The A’s have retained an investment banking firm in an effort to procure $500MM in private funding towards the construction of their Las Vegas ballpark, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. The A’s are prepared to offer minority ownership shares in the franchise to potential investors as they put together financing for their estimated $1.5 billion stadium.
Last summer, Nevada lawmakers approved $380MM in public funding — taking the form of state tax credits, county-issued bonds and a county credit — to offset a chunk of the cost. Shortly thereafter, MLB approved the A’s relocation efforts. A political action committee has sued the state in an effort to overturn the public funding law, but there’s no indication that’s currently a serious threat to the relocation.
Even with the public money in hand, the A’s are set to pay upwards of $1.1 billion in estimated construction costs. Shaikin notes the public funding law requires the A’s to present a specific financing plan for their balance. The organization is evidently looking for half a billion dollars in outside investment to meet those obligations.
While the financial specifics were previously unclear, dangling ownership shares to investors has long been the organization’s plan. Owner John Fisher told Howard Stutz of the Nevada Independent in January that he was considering selling minority stakes to Vegas-area investors. Fisher made clear in that interview that he and his family “would retain majority ownership and (continue to) oversee operations” of the franchise.
The A’s plan to complete construction on their 33,000-seat facility on the Vegas strip in time for the 2028 season. They’re playing their final year in Oakland before a three-year move to Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park between 2025-27.
How much is fisher worth again? someone remind me what that cheapskate is worth again? And I’m an East coast guy have no dog in this fight, except I’ll have to drive to Vegas ,to see the sox or rays, a bit farther.
$3B
In 2022 Forbes estimated his net worth at 2.2 billion. The A’s account for a little over half of that.
1.8 bil which was top 10, 5 years ago before the cohans of the world came into play. but he didn’t spend back then. I get it he’s playing the game to gain investors to foot the bill, as he should, but he’s also sold this team out in Oakland for years, especially during the years they still had a shot. I’d bet he keeps the team for 2 or 3 years after the move reaps the benefits then cashes out as any businessman at the highest cost possible.
The A’s are valued at approximately $1.18 billion. Fisher also owns the MLS San Jose Jose Earthquakes, valued at approximately $510 million. That was the club’s valuation in 2021. It might be worth a bit more now. The rest of his wealth is approximately $400 million in Gap stock.
Since both MLB and MLS rules prevent him from getting a loan based on the value of his teams, taking on minority partners is the only possible way he can do this, and even then I think it’s very doubtful. The minority partners he seeks would be buying into a team Fisher plans to move to the smallest media market in MLB, without a TV deal, at a time in which the RSN market is all but dead.
Even if he raises $500 million and gets the public money, that’s still not enough, especially because inflation and any construction delays will increase the costs. Where’s he getting the rest of the $?
They’ll get some kind of new TV deal in Las Vegas, so the Vegas version of the team will eventually still probably be worth more than the A’s are worth right now. I think potential investors could make a tidy profit by buying low.
Does Vegas TV have any real range though? I find if hard to believe it’s a better market that NBC NoCal. Even sharing the Giants.
A’s are heading to being the Washington Generals playing for the away crowd.
It doesn’t have to be a better TV deal. It just has to be good enough to eventually push the Vegas team to be worth overall more when considering all revenue factors, which shouldn’t be that hard considering the current state of the Oakland Athletics.
Another way to look at this, is how much is the team worth to the city? not saying I’d give any team 1c of tax money for a stadium, but this is 1.1b possibly by LV and that city by all rights isn’t broke and in debt as it is.
What about Chicago and the bears trying to extort *5bn* in tax money, which is out of one of the brokest cities and states in the union already by adding additional taxes? Who is going to pay them? people who will leave that might have been able to, or the poorest, who are stuck and unable to leave, but left with a football stadium?
Chicago and the Bears have nothing to do with this. Pure deflection.
1-IMHO, this is all a business decision. What is the present value of the future cash flows v how much do you lay out today.
2-After that, the government has the right to threaten the team just like the team can threaten the gov’t. LV had no leverage, and is a city built entirely on tourism.
The Bears and the WS can threaten to leave, but can they follow through? Are there areas within a 30-minute drive that will offer more than Chicago?
@Joe For the Bears the answer is absolutely yes. Arlington Heights where they plan building is 26 miles driving distance. NFL fans regularly travel cross country for games.
The city of Chicago has a population of 2.7M and Metro Chicago has a population of 9.5M. Selling out 8 or 9 home games a season is bot going to be an issue whatsoever.
In cases like the Bears. Using public funding it probably needs to be a joint venture where Cook County isn’t left on the hook so that the suburbs get a new toy bought straight out by the city proper.
Fisher has a net worth of $2.2 billion. Of that $1.74 billion or 79% is the value of the A’s and the San Jose Earthquakes soccer club.
He has approximately $400 million in stock in GAP and a $120k salary from GAP.
He also owns commercial properties, mostly office buildings, that he purchased for $72 million that are currently valued at $20-24 million.
He has a 50% interest in the site the Coliseum sits on. He still owes the JPA $55 million of the $70 million purchase price for that interest and can only sell to a buyer approved by the city of Oakland and Alameda County. He has been offered $110 million for the 50% interest in that site by AASEG, a group looking to build a new stadium at the site of the Coliseum to attract an NFL team.
The A’s were recently valued at $1.2 billion by Forbes, but $400 million of that was based on them being in the 10th largest market.
Great breakdown.
