The Sacramento A's Are Happening 2025-2027 (at least)

[Livinthedream]

He owns like 17% of the Kings. He might own a bit more since some minority owners, and Shaq were bought out.

He for sure owns more. Quick Google search said in he and another group bought out minority owners shares equal to 17% in 2021. Another article says he owns 65% as of 2023.

Can only go by what I can find online, and maybe I missed something. Whether Vivek has $700 million or $1.5 billion. He's going to need help.

 

[Livinthedream]

It's been like this for more than just a few years. They announced they were moving forward with their plan to build a stadium in San Jose without securing the territory rights first. They announced they were going to build a stadium on the Laney College site without getting approval from their board of trustees first. They used the 9th overall pick on Kyler Murray in 2018 without getting a commitment from him to give up football. I used to defend this organization but eventually I've come to realize that there is no master plan at work. Somehow they really are this incompetent.

Let's hope that the Kings FO can help keep the ship sailing straight a bit. They are probably the ones who suggested the trademark.

 

[chief bromden]

An ESPN article published this morning with a more in-depth look at the recent timeline of events:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39908731/oakland-sacramento-meetings-moves-john-fisher

 

[LPKingsFan]

An ESPN article published this morning with a more in-depth look at the recent timeline of events:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39908731/oakland-sacramento-meetings-moves-john-fisher

A lot to unpack there. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

An ESPN article published this morning with a more in-depth look at the recent timeline of events:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39908731/oakland-sacramento-meetings-moves-john-fisher

Well, even as someone who recognizes that Fisher has done Oakland really dirty, that piece is about as vicious and one-sided a piece as I remember seeing. I mean, calling out a non-baseball guy from the Greater Sac Economic Council on a technicality ("Omar Vizquel was from Venezuela"...yeah, Omar Vizquel never suited up for the A's, either), I mean I guess that feels good when you're hurting. The timeline info is interesting, and new. But man, the lashing out...I wish I could say I expected better editorial oversight form ESPN, but...maybe I didn't?

 

[captain bill]

An ESPN article published this morning with a more in-depth look at the recent timeline of events:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39908731/oakland-sacramento-meetings-moves-john-fisher

Fantastic and well-written article. I love how harsh-but-fair it comes out on Sac & the Kings:



> They cheered lustily, and perhaps naively, for this singularly uncharismatic billionaire. He owns something they believe they want and now -- temporarily -- have.

I also found this bit extremely interesting:

> In an all-hands Zoom meeting before the official Sacramento announcement, Kaval informed Oakland staff that there would be significant layoffs at the end of the season. Much of the work done by specific departments -- marketing, ticket sales, public relations -- will be done by employees of the Kings and River Cats.

Seems incredibly smart to start attaching the A's org into the Kings, which seems like a foothold for a takeover or leverage. There's prob just a handful of people who could get the A's out from under Fisher and Vivek seems like he could be one. Misgivings about how he actually runs a team notwithstanding...

 

[Livinthedream]

Fantastic and well-written article. I love how harsh-but-fair it comes out on Sac & the Kings:



> They cheered lustily, and perhaps naively, for this singularly uncharismatic billionaire. He owns something they believe they want and now -- temporarily -- have.

I also found this bit extremely interesting:

> In an all-hands Zoom meeting before the official Sacramento announcement, Kaval informed Oakland staff that there would be significant layoffs at the end of the season. Much of the work done by specific departments -- marketing, ticket sales, public relations -- will be done by employees of the Kings and River Cats.

Seems incredibly smart to start attaching the A's org into the Kings, which seems like a foothold for a takeover or leverage. There's prob just a handful of people who could get the A's out from under Fisher and Vivek seems like he could be one. Misgivings about how he actually runs a team notwithstanding...

Yeah. This is not just a trial run for the fans. The Kings will be actively managing significant FO activities.

A rent free ballpark in Sacramento. Ranadive helping to keep the A's tv contract intact. Using the marketing department of the Kings organization while laying off current A's FO people. For better or worse, the A's and Ranadive are becoming enmeshed.

 

[Warhawk]

An ESPN article published this morning with a more in-depth look at the recent timeline of events:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39908731/oakland-sacramento-meetings-moves-john-fisher

I think this tidbit is obvious, yet telling on the gamble being made:

Sources close to the negotiations in both Oakland and Sacramento believe Ranadive is making a calculation that Las Vegas is never going to happen. "Vivek is definitely bright," one source who requested anonymity said. "He made an assessment: Vegas will eventually fall apart and wherever the team is at that moment is where it will stay. He's not the only one who believes that."

