The Oakland Athletics have reached an agreement to sell their stake in their home stadium, per ESPN. The franchise is selling their half of the Coliseum for $125 million. The sale is to an economic development group, called the African-American Sports & Entertainment group. The group already bought the other half of the stake in a $105 million deal with the city.
The development group is hoping to use the property to build an entertainment venture, that would host concerts and other recreational activities for Oakland residents. The actual baseball stadium is expected to possibly be torn down, or refurbished. Ideas for the property also include parks space, housing and retail opportunities.
“It's really Oakland's opportunity to invest in East Oakland and to create a revitalization of the entire area,” the group's managing member Ray Bobbitt said, per ESPN.
The Athletics franchise is leaving the Bay area and heading to Las Vegas. This was after several years of wrangling for a new stadium by Oakland city leaders and Athletics management. The two sides couldn't come to an agreement, so the team is leaving town.
The team is going to be playing games in Sacramento for awhile, as their new stadium is getting built in Nevada. The Athletics are the second franchise to leave Oakland in the last few years, as the Raiders are now playing in Las Vegas.
Athletics are having a rough season as they prepare to leave the Bay area
The Athletics have fallen on hard times, outside of all their relocation drama. The team is mired in a difficult season, holding a 47-67 record. Oakland suffered a 100 loss season in 2022 and 2023. Not too long ago, Oakland was getting postseason appearances. The team last made the postseason in 2020.
The team last won a World Series in 1989. The franchise is one of the most historic and successful in baseball, with 9 World Series championships. The team has played in Oakland since 1968. The franchise also played games in Philadelphia and Kansas City, in its long franchise history.
Athletics fans are hoping the team's final year in the city will be a memorable one. It hasn't worked out that way, with the team 20 games below .500 heading into Tuesday. The best the fans may be able to hope for is that the club doesn't finish with 100 losses for a third consecutive year.
Oakland is in action on Tuesday, playing the lowly Chicago White Sox.
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