CSNbbs

Now that the Raiders are leaving Oakland, will the A's renovate the Coliseum to a baseball-only configuration or will they tear it down and build a true baseball stadium?

The Coliseum is a lost cause imo, it's a dump in an iffy location. If they build a new ballpark on surrounding parking lots I think they'll be fine. Ideally they'd build a new one in downtown Oakland, which from what I've read is becoming the 'next Brooklyn' with how insanely expensive San Francisco is.

Hope that Oakland doesn't lose the A's, they just lost the Raiders and the Warriors are moving across the bay to San Francisco in a few years. So many teams in baseball have unnecessarily built new ballparks the last few decades (Tigers, Yankees, now the Braves and maybe the Rangers), yet one of them that actually needs one badly hasn't been able to get it done.

The A's want to leave Oakland too.


Oakland will have gone from having the Raiders, A's, and Warriors all playing at the same location ... to having no teams.

I think there's a decent chance the A's get a new stadium in Oakland. There was no way for Oakland to build 2 stadiums but there's a shot at getting one. Baseball stadium should be less expensive than a football stadium as well. Had MLB allowed the A's to move to San Jose a couple years ago, I think the Raiders would be getting a new stadium in Oakland now.

If the A's are to move, I'm not sure where they'd go. Ideally it would need to be another city in the west, otherwise multiple teams would likely be switching divisions. I'm not sure San Antionio, Portland, or Salt Lake could support an MLB team, and I certainly wouldn't want to Vegas so quickly after they're getting an NHL and NFL team. Perhaps Vancouver? Not sure the Mariners would allow that, although I don't know how much they could protest it. I love the idea of Montreal getting a team again, but I'd have no idea how to align the divisions in that scenario.

My prediction is still that the A's will remodel the Coliseum into a baseball-only park similar to what the Angels did in Anaheim. Yes, I know that A's management is looking at sites elsewhere in Oakland for a new ballpark and that there are a few nice drawings of what a new ballpark would look like, but...

... the choice facing A's ownership is (a) spending $150-250 million to renovate the Coliseum, which has more than enough parking and a BART station right behind the outfield stands, or (b) spending about $500 million (plus however much it costs to acquire the land) to build a new ballpark elsewhere in Oakland.

(01-22-2017 12:11 PM)Love and Honor Wrote: [ -> ]The Coliseum is a lost cause imo, it's a dump in an iffy location. If they build a new ballpark on surrounding parking lots I think they'll be fine. Ideally they'd build a new one in downtown Oakland, which from what I've read is becoming the 'next Brooklyn' with how insanely expensive San Francisco is.

Hope that Oakland doesn't lose the A's, they just lost the Raiders and the Warriors are moving across the bay to San Francisco in a few years. So many teams in baseball have unnecessarily built new ballparks the last few decades (Tigers, Yankees, now the Braves and maybe the Rangers), yet one of them that actually needs one badly hasn't been able to get it done.

While it'd suck to lose the A's, they are a small market team as long as they stay in the EB, at least with the Giants still around. Maybe Portland would be a better location for them, which would at least give them all of Oregon as well as keep them close to their old stomping grounds. Or maybe Vancouver.

I think Portland or Vancouver wouldn't be a bad relocation spot, the Mariners would be trouble but they aren't very influential in the MLB and could be bought off probably. But my choice for best relocation cities are Montreal (large, preexisting fan base that supported the Expos pretty well when they were good) and Austin (largest metro area in US without a pro team, fastest-growing metro area in the US with a young and wealthy population, Longhorns football wouldn't be in play except September on, could take advantage of San Antonio market for TV and some fans over time).

(01-22-2017 07:29 PM)Love and Honor Wrote: [ -> ]I think Portland or Vancouver wouldn't be a bad relocation spot, the Mariners would be trouble but they aren't very influential in the MLB and could be bought off probably. But my choice for best relocation cities are Montreal (large, preexisting fan base that supported the Expos pretty well when they were good) and Austin (largest metro area in US without a pro team, fastest-growing metro area in the US with a young and wealthy population, Longhorns football wouldn't be in play except September on, could take advantage of San Antonio market for TV and some fans over time).

I don't think any of those US cities are large enough to support 81 home games. And hipsters/Millenials don't watch baseball.

Love: if they want the San Antonio market, why not IN San Antonio? In addition to the places you listed (which I agree with) how about Nashville? Nobody particularly close, and the winter meetings have already been there, so MLB has a presence.

(01-22-2017 08:25 PM)vandiver49 Wrote: [ -> ]I don't think any of those US cities are large enough to support 81 home games. And hipsters/Millenials don't watch baseball.

Either triple up in LA or New York or find a new untapped market. Baseball works better than any other sport if it is marketed right. Provide an excellent fan experience and it can go anywhere. Make sure you find a good neighborhood with some level of disposable income and plenty of people that live nearby (i.e. they don't have to drive more than a couple miles) that can commit to going to a game every day. Many places have neighborhoods that fit that bill.

(01-23-2017 12:02 AM)Erictelevision Wrote: [ -> ]Love: if they want the San Antonio market, why not IN San Antonio? In addition to the places you listed (which I agree with) how about Nashville? Nobody particularly close, and the winter meetings have already been there, so MLB has a presence.

I don't think Nashville is big enough to support 3 teams, maybe if the Preds move as they should it would work.

Could Memphis support 2 teams?

Maybe the NFL and NBA. If the Titans moved to Memphis, I could see it working along with the Grizzlies. I'm pleasantly surprised the Grizzlies have lasted as long as they have. Memphis is a tiny media market (even by NBA standards), tiny metro area and is both in and surrounded by some of the poorest states in the entire country.

(01-23-2017 01:37 AM)_C2_ Wrote: [ -> ]

(01-22-2017 08:25 PM)vandiver49 Wrote: [ -> ]I don't think any of those US cities are large enough to support 81 home games. And hipsters/Millenials don't watch baseball.

Either triple up in LA or New York or find a new untapped market. Baseball works better than any other sport if it is marketed right. Provide an excellent fan experience and it can go anywhere. Make sure you find a good neighborhood with some level of disposable income and plenty of people that live nearby (i.e. they don't have to drive more than a couple miles) that can commit to going to a game every day. Many places have neighborhoods that fit that bill.

IMO, Baseball needs a location with a MSA of greater than 5 million people along with enough corporations who'll buy up the tix and hand them out to employees. While tripling up in NY/LA/CHI sounds like a good idea of paper, MLB teams hold a great deal of sway over what's considered their market area. I remember the O's fight against the Nats and I can see the same thing playing out elsewhere.

5 million plus? That means like half of MLB needs to move. Some need to triple up in NYC, LA, Chicago and SF Bay in that case. You can have a team in a market of 800k (with some nearby decent sized markets for TV purposes). As long as they have a dedicated base of fans that come out (it only takes about 35k in baseball), it can work in a small market. No matter what she said, size doesn't always matter. Pittsburgh and Detroit are much better baseball towns than Miami and Houston.

You're right that owners are territorial but they often can be bought off. There's more than enough room and money for another team near NYC and LA, especially the underserved baseball market of New Jersey.