Throughout most of the 2023 season, Athletics’ fans have tried to keep the team in Oakland despite the ongoing, expected move to Las Vegas.
Fans began chanting “Sell the team!” and even wearing t-shirts with the same message written on them when attending home games. This chant was directed in particular at owner John Fisher, who has been at the forefront of the team’s move to Las Vegas.
Fisher spoke with NBC Bay Area's Raj Mathai this week in an exclusive interview and discussed how the fans have reacted to the A’s move. Despite thinking the departure from Oakland is the best option for the A’s, Fisher said he sees the shirts and hears the chants, and admits it can be “hurtful.”
“It shows the fans are passionate to keep a team and they are upset with me for taking away that dream,” Fisher said. “In that sense, I take responsibility. ... Oakland fans are great fans. There is incredible passion. Seeing that passion directed toward me, it has an ironic twist where I can appreciate the passion, even though it is at times hurtful.”
Fisher, who also admitted in the interview that he was ”sorry it hasn’t worked out in Oakland,” has been a majority owner of the A’s since 2005. As of now, the A’s have reached an agreement to build a stadium on the Las Vegas strip, costing around $1.5 billion.
