Kaval, he reminds one of former Marlins president, David Samson. In both cases, the president of the club was charged with making long-sought-after ballparks come to fruition. Both have that \u201cused car salesman\u201d vibe as if they\u2019re coning you into buying a lemon. And truth be told, the ballpark design in Miami where the Marlins relocated, and the A\u2019s design for their relocation to Las Vegas aren\u2019t too dissimilar. At least the Marlins were the first to break free of the retro designs post-OPACY. The A\u2019s can\u2019t even say that. Attendance in Las Vegas? Seems like something around what the Marlins draw is a reasonable expectation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
COMMENT:<\/strong>\u00a0Bingo! I hadn\u2019t thought of the comp to the Marlins, but it makes a lot of sense. A reviled owner who was finally forced to sell, and a team president who was fired after that sale. They did get their new stadium, Marlins Park (now LoanDepot Park), which opened in 2012. The Marlins got the typical new-stadium attendance bump that year, finishing 18th in attendance at 2,219,444 despite losing 93 games. Since then, Miami\u2019s attendance rankings have been 28th, 27th, 28th, 27th, 28th, 30th, 30th, 30th, 29th and 29th, the last two years ahead of only… the A\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Look, maybe I\u2019m wrong and this will all work out for John Fisher, Dave Kaval and the A\u2019s. If it is, I\u2019ll admit it. (But I don\u2019t think I\u2019m going to have to.)<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll give the last words here to Maury Brown:<\/p>\n
\nFor many of the fans, maybe the Marlins would be the best comp for other reasons. After all, Loria sold the club shortly after arriving in Miami, and new ownership fired Samson. After all, it\u2019s not\u00a0if<\/em>\u00a0but\u00a0when<\/em>\u00a0Fisher eventually sells the A\u2019s.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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