He'll need to put together quite a group of investors to buy the team (if he can) to keep it permanently.

He is smart, though. I would not be surprised if he is already (preliminarily) designing a major league park for Sacramento and figuring out possible locations, etc., that would work. Just in case, you know....

 

[Livinthedream]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1779207928710578329

 

[hrdboild]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1779207928710578329

Good for you Dave. He's right that it probably won't matter. MLB is rubber stamping this Vegas thing (ironically at the same time they're sweeping what should be the biggest gambling scandal in the history of the sport under the rug) and Sacramento is just a means to an end for them. But what Vivek has done here is side with his billionaire buddy at the expense of millions of fans and for anyone who thinks that sports are about something more noble than money, or at least that they should be, there's nothing to celebrate about that.

I might have even supported the A's moving to Sacramento permanently if it had happened any other way. But not like this. Not with Fisher dismantling a 97 win team for scraps, firing most of his already threadbare staff, and walking away from almost $500 million in public financing and ocean front property that the city of Oakland has already fought through years of legal red tape to offer him. Not after the Commissioner himself had the audacity to mock the fans of Oakland for caring enough about this last place team to fight for it.

 

[Livinthedream]

Good for you Dave. He's right that it probably won't matter. MLB is rubber stamping this Vegas thing (ironically at the same time they're sweeping what should be the biggest gambling scandal in the history of the sport under the rug) and Sacramento is just a means to an end for them. But what Vivek has done here is side with his billionaire buddy at the expense of millions of fans and for anyone who thinks that sports are about something more noble than money, or at least that they should be, there's nothing to celebrate about that.

I might have even supported the A's moving to Sacramento permanently if it had happened any other way. But not like this. Not with Fisher dismantling a 97 win team for scraps, firing most of his already threadbare staff, and walking away from almost $500 in public financing and ocean front property that the city of Oakland has already fought through years of legal red tape to offer him. Not after the Commissioner himself had the audacity to mock the fans of Oakland for caring enough about this last place team to fight for it.

This clearly shows Fisher was not going to stay in Oakland. MLB is fine with, if not encouraging the team to leave the city and as a condition of going to Vegas, he can't sell. So Fisher is not being forced out as an owner anytime soon. Oakland trying to charge Fisher a 97 mil for 3 years is obviously ridiculous. Especially when he let it be known that there were options to play in Sac and SLC.

With all that said, how is Vivek or Sacramento guilty of taking away the A's? They were already gone. No one was going to force Fisher to stay in Oakland for the next 3 years. No one is going to force him to sell. Vivek didn't undercut anything. Oakland knew they were competing with other cities for the right to host the A's the next 3 year and they didn't make their best offer. They overplayed their hand.

The oldest play in the book is for a team to create low attendance in order to move. Boycotting games in Oakland fed right into it. On top of that, if MLB owners caved to boycotts and forced a sell, any one of them could be the next victim after the precedent is set.

I can sympathize with the fans, but they also played this wrong and continue to play it badly by trying to influence the Vegas vote on funding. Stopping Vegas is taking money out of other owners pockets and will not put you on the short list for expansion or a return of the A's

 

[hrdboild]

This clearly shows Fisher was not going to stay in Oakland. MLB is fine with, if not encouraging the team to leave the city and as a condition of going to Vegas, he can't sell. So Fisher is not being forced out as an owner anytime soon. Oakland trying to charge Fisher a 97 mil for 3 years is obviously ridiculous. Especially when he let it be known that there were options to play in Sac and SLC.

With all that said, how is Vivek or Sacramento guilty of taking away the A's? They were already gone. No one was going to force Fisher to stay in Oakland for the next 3 years. No one is going to force him to sell. Vivek didn't undercut anything. Oakland knew they were competing with other cities for the right to host the A's the next 3 year and they didn't make their best offer. They overplayed their hand.

The oldest play in the book is for a team to create low attendance in order to move. Boycotting games in Oakland fed right into it. On top of that, if MLB owners caved to boycotts and forced a sell, any one of them could be the next victim after the precedent is set.

I can sympathize with the fans, but they also played this wrong and continue to play it badly by trying to influence the Vegas vote on funding. Stopping Vegas is taking money out of other owners pockets and will not put you on the short list for expansion or a return of the A's

First of all, the bolded part is not what I said. My point was that Vivek has chosen to aid John Fisher in relocation which I, as an Oakland A's fan, see as a betrayal of the fans who have supported the A's far longer than John Fisher has been the owner. No he's not taking the A's out of Oakland -- that's John Fisher -- but he is making it easier for John Fisher to do that.

