Oakland to reportedly offer A's 5-year lease extension to cover time before Vegas move
With their lease in Oakland expiring at the end of the 2024 season, the Oakland Athletics will need a place to play before their Las Vegas stadium is (hopefully) ready in 2028. And it's entirely possible it could be in Oakland.
According to ESPN, the City of Oakland is set to offer the A's a lease extension to cover the time between the end of their current lease and the opening of their new stadium in Vegas, as well as any possible time overruns.
The document obtained by ESPN and KGO-TV in San Francisco reportedly reveals that the City of Oakland has dropped many of the demands in the original draft of the lease extension. Instead, the city is asking MLB to pick one of three options: facilitate the sale of the A's to a local ownership group; leave the A's colors and name in Oakland (meaning the team in Vegas would have a new name, mascot and colors); or give Oakland a "one-year exclusive right to solicit ownership of a future expansion team."
Two items have reportedly remained on the offer. First, the lease term would be for five years with an opt-out after three. And the A's would be required to pay a $97 million extension fee, which is nonrefundable even if the team opts out after three years.
The figure of $97 million is symbolic. Via ESPN:
The $97 million — the shortfall the city says Fisher walked away from on the multibillion-dollar Howard Terminal project — is what [Oakland chief of staff Leigh] Hanson says the city needs from the A's to help Oakland's $170 million general fund deficit. She indicated the city will earmark those funds to cover public-safety expenses.
That figure is also "nonnegotiable," according to Hanson.
The A's, who currently pay just $1.5 million in rent to the City of Oakland, have a much different figure in mind. According to ESPN, the A's offered a two-year contract to the city, with payments of $7 million and $10 million.
The team has been exploring different options to find a home at the end of their lease. They've reportedly been in talks with Sacramento and Salt Lake City, Utah. However, the A's would have play in minor-league stadiums in those cities. Staying in Oakland would allow the team to continue to play in an MLB-caliber stadium while also not uprooting the entire organization for a two-year stay in another city before moving to Vegas.
The A's and the City of Oakland are reportedly meeting about the offer on Tuesday.
