With each passing day, the Athletics move a little closer to getting a resolution on whether they will stay in Oakland or move to Las Vegas.
Oakland politicians are doing their due diligence ahead of key votes on the Howard Terminal waterfront ballpark project, while the A's have identified parcels of land in Las Vegas for a potential ballpark if relocation is final outcome.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred on Thursday addressed the situation with the A's (and the Tampa Bay Rays, who also are trying to figure out their own ballpark issue as well) and provided this update:
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"There is really significant activity in Oakland," Manfred told reporters (H/T The Athletic). "The political process has moved along significantly. I met with Mayor (Libby) Schaaf last week. She has done a really good job at moving the process forward in Oakland. But as you all know, California political processes are their own sort of animal. There's work to do on the Oakland side. I think the A's prudently have continued to pursue the Las Vegas alternative. We like Las Vegas as a market. Again, it's in the same category as Tampa Bay. We need a solution in both of those markets, and the time has come for that solution."
The A's now await a vote by the SFBay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) on June 30. That group will vote on whether or not to change the designation of the Howard Terminal site. If the BCDC reclassifies the land, the A's can proceed with their plan.
On May 2, ABC7News' Casey Pratt reported that the BCDC made a preliminary recommendation to remove Port Priority Use Designation from the Howard Terminal land, which would be good news for the A's if that holds for the June 30 vote.
Earlier in the week, Pratt outlined the next steps for the BCDC.
Mayor Schaaf will appear on "A's Pregame Live" on NBC Sports California on Friday to discuss the latest developments in the process to keep the team in Oakland.
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Oakland Athletics
The situation appears to be coming to a head and the future of the A's should be known within in the next few weeks or months.