What’s crazy is after all the lawsuits and drama between Fisher and the City there’s potential for even more with the sale of his interest in the Coliseum site.
This could be the divorced couple who spend all their time arguing with each other rather than moving on with life.
Thanks. I think you are right about divorced couple analogy. Fisher has already shown he can be petty beyond reason.
I bet he leaves after the season without even saying thank you to all the loyal fans whom supported the A’s through their perpetual tanking and MLB welfare pocketing.
The A’s have more wins (13) than fans this month (2). How is this possible?
If you make the mistake of going on Twitter/X, you come to find Oakland is actually a baseball mecca with millions upon millions of fans just waiting to sell out every game. We don’t talk about the Giants, their palace 8 miles away, their 3 recent WS rings, or the fact that there are 10 Giants fans for every A’s fan. In all seriousness, I’m a lifelong fan, and I’m just tired of an old ballpark and my team being a joke. At this point Sacramento or even Vegas is preferable.
Oakland is not a baseball mecca. The threat of losing the team should have brought the fans out in droves. Like Minnesota in the early 2000s when the threat of contraction came. Oakland did not rise up to the challenge. If you are correct (and you’re not), these alleged fans should be ashamed of themselves. Fisher is bad yet the lack of fans prove he is right.
San Francisco almost lost the Giants to Tampa Bay in the 1990s. The result was the ownership group selling due to deep fan pressure. They built a privately funded park on the water with no public funds and the rest is history.
San Fran almost lost the Giants to Toronto in the mid-70’s. It’s not 1975 or 1990. You want to do zero heavy lifting and expect ownership to do it for you? Why can’t you step up?
Matter of fact, Fisher bought the team in 2005. What was your excuse from 1993 to 2005 when you stopped caring about baseball? This “get a new stadium” solves everything narrative is pure crap.
I was being sarcastic. Twitter is pushing a narrative that Oakland is a baseball mecca
I always say this. Money will tell us the truth in a capitalistic economy.
If Oakland is a viable site because of fan interest, and because the city is a willing partner, they will be building a new stadium, with a new owner, before the As even get to Vegas.
But I doubt even the most optimistic As fans think that will happen.
its_happening, Toronto isn’t really considered a baseball mecca either, it’s also bold of you to leave out the nearby Expos when that contraction idea came up.
Steinbrenner it’s not bold. Montreal actually helps my point about Oakland. Fans did not show up when it mattered.
Exactly what were you thinking mentioning Montreal which helps my case? Also, Toronto was a destination for San Fran which also doesn’t help your joke of a comment.
So long as John Fisher owns the team it will stay a joke.
20 years ofba refusal to invest in the product.
It took MLB taking away revenue sharing for him to even lift an earnest finger to start looking at a real solution to the ballpark.
He should never have been given revenue sharing in a large market.
Stairs he took over in 2005. Explain the previous 12 years? You have 30 years of poor support under your belt. Have some accountability over this situation.
How’s this for accountability then: John Fisher took over in 2005. The A’s went 10 years, mostly with the help of Billy Beane, of over-.500 seasons (1997 – 2007). Bob Melvin helped manage the team to make the postseason when people thought the team would go nowhere due to lack of spending. It also doesn’t help that he’s on his second investment banker, when he was at-risk of moving on to his third one, which is probably why this article had to be put-out.
The previous 12 years are easily explained by bad ownership and an underwhelming fan experience. It’s on a business to attract customers. Also let’s not forget during the early 2010’s the A’s tarped off tons off seats to make the seating significantly smaller.
“Fans have been asking for the removal of the tarps since their inception but things really came to a head in 2012.
The club had been predicted to lose 100 games. Instead the ballclub won 97 games, defeating the Texas Rangers on the final day of the season to win the division by a single game.
The A’s were drawing sellout crowds and having to turn fans away. Calls for the tarps to be removed were everywhere according to the San Francisco Gate. There were online petitions, pleas from city officials and of course fan complaints to the management.
The A’s executives wrote an email to SFGate explaining their reasoning for not removing the tarps. According to them it was to keep the ballpark more intimate.”
MatthewStairs
So long as John Fisher owns the team it will stay a joke.
==============================
The A’s have been one of the better teams is BB since Fisher owned it. Unfortunately, As fans aren’t aware of what their record is.
Bob Melvin was the A’s manager for 10 years, Billy Beane at least battled with the cheapness, too. Since 2005, when Fisher took over, the A’s have gone for a overall W-L of 1478-1497 as of this year.
Your support for the A’s has been below average since 1993. A’s were 6th out of 15 AL teams once (2003). That is not a Fisher problem, that is a you problem.
Montreal finished below average attendance every year their final 20 years of existence. Thank you for bringing up the Expos.
Who cares about Bob Melvin?
Your A’s underspent before Fisher. Stop it. You conveniently left out 2000-2003 where your A’s should have won at least 3 out of the 4 playoff series’ of that stretch. That wasn’t Fisher’s fault either.
Stairs, it’s been over 30 years since “sellout” crowds were a thing. That is still a you problem.
The 2012 season when fans were turned away because ownership tarped the seats and wouldn’t allow more fans in? Multiple. What else do you call games where fans are turned away due to a lack of seats?
Or 2014 when they drew over 2 million fans and immediately tore down the entire roster?
Keep looking for anyone else to share the blame.
Agreed. I’m as anti-fisher as an probably be. But it seemed like a real stretch to keep the team in Oakland proper. Perhaps even Alameda County.
