With the Athletics gone, pro sports in Oakland are officially dead. One of the main reasons the three teams left the city was to go to bigger markets and get funding for new stadiums. Oakland was not willing to put up enough money to fund a new stadium project for any of the three teams, and the owners did not want to pay the difference.
Another problem faced in Oakland, especially for the Athletics, who were bottom tier in the league and had the worst stadium, along with the Raiders, was attendance. Fans did not want to go to games because no effort was made in building a solid roster, and it was a bad place to watch a baseball game. Many would opt to make the longer drive to San Francisco to support their team in a good ballpark that they could enjoy. However, the fans were never the problem; they have always been there in Oakland, they were just never treated right. They are diehards, the Raiders Black Hole being the best example where fans would dress in all black for games and wear face paint to show their team spirit. However, pro sports are a business, and if these owners thought they could make more money in a bigger market, such as Las Vegas, they had every right to seek that. The Athletics’ move was mainly made by greed. John Fisher, their owner, did not have to move the team, and the MLB owners did not need to approve the relocation to Vegas. The question we, as fans, should be asking is at what cost are you willing to move your team?Â
The cost is a very interesting thing to dive into because it can be seen in many ways. The cost of the fans, the cost of money and the cost of winning. Oakland was not an attractive destination for players to call home, but it was a destination where players knew the fans had their back and would be rooting for them. A diehard fanbase is not something you can just grow in a new city; it takes time. Years of heartbreak and triumph must happen before you can consider your city diehard fans. One thing worth giving credit to, though, is that even though these teams are in new locations, Las Vegas and San Francisco are probably two of the closest cities that these owners could have picked for relocation.
At the end of the day, everything is finalized for the most part, and nothing can be done to change that. This is just a special circumstance because, unlike other relocations, this one signifies the end for a city that housed three pro sports teams dating back several decades. The Athletics, Warriors and Raiders will all be a part of Oakland’s history. However, Oakland will no longer be a place to watch a game or go share an experience with friends; it will now just be a distant memory in our eyes.