All signs point to the Oakland Athletics moving to Las Vegas and abandoning the Oakland Coliseum when their lease is up after next season.
While the team would need a new place to play before their potential Las Vegas ballpark opens, the Coliseum isn’t going anywhere.
However, the A’s currently control who plays there, which was a problem for one minor league team. The Oakland Ballers, a new independent baseball team created largely because the Athletics are likely leaving the city, were planning on playing a game at the Oakland Coliseum on June 29, but the team revealed the A’s blocked them from being able to go through with the event.
The Ballers—nicknamed the B’s—had already paid a deposit.
Today, we were suppose to announce our @PBL1939 game at the Coliseum on June 29th.
— Oakland Ballers (@OaklandBallers) January 4, 2024
Our lease was signed, deposit paid & the below promo video ready to go.
Unfortunately we've been informed that the A’s won’t let us play.
We won't give up & are working to find an alternative. pic.twitter.com/BETaJnLDxl
Fans have been upset with the Athletics throughout their entire moving process, and this situation was just more fuel to the fire. Social media torched the team for not allowing the Ballers to host their game later this year.
1) This takes money away from people whose jobs depend on the stadium.
— Casey Pratt (@CaseyPrattABC7) January 4, 2024
2) Robs fans of Oakland baseball of a special moment together.
3) Takes away from several little league and community groups that were going to be invited to the game for free.
4) I know this wasn’t a… https://t.co/0AHo84MaFu
The irony in the fact that the A’s won’t share their stadium with a team that wants to be in OAKLAND but could be potentially begging the Giants to share their stadium when they’re homeless the next three years. https://t.co/BL8KFp7pvv
— Bryan 👑📌 (@SandLot408) January 4, 2024
I think we all know the single biggest reason the A’s wouldn’t allow this game to happen is because the B’s would have been able to sell 40k tickets to it, and the PR would have been a national story making the A’s (again) look both incompetent and cruel. https://t.co/ot9mzpMSGy
— OaklandStadiumWatch (@OakStadiumWatch) January 4, 2024
THIS JUST IN 📰📰📰
— Dan Moore (@DmoWriter) January 4, 2024
Pettiest and most spiteful ownership group in sports does yet another petty, spiteful thing.
More on this story as it develops. @OaklandBallers, @EduOverStadiums — back to you. https://t.co/7KMTW5VWEr
This is such a funny move for a team that’s about to start going stadium to stadium peddling their wares https://t.co/9W7gF7gopi
— Tipping Pitches (@tipping_pitches) January 4, 2024
Hey @Athletics: #LetThemBall
— Hal the Hot Dog Guy (@AsHotDog) January 4, 2024
The A's are afraid of being outdrawn in their own stadium. https://t.co/dPzh7qtrtL
As soon as the Oakland B’s were announced, it was obvious this should happen.
— Karl Buscheck (@KarlBuscheck) January 4, 2024
Regrettably, not surprisingly the A’s would block it. https://t.co/t1yIEFfzFL
Unless they extend their Oakland Coliseum lease, the A’s will no longer control who can play there after the 2024 campaign. That means the Ballers could get the opportunity to play at the Coliseum in the future, which makes this an even worse look for the A’s.