The issue I draw is with the Giants being allowed to control the entire market. Baseball needs the antitrust exemption removed. You’d have an A’s stadium atleast in San Jose by now.
A little regional competition is healthy. If I were a Giants fan I’d want my owner having as much incentive to put a winning team on the field as possible.
The A’s leaving won’t make the Giants better for their fans. It lowers the floor if anything.
Considering the substantial financial requirements and the strategy of offering minority ownership shares to potential investors, how does the A’s management envision maintaining the franchise’s autonomy and strategic direction while integrating new investors into ownership, especially as they navigate the complexities of relocating and constructing a new stadium?
The team is estimated to be worth about $1.2B. If they sell, say, a 40% stake for about $500M, they retain control.
You know, all those rich guys dying to give money to John Fisher to receive…a minority share in the worst organization in sports.
A’s have been a top-10 MLB franchise since 2000. Matter of fact, they are a top-3 MLB franchise in history. Only the Yankees and Cardinals have won more World Series than the A’s. In 2028, when they are in their shiny new ballpark in Vegas, their narrative will completely change. They are only seen as a joke right night because they should have moved/gotten a new ballpark 20 years ago.
Maybe a year ago that’s what the know-nothings thought. A’s fans always knew better (plus it’s a dumb point because he’s the owner of the team, so getting them a new stadium for 20 years was kinda his responsibility).. Now they’re seen as a joke because of John Fisher. On top of all his other failings, he’s not even good at PR. He waited too long and went too slow and now he’s exposed himself as the face of terrible sports ownership. At this time in 2023, most people probably didn’t even know who he was.
The worst run franchise is up for grabs with the “Arte Morenos”. It is one thing to get the money for the stadium. The other is if Fisher is still going to run the organization the same as he does now, he will have a new stadium devoid of fans. Fisher, Moreno and others like Daniel Snyder don’t belong in professional sports.
As much as I despise Moreno, I sat at a packed ballpark last Saturday night to watch the Angels get destroyed.
Arte improved the fan experience, negotiated a great TV deal while being second fiddle in the market, and has improved the stadium considerably.
Fisher has done none of that.
Fisher took over day to-day operations from Wolfe after 2016 season. While Fisher has been in charge of running the team they have a 501-536 record. That .485 win % is in the bottom 3rd in baseball over that period.
Since 2020 they have gone 232-314. That .425 win % is the 2nd worst in MLB. They also have spent the least money on payroll while trading away all the star players. Unsurprisingly, they drew just 2.3 million fans in those 3 seasons, 2021-2023.
The A’s have not been to the WS in 34 years and have not won a playoff series since 2006 other than a WC game.
There is no reason to see them as anything other than a joke since Fisher took over operations there.
Tjmacari- I hope you’re thinking proves true. But I don’t see any incentive to put a winner on the field in Vegas. I don’t believe the local market itself can support an MLB team. Call it a smaller Phoenix. And I see the A’s being more like the Washington Generals with their home crowd full of tourist fans of the visiting team.
The ONE thing the A’s have done well over time is scout. You can’t prolong all this and keep good people. Colorado was the same way. Eventually the core baseball people move on.
It seems to me that the Angel fan experience works against putting a quality product in the field. The accountants see profits. From the bottom line perspective the Angels ARE a solid baseball business.
Fans really need to speak with their wallets. Because the $$$ right now says they like losing and its OK to lose.
Fisher family is worth $7B. John has said that he’s ready to fund the ballpark himself if it comes down to it. A’s to Vegas is happening. I’m starting to get really annoyed with Twitter/etc. which is like static noise while I’m trying to enjoy my team. They are now only 4 games under .500 (unthinkable a month ago)
I guess you could stay off of those sites if you are so sensitive to facts John.
That’s right, I’m John Fisher 😛 and Oakland is an AWESOME place for baseball, just look at our awesome attendance last 20 years
Fisher can’t finance it himself. HE is worth $2.2 billion of which about 80% is the A’s and San Jose Earthquakes.
Goldman Sachs tried to procure financing for him to build the Las Vegas ballpark and failed. That is why he is now trying to sell $500 million worth of the team or about a 40% interest.
Unless that minority partnership is sold to Vivek Ranadive and the team stays in Sacramento, I doubt anyone will be willing to partner with Fisher without getting majority control of the team.
I’m holding out it’ll end up the team gets somewhere else. I’d take Sac, Portland, or SLC over Vegas. I’m not a fan of the modern Vegas.
Kansas City voters rejected taxes to fund a new stadium for a perennial Super Bowl contender (aa well as the Royals) and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker just pourd cold water all over the idea of using tax payer money for new stadiums for the Bears and the White Sox. With almost zero traction in Vegas thus far and the ever increasing chance that tax payers vote “no” on public funding Fisher may need to explore the possibility of staying in Sacramento
“Kansas City voters…zero traction in Vegas”…American States, cities and counties have been giving welfare(free or discounted stadiums)to billionaires for going on many decades now. Where were you phonies back when this trend first started? Probably pressing your local elected leaders to build free stadiums for your own hometown sports teams, am I right?.These things don’t happen in a vacuum and never would occur without massive local public support. There’s little doubt in my mind, that many of you phonies standing on soapboxes now were the same people supporting free stadiums(for your own local teams) in the first place.
My hometown team’s stadium is 112 years old, so…
Do you also have a team with a brand new ballpark only 8 miles away? The Giants being 8 miles away from the coliseum is a poison pill for the A’s. They should have moved to Sacramento or San Jose 20 years ago.