I also have some misgivings about how the organized fan protests in Oakland have gone but I can see clearly that people in Oakland are only doing what they think is right out of a passionate desire to see Oakland A's baseball continue beyond 2024. And it's not my place really to tell other fans the right or wrong way to go about this. It's a terrible situation for any fan to go through. I'm now going through it for the second time in just over 10 years and it's not any easier the second time.

I don't think that the support or lack of support from anyone in Sacramento is going to be what swings this one way or another. MLB teams are privately owned and as such it is not illegal for an individual to purchase a team and move it to another city or state. The thornier issue here relates to privately owned teams regularly extorting local governments for a half billion dollars in tax payer money with the threat of relocation posed as the alternative. We'll see how this plays out in Kansas City now that voters have taken a stand against it. I've more or less said my piece on the A's relocation saga already though and intend to duck out of the conversation as I really don't have anything useful to left to contribute to it...

I merely wanted to chime in here because I know Dave occasionally reads this board to say that I appreciate what he's done in using his platform to grapple with some of the difficult feelings associated with relocation for Kings fans. It's perfectly legitimate to hate the idea of teams relocating and still be excited about MLB in Sacramento (if only temporarily). As I said earlier, it's not my place to tell other fans what they should or shouldn't do. But maybe just be aware that for anyone who is a fan of both teams, celebrating Sacramento A's baseball or any derivation thereof feels a bit like a stab in the heart. A little empathy goes a long way.

 

[Livinthedream]

First of all, the bolded part is not what I said. My point was that Vivek has chosen to aid John Fisher in relocation which I, as an Oakland A's fan, see as a betrayal of the fans who have supported the A's far longer than John Fisher has been the owner. No he's not taking the A's out of Oakland -- that's John Fisher -- but he is making it easier for John Fisher to do that.

I also have some misgivings about how the organized fan protests in Oakland have gone but I can see clearly that people in Oakland are only doing what they think is right out of a passionate desire to see Oakland A's baseball continue beyond 2024. And it's not my place really to tell other fans the right or wrong way to go about this. It's a terrible situation for any fan to go through. I'm now going through it for the second time in just over 10 years and it's not any easier the second time.

I don't think that the support or lack of support from anyone in Sacramento is going to be what swings this one way or another. MLB teams are privately owned and as such it is not illegal for an individual to purchase a team and move it to another city or state. The thornier issue here relates to privately owned teams regularly extorting local governments for a half billion dollars in tax payer money with the threat of relocation posed as the alternative. We'll see how this plays out in Kansas City now that voters have taken a stand against it. I've more or less said my piece on the A's relocation saga already though and intend to duck out of the conversation as I really don't have anything useful to left to contribute to it...

I merely wanted to chime in here because I know Dave occasionally reads this board to say that I appreciate what he's done in using his platform to grapple with some of the difficult feelings associated with relocation for Kings fans. It's perfectly legitimate to hate the idea of teams relocating and still be excited about MLB in Sacramento (if only temporarily). As I said earlier, it's not my place to tell other fans what they should or shouldn't do. But maybe just be aware that for anyone who is a fan of both teams, celebrating Sacramento A's baseball or any derivation thereof feels a bit like a stab in the heart. A little empathy goes a long way.

I'm guilty of using your post to also answer other arguments I've seen online. My bad that it came off as directed at you.

I agree with just about all of this post. I would add that most, if not all Kings fans can empathize with A's fans. Beyond saying that and being sincere, I'm not sure what else some A's fans across social media want out of Sacramento. We're not responsible for whether they stay in Oakland or not.

 

[hrdboild]

I'm guilty of using your post to also answer other arguments I've seen online. My bad that it came off as directed at you.

I agree with just about all of this post. I would add that most, if not all Kings fans can empathize with A's fans. Beyond saying that and being sincere, I'm not sure what else some A's fans across social media want out of Sacramento. We're not responsible for whether they stay in Oakland or not.

I can't speak to A's fans across social media, but I imagine a lot of the conversation taking place there is not very polite or nuanced. My main connection to that fanbase is athleticsnation.com and even there the mood has darkened considerably from where it was just a year ago with a regrettable amount of in-fighting poking through in what used to be a very knowledgeable and respectful community. Grief often does not bring out the best in us.