MLB's Rob Manfred Sorry for Fans, Blames Oakland Government for A's Move to Las Vegas

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao suggested that the Athletics used negotiations with the city as leverage in talks with other cities after news broke last week that the organization and owner John Fisher entered a binding agreement to purchase land near the Las Vegas Strip with plans to construct a new stadium at that location.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred pushed back on those comments Monday.

"I feel sorry for the fans in Oakland. I really do," he told reporters. "But for the city of Oakland to point fingers at Fisher, it's not fair."

"We have shown an unbelievable commitment to the fans in Oakland by exhausting every possible opportunity to try to get something done in Oakland," he added, saying that Fisher exclusively negotiated with Oakland from 2014-21 in an effort to build a new stadium. "Unfortunately, the government doesn't seem to have the will to get it done."

Per the Associated Press, the A's, Nevada and Clark County will collaborate "on a public-private partnership to fund the new stadium with a seating capacity of 30,000 to 35,000."

The hope is to start construction on the new stadium next year and begin play in Las Vegas for the 2027 season.

It remains unclear what the team's temporary home will be following the 2024 season, when its lease at the Oakland Coliseum expires. One option is playing at the home of the team's Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas Aviators, with Manfred saying he believes the schedule-makers could thread the needle on those potential complications.

Whether Major League Baseball and the Athletics were secretly angling to make the move to Las Vegas—which in recent years has become host to an expansion NHL team (Golden Knights) and has seen NFL (Raiders) and WNBA (Aces) franchises relocate to the city—is another conversation entirely.

"I am deeply disappointed that the A's have chosen not to negotiate with the City of Oakland as a true partner, in a way that respects the long relationship between the fans, the City and the team," Thao said in a statement. "Yet, it is clear to me that the A's have no intention of staying in Oakland and have simply been using this process to try to extract a better deal out of Las Vegas. I am not interested in continuing to play that game—the fans and our residents deserve better."

Fisher isn't a popular figure in Oakland, and it turns out in certain NFL circles, he isn't particularly revered either.

Raiders owner Mark Davis told John Katsilometes of the Las Vegas Review-Journal last week that the two organizations had a contentious relationship as Coliseum "roommates" before his organization made the jump to Vegas, saying the Athletics "never gave us a real good chance to stay up in Oakland."

"I won't forget what they did to us in Oakland. They squatted on a lease for 10 years and made it impossible for us to build on that stadium," he continued. "They were looking for a stadium. We were looking for a stadium. They didn't want to build a stadium, and then went ahead and signed a 10-year lease with the city of Oakland and said, 'We're the base team.'"

Davis wasn't done.

"They marketed the team as 'Rooted in Oakland,' that's been their mantra through the whole thing," he said. "The slogans they've been using have been a slap to the face of the Raiders, and they were trying to win over that type of mentality in the Bay Area. Well all they did was f--k the Bay Area."

"For them to leave Oakland without anything is pretty [screwed] up," he added. "Because that site that the stadium was on was a good site."

The Raiders and Athletics won't be roommates in Las Vegas, but they may be neighbors once more. Don't expect Davis to bring Fisher a welcoming gift or for the city of Oakland to see him off with warm wishes.