It might be 8 miles away but takes an hour and a half to drive there.
Since when is a 24-year-old stadium (in San Francisco) “brand new”? It’s over the hill or close to it in modern stadium age.
Mine is the 4th oldest ballpark in MLB. The one just north of here is the third.
The Rams facility was built using all private money. The new Clippers arena is 100% privately financed as well. Staples Center was 100% privately financed.
The Chargers are playing in the Rams facility only after voters turned down public funding for a stadium.
Seems like this “trend” has been going on for decades here.
Pay attention TJM, the ballpark in San Francisco is 24 years old and the A’s can’t move to San Jose.
mlb fan
Where were you phonies back when this trend first started?
=============================
I am, and continue to be, 100% in the support of the NYC funds used to help build Yankee Stadium.
Not even close. Not even a second thought.
You’re a Red Sox fan living in Las Vegas who also roots for the Raiders and also happens to actually be from The Bronx, JoeBrady. You mentioned it many times.
No, I do not live in LV. I visit it often enough, but I wouldn’t want to live there.
Which has nothing to do with me being glad that NYC chipped in some money to keep the NYY in The Bronx. $450M divided by 8M residents divided by 30 years is $1.88 a year.
Kansas is about to float the entire cost of either a Royals or Chiefs stadium using STAR bonds. I love Kauffman Stadium. But from a pure business perspective…let’s say NO Stadium existed now. Those new ones would be built on the KS side where the $ is.
“Kansas City voters”…You phonies are SO late to the party, you may as well have just stayed home. You cannot put milk back in the bottle, once it’s already been spilled.
Who is on the soapbox now?
We’ve heard you. Now, Go Away.
Pritzker just pourd cold water all over the idea of using tax payer money for new stadiums for the Bears and the White Sox.
=========================
Pritzker has no hound n this race. Since they won’t be leaving the state, this is a city (or county) issue. As I mentioned above, I am very grateful that NYC helped the NYY stay in The Bronx.
yet another city gets suckered into using public funds to help out a billionaire. vegas, baby!
Welcome to major league sports dude
sad but true
Those Sacramento city connects will be fire yo
Is it just me or does anyone else think 33,000 seats is not enough for an MLB stadium? It’s enough for the A’s but laughable when top teams draw over 40,000 on a good game and even 3 million a season
I doubt they’re going to need any more than that.
It’s going to be one of the two smallest stadiums in MLB.
The new Tampa Bay Rays stadium is going to be even smaller. Their stadium will have a usual capacity of 30,000 for baseball, with the ability to seat 35,000 if necessary.
I think the trend in stadium design is going to be to reduce capacity. For example, the new Buffalo Bills stadium will seat 62,000. Approximately 10,000 fewer than the old stadium. You’re seeing this on the college level too.
Doubt they will even fill it most of the time. Baseball teams survive (attendance wise) on a solid local fan base. This stadium is located on the Strip and any Vegas local (I lived there for 10 years) will tell you that locals avoid the Strip like the plague. The only time I went to the strip was for business (sadly that was too often) or when I had visitors from out of state.
You also have to consider the chunk of Vegas that work casinos and most casinos have heavier staffing in the evenings.
Summer heat is also a factor. Phoenix is the 5th largest city in the US and avg attendance for the D-Backs last year was 24,000+. Vegas is the 24th ranked. They may have decent attendance the first year as a novelty but after that….high teens to low 20’s is my guess,
It’ll mostly be visitors fans. Road trip to Vegas for the weekend to watch your Sox, Yanks, Mets, Cubs, Cards, Giants, Dodgers, etc.
And the rest of the week? The NFL is one thing with 8 home games.as opposed to 81 MLB games. Phoenix counted on visitors too, flocking to the sun.
Last average hotel room per weekend night in Vegas is just shy of $300 so you are looking at $2000+ for food, flight, games tickets, hotel etc.
It depends on the city. If you have no hopes of drawing more than 3M, then your stadium should not be larger than 37,034. A smaller stadium creates a kind of artificial demand.
Depends on which seats are being sold. Teams don’t really care about the family in the upper deck paying $25 per seat.
Are the suites and club level full? Does the season ticket money come in?
There’s a metric called per caps (revenue per capita) that is all that matters. If the right 20,000 show up the team is fine.
Considering Vegas is the convention capital of the US, I can see the suites and high dollar seats being full pretty often.
I think financial projection oriented people predict a shrinking day of game fan base…and one that’ll pay more for a better experience. They’ll make more (potentially) on 33k seats than teams used to make with 45k. Attendance has never meant less to MLB financially.
And its a little like touring bands. Better to play a full house than empty seats
This article sounds like it was written by John Fisher’s PR team. Talk about trying to put a positive spin on a desperate move.
What is desperate about moving to Vegas? Please give objective facts, not feelings or name-calling, thanks
Moving? They’re not doing anything. They’ve been on a parallel path with Vegas since 2021. They said they’re moving to Vegas a year ago, and they’re just now announcing that they’ve hired an investment banker (their second one) to start looking for potential minority investors in the team, in order to pay for some part of a $1.1 billion stadium construction project (that’s just getting more expensive by the day)? And the article says this is all according to plan. Sure…
And not that moving to Vegas in and of itself is desperate, but do you kinda notice that no well-run teams ever talk about doing things like that?
The smallest market in MLB at #40, failed attempt to get financing to build stadium, no TV deal, if it opens it will be the smallest ballpark in baseball, no ability for the largest industry in the state to spend ANY money on the team for naming rights or sponsorships or luxury boxes or tickets because of gaming laws, the complete lack of out of state visitors coming for sporting events other than the Mountain West Basketball Tournament. .
I can give you more if you want.
Moving to Las Vegas is stupid and as of today, there is no evidence that it is happening. THIS news of Fisher trying to sell part of the team is further evidence that its likely not happening.
I agree, although I can’t imagine him funding a robust PR team.
“Plan”.
A large person came up to me with tears in their eyes (I don’t think this person cried since they were a baby) and said that John Fisher had to put up his bungalow on Epstein island in order to secure that funding.
Coming from an A’s fan, Fisher is selling the team within 3 years after he gets a full time stadium situation. Whether that’s in Vegas or wherever.
I think he has to sell before he gets to Vegas, there was a clause in the MLB agreement that if he sells after the move he has to pay a huge fine to the other owners.
If he sells before 2028 he has to pay 20% fine. 2029 goes down to 10%. Goes to zero later years. They are trying to keep him owner until move is settled. It’s all on my friend google.
Is it by year or by when they move to Vegas, so if they aren’t able to move to Vegas until 2029 is it still 10% or since it’s their first year moving is it 20%?
He’s dangling minority shares right now to finance the park, and then he’ll cash out once the team has to increase payroll. Sounds like a Ponzi scheme.
The payroll is a drop in the bucket compared to the franchise value
Keep the A’s in Sacramento. That’s where they want to be and where they belong. If Fischer cared about Las Vegas he would move here immediately but he doesn’t care. He only cares about the $
Being rich is not a crime yet people on here always criticize those who have money. I can’t imagine what baseball would be like if the owners were poor.
I can’t imagine what my work life would be like if not for Corporate America. I love it when people with money need my services.
Thank you. I, for one, am sick and tired of being criticized and treated poorly because of my wealth. It’s getting old, folks.
I agree with you. I’m also more the Bill Veeck type. But too many people see wealth as evil unto itself. It just calls for having values and how to use that wealth. Too many bad actors make it seem like everyone with money is evil. My family is in the tip 1% earnings for our region.
My wife is the very first person in her family to go to college. She grew up in a simple modular home. People complain about wealth. But I know she gives OVER poverty level income value just to the state Food Bank. She buys nearly 500 meals a day for those in need in our state. She also went out and found 4 children with our boys exact birthdays and has entirely paid for their educations. I’ve caught her in private actually speaking to them personally. She began as a college intern at the firm she is now COO and second largest shared partner in.
All this is beyond the taxes we pay. And I mention this onky because no names are involved. Not to brag at all. Just because I KNOW wealth is actually power and can be used for good. I grew up in a Teamsters family. I don’t come from wealth either.
Yep…there’s some wealthy people who are beyond greedy. But green isn’t just a wealth state of mind.
I agree Elvis. And I’ll add that envy is as bad as greed.
Your rants don’t make any sense. Did I hurt your ego or something? Oakland has fans and packed that stadium in the 1990s and 2000s before Fisher bought the team. The team was top 15 in attendance for years.
Oakland has been below average attendance pretty much every year since 1993. Near the bottom every year 1993-2000, again 2006-2012. Oakland hasn’t cracked an average of over 28,000 fans since 1992.
That’s not packing the stadium in the 1990s or 2000s.
People keep forgetting that the Coliseum had Mt Davis forced onto it in the mid-1990s and the A’s got old (and stunk). The Coliseum went from one of the best places to watch a baseball game to one of the worst with that monstrosity in centerfield. The A’s organization went into cheapskate mode at that point.
Some think the A’s new ballpark saga has been going on for 20 years – but it’s actually 30 years.
Different ownership groups since the Haas family sold have had different approaches but the product on the field has never been of importance.
Despite this the A’s have been a highly competitive team on the field the last 25 years with some dips every few years. A lot of bad and dumb luck have hurt them at the worst moments in the post season. Up until the team and Bob Melvin quit in August 2021 the A’s were on another uptick.
Reads like a puff piece put out by Fishers/MLB’s PR department.
The proposed corporate welfare subsidies to build a proposed stadium in Las Vegas for the A’s have been challenged on multiple issues by the ‘Save our Schools” group.
1) It was passed in secret in the middle of the night in violation of Nevada’s own Constitution prohibiting public funding of private businesses with taxpayer funds without a public vote of the citizens of Nevada.
2) The Nevada State Legislature also violated their own Constitution that requires a two-thirds majority vote in both Nevada’s Assembly and Senate to pass, rather than a standard majority vote, because that’s how the state is supposed to treat legislation that uses or appropriates public revenue for private for profit purposes..
3)The suit also claims SB1 doesn’t satisfy requirements to provide cost calculations and that the state is going to wrongly assume debts from Clark County, where Las Vegas is situated.
Fisher is the worst Owner in American sports.
According to press reports, Fisher got the A’s in a “backroom deal” involving former MLB Commissioner
and fraternity drinking buddies Bud Selig, Wolfe and Fisher,
Selig, allegedly, lied to Reggie Jackson and his Investors (Bill Gates, Paul Allen and John McCaw) scuttling their much stronger financial deal for the A’s
Joe Lacob already offered to buy the A’s, build the A’s a new privately financed baseball stadium in the SF Bay Area and keep Fisher on as a minority partner.
