Oakland mayor asks owners to reject A’s move
-
Tim Keown, ESPN Senior Writer
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao sent a letter to 15 owners in Major League Baseball on Wednesday, outlining why they should reject Athletics owner John Fisher’s attempt to move the team to Las Vegas after 55 years in Oakland.
The owners’ annual meeting takes place next week in Arlington, Texas, and the A’s relocation vote is expected to be held at some point during the three-day session. Approval from three-quarters of the 30 owners is required to allow MLB’s first franchise move since the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals after the 2004 season.
Thao’s letter, obtained by ESPN, reiterates many points the mayor has been making since April, when the A’s stunned the city by announcing plans to move to Las Vegas and build a stadium on a nine-acre site currently occupied by the Tropicana Las Vegas Casino Resort. The letter is part of the city’s ongoing effort to counter the A’s contention that Oakland did not act with sufficient urgency in obtaining clearances and securing funding for a $12 billion, 55-acre residential/retail waterfront development that would include a 35,000-seat stadium.
Thao wrote that Oakland has procured $428 million in public funding for off-site infrastructure, a figure that is in addition to approximately $500 million in on-site infrastructure the city and county will contribute through “tax increment funding.”
“The proposed funding assistance for a new stadium development,” Thao wrote, “is thus nearly triple the $380M the A’s have reportedly secured in Las Vegas, for a much smaller stadium project. … There is a clear path to build a state-of-the-art new ballpark here in Oakland, and to do so just as expeditiously (if not more so) than in Las Vegas.”
The letter was sent to a mix of large-market teams, including the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers, and smaller-market teams, such as the Tigers, Rockies and Mariners. Sent along with the letter was a “Stay in Oakland” box of city- and A’s-related clothing and material, including a personalized baseball card of each of the 15 owners.
This effort comes at the end of a season-long push by the city and A’s fans to make the case for Oakland as the rightful home for the team — and Fisher’s management as the reason for poor attendance and a protracted stadium battle.
Thao’s letter, which includes many of the arguments she made to Manfred during a meeting in Seattle during the All-Star break, does not mention Fisher directly, nor does it explicitly address the potential of the Athletics, with baseball’s lowest payroll and a higher percentage of revenue sharing, moving from the country’s 10th-largest media market to its 40th.
It does, however, question the economic wisdom of commissioner Rob Manfred’s decision to absolve the A’s of a relocation fee that would be worth at least $300 million.
“The A’s are reportedly counting on hundreds of millions of dollars of relocation fees to be waived as part of this move,” Thao wrote. “Not only would this require MLB owners to make a major financial sacrifice, it might also create a precedent that could cause other teams to seek similar considerations. … And moving the A’s to Las Vegas would remove the market from eligibility as a potential expansion site, closing the door on the hefty expansion fee (expected to amount to $2B+) a new Vegas-based team could contribute.
“In sum, we believe that keeping the A’s in Oakland while evaluating an expansion opportunity in Las Vegas is by far the most lucrative path for MLB over both the short and long term.”
There remain unanswered questions regarding the team’s immediate future. In September, an MLB source told ESPN that owners would not be able to hold an informed vote without concrete answers as to the stadium design in Las Vegas — such as whether it would be domed or have a retractable roof — and where the Athletics plan to play for three seasons (2025-27) while the ballpark in Las Vegas is constructed.
One week before the expected vote, there have been no official renderings of the Las Vegas stadium and Oakland officials say there has been no discussion about extending the lease on the Coliseum, which expires after next season.
-
Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
Wisconsin fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo on Sunday, a day after the Badgers’ 16-13 home loss to No. 1 Oregon.
In a statement, Badgers coach Luke Fickell thanked Longo for his two seasons with the program, while adding, “We are not where we need to be and believe this decision is in the best interest of the team.”
Wisconsin ranks 97th nationally in scoring and 102nd in passing while operating an Air Raid-style offense that Longo brought with him from North Carolina and other stops.
The Badgers, who lost starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to a season-ending injury Sept. 14, had only three points and 88 yards in the second half against Oregon, which rallied from a 13-6 deficit entering the fourth quarter.
Wisconsin ranked 101st nationally in scoring in Longo’s 23 games as coordinator and failed to eclipse 13 points on its current three-game losing streak. Quarterback Braedyn Locke had only 96 passing yards against the Ducks.
Fickell did not immediately announce an interim coordinator for Wisconsin’s final regular-season games against Nebraska and Minnesota.
Fickell had long targeted Longo for a coordinator role, going back to his time as Cincinnati’s coach. Longo, 56, oversaw productive offenses at Ole Miss, North Carolina, Sam Houston State and other spots but never consistently got traction at a Wisconsin program that had operated dramatically differently on offense before his arrival.
“This team still has a lot in front of us and I am committed to doing everything we can to close out this season with success,” Fickell said in his statement.
-
Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff Writer
Four-star quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. has committed to Florida, he told ESPN on Sunday, joining the Gators’ 2025 class four days after pulling his pledge from Florida State.
Jones, a four-year starter at Florida’s Mandarin High School, is ESPN’s No. 9 dual-threat passer in the Class of 2025. After multiple trips to Florida throughout his recruitment, Jones returned to campus Saturday, taking an official visit with the Gators during the program’s 27-16 win over LSU. A day later, Jones stands as the lone quarterback pledge in a 2025 Florida class that includes five pledges from the ESPN 300.
“I pretty much saw everything I needed to see when I visited last spring — I just love everything around the campus,” Jones told ESPN. “And then hanging out with the guys yesterday, seeing the camaraderie with each other, that really just sealed it for me.”
Jones was the longest-tenured member of Mike Norvell’s 2025 class at Florida State before his decommitment from the Seminoles on Thursday morning.
Jones’ exit came days after Norvell announced the firings of three assistant coaches on Nov. 10, including offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Alex Atkins. Jones was the first Florida State commit to pull his pledge in the wake of the staff shakeup but marked the Seminoles sixth decommitment since the start of the regular season, joining five ESPN 300 recruits who have left Norvell’s recruiting class across the program’s 1-9 start.
Jones’ commitment follows a key late-season victory for Billy Napier on Saturday and marks the Gators’ first recruiting win since athletic director Scott Strickland announced on Nov. 7 that Florida would stick with the third-year coach beyond the 2024 season.
Uncertainty over Napier’s future had weighed down Florida’s recruiting efforts in the 2025 class as the Gators began November with the No. 39 class in ESPN’s latest team rankings for the cycle. But Jones’ pledge comes as a boost for Florida one day after the Gators hosted a handful of high-profile flip targets, including five-star offensive tackle Solomon Thomas (Florida State pledge) and four-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench (Texas pledge).
When Jones signs with Florida, he’ll arrive on campus flanked by fellow in-state offensive talents in four-star wide receivers Vernell Brown III (No. 44 in the ESPN 300) and Naeshaun Montgomery (No. 115), as well as four-star running back Waltez Clark (No. 223). Florida is also set to sign a pair of in-state defenders from the 2025 ESPN 300 between four-star defensive end Jalen Wiggins (No. 68) and four-star cornerback Ben Hanks Jr. (No. 121).
With Jones’ commitment, Florida has another jolt to its momentum on the recruiting trail as the Gators seek to chart a strong finish in the 2025 cycle next month. More imminently, Florida will host No. 11 Ole Miss on Saturday.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports8 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway