It is not just the Oakland Athletics’ franchise.
In the world of Major League Baseball, the proposed move of John Fisher’s Oakland Athletics business to Las Vegas seems to be just the tip of the stadium cycle iceberg. MLB is dealing with a stadium situation in the Tampa Bay market which it does not like. There are six other MLB owners who have expressed dissatisfaction with stadiums in their markets. The list includes Anaheim, Arizona, Baltimore, Chicago with the White Sox franchise, Kansas City and Milwaukee. But that is not the entire list as there are stadium situations that MLB wants to resolve in places like Eugene, Oregon and San Antonio on the minor league level. Remember MLB reworked the minor leagues after the 2019 season by lopping off 42 minor league franchises and with that contraction of the 42 teams came a very serious warning to the cities and towns that kept MLB affiliations. You better have your minor league ballpark up to MLB standards or we will yank the team out of your city. Kinston, North Carolina could not afford to do the necessary upgrades and will lose the MLB affiliated team which will move to Spartanburg, South Carolina in 2025
In Eugene, there just may not be any money available for either a new or renovated stadium and without the upgrades, the city probably will be saying goodbye to an MLB affiliated team. In San Antonio, it seems that the city and Bexar County have other facilities that local politicians feel need attention before the minor league Missions ballpark. The National Basketball Association’s Spurs ownership are angling for a new facility and the local government wants to upgrade the Alamodome and convention center. The Alamodome will be fixed up for the 2025 Men’s NCAA Final Four basketball tournament. That could be the last major event in the 30-year-old building as its lifespan is just about over.
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