According to Lacob, if Fisher had taken Lacob up on his offer, then Fisher would have also acquired a lucrative partnership interest in the Golden State Warriors back before they became a dynastic championship franchise.
Fisher getting minority partners in the A’s is a pipe dream after Fisher’s terrible track record in mismanaging the A’s in Oakland
Fisher. allegedly, took control of one of the most iconic, decorated MLB franchises in MLB history (The Oakland A’s) and ran it into the ground either on purpose or, perhaps, because Fisher has always been in “over his head” as an MLB Owner.
Any successful businessperson with substantial wealth who will be asked by Fisher and MLB to fork over hundreds of millions of dollars to up to a billion dollars of their own cash and credit is not going play 2nd fiddle to Fisher in an A’s Ownership Group.
A potential major investor in the A’s will want ownership and control of the A’s. Otherwise, why would they even bother tying up a 500M to 1B dollars of their own money and give Fisher, a terrible businessman and the worst Owner in professional sports, “carte blanche” to mismanage the A’s and their investment?!
IT DOESN’T ADD UP AND MAKES ZERO SENSE TO ANY SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS PERSON AND/OR INVESTOR.
As for Fisher’s alleged “family money”?!
It is his father’s and family’s money and Fisher is not in control of it.
If Fisher had control of his father’s and family’s money, then Fisher could have financially qualified for either the Oakland Jack London Square 12 billion dollar, much more lucrative stadium and real estate development deal or the new Coliseum stadium proposed deal in the parking lot of the present Oakland Coliseum,
Fisher. allegedly, could not come up with the cash and/or credit for either of those deals.
And, even the Mayor of Las Vegas and the Nevada Legislature are very skeptical that Fisher can even come up with his share of a much smaller proposed A’s stadium deal.
That is why the Nevada Legislature deal contains the words
financing for the A’s OR for an MLB Expansion team.
Las Vegas and Nevada Officals are not stupid.
They are correctly skeptical that Fisher can put together the cash, credit and financing for his share of the proposed A’s stadium on the strip in Las Vegas ( a much smaller deal than the deals proposed in Oakland).
MLB owners need to stop protecting their own here, and do what’s in the best interest of the game; for now, and for the next 30 years. Even if the team isn’t long for Oakland, it needs to move to the right place and be led by the right owner. This guy appears to be an idiot in all facets. Now, he’s essentially begging for money and offering a piece of the pie as collateral. What he fails to realize is that he’s selling weeks old rhubarb pie, and no one likes rhubarb pie!
Scrap
MLB owners stopped doing what’s in the best interest of baseball when they agreed to the idiotic Manfred rule changes over the past several years. Also, you characterize it as begging for money when I think this is a creative way to raise funds…perspective I suppose. I think Vegas is a fine place for them to land among the cities looking to gain an MLB team. I’d like to see Portland get a team and mostly Nashville where I live.
And lastly, I love rhubarb pie so there’s that too.
Approximately 100% of the fans like the time clock.
JoeBrady – You have said that before and it’s absolutely not true. Just because you like it doesn’t mean it’s liked by all. The pitch clock is almost as ridiculous as the ghost runner.
Joe, all that had to be done was to tell hitters you do not leave the box unless contact is made with the ball, and for umpires to enforce the game to keep moving. One foot in, get your sign and stop giving hitters time out.
Or push fences back and raise the mound to make the game pro-pitcher. MLB only makes rules to help position players, as keeping pitchers healthy is not a priority. Take your 100% and decrease it. Didn’t need the clock if umpires moved the game forward.
It takes 2 years to build a house (a year and a half if you’re excellent at hassling subcontractors). They’re going to put up a 33,000 seat stadium in 3 and a half?
Yes they’ve been building atadiums for a century, there is plenty of precedence for this
They’ve been building houses for thousands of years. There is plenty of precedence for how long that takes too.
They built Allegiant stadium (Raiders) in under 3 years – Capacity 65k
30 months is the fastest one has been built once shovels went in the ground. The A’s don’t have plans or even financing yet. The building they need to clear before starting has not even been torn down yet.
This entire thing is such an embarrassment for MLB. Exposes it as an entity run by idiots.
She’ll out millions of dollars, have no say in the running of the team, give complete control to the worst owner in baseball.
What a deal.
It’s kind of amusing that he weighs down the value of his own team.
Mlb made $11.3 billion dollars. Why should anyone ever pay for their stadiums. And truthfully that goes for every sports league.
When your average person Wants a business or place they pay 100% themselves as a company.
I want a new garage so I can have garage sales my city said no to paying for it with a their money.
Because tax payers vote in people that will offer them their money to build stadiums that they will leave within 15- 20 years while they continue to pay tax for beyond 20 years
cplwhite
Mlb made $11.3 billion dollars.
======================
MLB had $11.3B in REVENUE. That’s not how much they made.
You can lobby your town/city for public funding for your garage if you can guarantee new jobs and tax revenue while promising infrastructure maintenance and improvements and donations to local charities.
Now that the As are tearing it up, I don’t see as many ‘worst owner in BB’ comments.
Because we talked about Mason Miller the last time the A’s were mentioned… because, you know, he’s on the field pitching and he’s been tearing it up as Oakland’s closer lately. I didn’t know Fisher could play and own a team at the same time…
Nothing has changed. He still is.
They A’s young players acquired in their latest, periodic fire sale trades
are fighting to establish themselves as major league players and stars.
