Oakland mayor meets with MLB commissioner in push to keep A’s from leaving

OAKLAND – Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao met with baseball commissioner Rob Manfred ahead of this week’s All-Star game in Seattle as she continues her effort to keep the team from relocating to Las Vegas.

In an interview with KPIX anchor Ryan Yamamoto on Thursday, Thao said she reached out to the commissioner for the meeting, which he accepted. The meeting took place in Seattle on Sunday.

“It was very important for me to meet with the commissioner in person, given the importance of this upcoming vote,” Thao said.

“This decision isn’t just about business. This decision will have a long-lasting impact on the multigenerational fan base of working families who love this game and have a deep connection with not just baseball but the Oakland A’s,” the mayor went on to say.

As part of the meeting, Thao brought along documents laying out the city’s proposal to keep the team, countering claims that there had been no plan.

“In hand was three suitcases of all of our proposal, because I did hear in the media, as we all did, that the commissioner said we didn’t have a proposal,” the mayor said. “And so before the vote, I wanted the MLB owners, the commissioner, the relocation committee to have all of the documents before taking a consequential vote and have all the facts.”

On Tuesday, Manfred announced that A’s management had officially started the process of applying to the league to move to Las Vegas. At least 75% of the teams would have to approve for the relocation to occur.

Last month, Nevada lawmakers approved $380 million in public money for a proposed $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat ballpark with a retractable roof on the Las Vegas Strip. The ballpark would be near Allegiant Stadium, where the Raiders moved to after leaving Oakland at the end of the 2019 season.

When asked if the facts presented at the meeting would sway the owners from rejecting the move, Thao said she would not speculate on their action.

“However I know that if anybody reads the documents that I have sent to them, which is also public online as well too, that it will show that actually Oakland is the best place to actually build out a stadium,” the mayor said.

The mayor also touted the city’s diversity, saying that the league is interested in diversifying its fan base.

“Oakland is one of the most diverse cities in the whole nation. And so, if you are going to actually diversify your fan base and that is your value, your true value, then of course you want to try to keep the Oakland A’s rooted here and give Las Vegas their expansion team,” Thao said.

The A’s continue to have a lease at the Oakland Coliseum through the 2024 season.