It is a credit to their scouting, GM and Front office, not Fisher who is a big drag on the team and the franchise and the worst owner in professional sports.
(And yes, Fisher is much worse than former Dodgers Owner Frank McCourt (the parking lot guy and his wife) who looted the Dodgers team revenues and used the money to buy multiple mansions and all the other trappings of wealth that they could not afford without Dodgers team revenues according to their very public Divorce Court records.
Just don’t buy their A;s jerseys since any breakout star As’s players will be traded in another fire sale in a few years if Fisher still owns the team.
Fisher has turned the iconic A’s into a national joke and a AAA farm team for all of MLB.
What a complete embarrassment that Selig, Manfred and Fisher have created with the Oakland A’s.
It does seem like pumping up the value of the team by simply relocating it, building a grand stadium, then slowly roll down his share was the plan.
Funny how he probably could have gotten a similar number simply by selling and keeping it there.
He would have received a much better return on is investment in the A’s by just either partnering with Joe Lacob (Warriors) or Larry Ellison(Oracle) of some other local SF Bay Area billionaire and just keeping the team in N,Cal, building a new stadium with private funds (SOFI, Chase Center, Intuit Arena, Oracle Park) than all the aggravation, PR and financial disaster that Fisher, Selig, Manfred have brought upon themselves by completely mismanaging the A’s situation in the SF Bay Area OVER DECADES..
It is their own fault (MLB, Selig, Manfred, Fisher) and no one else’s fault.
Let’s hope it’s a terrible failure, the owners lose untold sums of money, and are forced to auction the team
The other owners all receive a portion of the revenue that the A’s generate.
For the next 3 seasons at a minimum they will lose the share of the revenue that comes from TV, the potential attendance will plummet and with it MLB’s share of that money, and so will sponsorships.
Also, the national TV deals were negotiated with two teams in the 10th largest market in the US and I am sure all of those deals will drop with the move to a minor league park for the next 3 season and then to the 40th largest market in Las Vegas if they ever make it there.
PLUS, with the A’s losing approximately $100 million per season in revenue from TV, sponsorships, and ticket sales by moving “temporarily” to Sacramento, they will rely even more on revenue sharing. The other owners will be financing Fisher’s lifestyle.
I say it’s about 80/20 that the A’s get this stadium build off the ground, and actually finish it on time and under budget. This team could be just like NHL’s Arizona/now Utah. Can’t really see MLB letting the A’s keep playing in a minor league ballpark for more than three years, without MLB saying get this move done or sell the team.
just make A’s the official team of North America – They can revolve around several ballparks especially in areas where it only has a AAA like stadiums or heck have them play in IOWA the “if you build it they will come” 30% out of their tour around nation
You missed the MOST important facts on this.
#1 – Goldman Sachs was unable to procure financing to build the Las Vegas ballpark for John Fisher. Let me say that again, Goldman Sachs was unable to procure financing for John Fisher to build a ballpark in Las Vegas.
#2 – Bally’s has been unable to date to procure financing to build a new casino on the site of the Tropicana.
#3 – The Nevada Supreme Court held a hearing on April 9th regarding the lawsuit calling SB-1 unconstitutional. Its likely that to get that $380 million in tax payer money the A’s will have to go back before the legislature and get the necessary 2/3 majority to pass the bill. The Nevada legislature does not meet again until next year. The A’s petition to intervene in the lawsuit will be denied because the team and Fisher are not named in the suit.
Can you say Sacramento A’s? Because unless Fisher sells the team outright, its unlikely that a ballpark is ever built in Las Vegas.
@Pads Fans
Tokyo A’s sounds pretty good.
The 15+ hour travel time might make that a non-viable option. I am sure that Fisher would bring it up as an option if he thought he could.
#4 – In order to not violate the debt service rules of MLB, Fisher cannot take out a loan for the full $1.5 billion to build the stadium in Las Vegas.
Unless he sells a huge portion of the A’s (possibly also selling the Earthquakes) and gets the $380 million from Nevada and Clark County, its not possible. That Goldman Sachs failed to procure financing for him is telling.
Goldman took an internal survey of how many of their own employees wear Gap clothing. They then upgraded Patagonia stock to buy.
Sacramento Kings (NBA) Owner has offered Fisher very favorable terms to move the A’s to Sacramento for the next 3 years and play there.
Software Magnate Vivek Ranadivé owns the Sacramento Kings (NBA) and was instrumental in building their new arena in Sacramento.
Ranadivie’s hopes to get the “inside track” on helping the A’s stay in Sacramento permanently if and when the Las Vegas stadium deal implodes.
Ranadive saved the Kings for Sacramento from the Maloof Family Ownership Group that ran the Kings team into the ground, conducted fire sales of many of its best players and openly courted Anaheim, Seattle and other cities for relocation of the franchise.
(Sounds like Fisher and the A’s)?!
Read that employees of the A’s in Oakland are being layed off in large numbers. Many of those A’s employees have been with the team for decades. Those employees, in a normally run company, would be given the option to move their jobs to the new company location, in this case Sacramento.
Under the Fisher Regime, those loyal A’s employees are being discarded and thrown out like leftover trash after the game,
Kings employees will be doing “double duty” in ticketing, sales and concession for the A’s for the next 2 years in Sacramento effectively replacing A’s employees.
I like Oakland or San Jose A’s better
if MLB gets real leadership ends the disgraceful Fisher Ownership
of the A’s and orders the sale of the A’s to a well funded N California Owner or Ownership Group with the stipulation that they build a New privately financed stadium for the A;s in the SF Bay Area.
Goldman prefers to fund projects that are more stable where they will get a big return on their investment capital.
The numbers just do not work for Fisher moving the A’s to LV.
Fisher is “pumping up the value of the A’s for a quick dump” if he can
get some sucker(s) to pay and assume most or all of the risk.
It doesn’t work that way with blue chip investing firms.
The Fisher Family in N California has had long running battles with environmentalists for decades for purchasing large swaths of Northern California land that contains one of the great wonders of the world, Redwood Trees are irreplaceable and predated much of modern history. The Fisher family has been criticized for “clearcutting Redwood Trees for short term profits.
These Redwood trees are rare in the entire World.
Many of these California Redwood trees existed before the United States even existed, before the birth of Christ, before Moses, Elijah or Mohammad.
It is a DESECRATION to clear-cut and destroy these ancient Redwood Trees.
And, it also clogs un rivers, streams, endangers wildlife and salmon,
“Officially, the oldest living coast redwood has been alive for at least 2,200 years, but foresters believe some coast redwoods may be much older 4”
So Fisher is the kind of person that has also strip mined and sought to destroy the Oakland A’s MLB franchise.
And, allegedly, John Fisher was actively involved in the acquisition of the land with Redwood trees and the destruction of some of these irreplaceable Redwood Trees in Northern California.
John Fisher strip mining and destroying an MLB baseball team, the Oakland A’s fits.
It appears that Fisher is a destroyer, not a builder, not a collaborator and not a person who negotiates in “good faith”…
It appears that activist groups have participated in long term term efforts to boycott Gap stores:: by environmentalists against the harvesting of Redwood trees and from labor activists to boycott the Gap for labor conditions in its far Eastern clothing factories.
Not sure the impact of those boycotts of the Gap have had on Gap stock value, but it would not surprise me if those boycotts had contributed to the tanking of the Gap stock value and the decrease in Fisher’s and his family’s wealth.
Honest question: Is Oakland a good sports town? Not a crime if it isn’t. I just ask this because it lost the Raiders (twice), Warriors, Athletics and even an NHL team in the 70s. I can’t see an expansion team in Oakland. I do see the city being used as leverage to extort other towns.
Oakland/San Francisco/San Jose the San Francisco Bay Area
is a great sports Region that has a yearly GDP of over 650 Billion dollars much greater than many countries.
No matter what business you are talking about, there are incompetent owners and managers of those businesses.
They do not last.
The competition eats them up and spits them out.
MLB is a Monopoly with an Anti Trust Exemption that protects incompetent, marginally, qualified owners like Fisher.
The Blame for the Oakland A’s finance, revenue, stadium and competitiveness problems lies with: MLB, Commissioners Selig and Manfred, A’s Owner Fisher and the SF Giants
who have all sabotaged the Oakland A’s economic and financial viability in the SF Bay Area and in Oakland.
MLB, Selig, Manfred refuse to “think outside the box” and refused and rebuffed numerous proposals since the 1990’s to save the Oakland A’s for the SF Bay Area with a brand new stadium located there.
I find it very damning that numerous privately financed stadiums for the Oakland A’s in Oakland and in the SF Bay Area have been shot down and sabotaged by MLB, Commissioners, SF Giants, Fisher etc…
When the A’s put a competitive product on the field, then the fans openly, vocally and with their personal disposable income supported the Oakland A’s in Oakland.
Regular season and playoffs attendance records were broken during the Walter Haas Jr. (Levis) Ownership of the Oakland A’s.
So don’t post some complete bullsheet that reads like it was written by MLB employees, SF Giants, interns of Fisher’s A’s interns.
Smart and well informed fans and baseball people are not buying that bullsheet!
Sign me up as a minority owner. How much of the team can I get for $179?
There is crime in Las Vegas, LA, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Atlanta, Miami everywhere there is an MLB franchise, there is crime.
A new A’s stadium in Oakland could be economic engine that moves a lot of crime out of the area of the stadium with increased security, police presence and much more.
It was not Oakland that caused the Raiders to leave the Coliseum.
According to Raiders Owner Mark Davis, it was Fisher who caused him to leave by Fisher’s mismanagement of the Coliseum and the land around it.
And, Davis/Raiders were offered a “shared stadium” with the 49ers in Santa Clara.
A little history: Oakland and the SF Bay Area did not “lose” the Warriors.
just like New York did not “lose” the Jets or the Giants.
(Did New York “lose” the Jets and the Giants because they play in New Jersey in the Meadowlands?!).
Get Real!
Last time I checked, San Francisco is still in the SF Bay Area and only a short 15-10 minute ride from the Oakland Coliseum by BART or car.
n 1962, Franklin Mieuli purchased the majority shares of the team and relocated the franchise to the San Francisco Bay Area, renaming them the San Francisco Warriors.
The Warriors played in SF for years.
Pro Sports teams are “regional assets”
Apparently if Fisher sells before 2028 there’s a 20% “flip tax” written into the A’s relocation agreement. It’s unclear as to whether he’d owe the tax if he only sells a minority portion of the A’s.
I think it’s quite unlikely that Fisher raises the $500 million from only one minority partner. Forbes raised its estimate of the team’s valuation from $1.18 billion to $1.2 billion. That $500 million amounts to 42% of the team. As financially inept as Fisher is, I just don’t see a relationship with a single minority partner working out very well.