Charles Oscar Finley (February 22, 1918 – February 19, 1996), nicknamed " Charlie O " or " Charley O ", was an American businessman who owned Major League Baseball 's Oakland Athletics . Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas City , moving it to Oakland in 1968. He is also known as a short-lived owner of the National Hockey League 's California Golden Seals and the American Basketball Association 's Memphis Tams .
176-540: The Oakland Athletics relocation to Las Vegas is an ongoing effort by the ownership of the Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB) to relocate the franchise from Oakland, California , to Las Vegas, Nevada . The team was based in Oakland from 1968 through 2024, during which it won four World Series titles. Their relocation would make them the second major sports franchise to move from Oakland to Las Vegas, following
352-574: A Michigan -based group led by broadcasting magnates John Fetzer and Fred Knorr . In 1959, when Dorothy Comiskey Rigney put her majority holdings in the Chicago White Sox up for sale, Finley lost out to a group headed by Bill Veeck . Then, one year later, he was among a group of contenders for the American League expansion franchise earmarked for Los Angeles , but actor, singer and broadcasting tycoon Gene Autry ended up as
528-803: A new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip , finalizing their plans to relocate to the Las Vegas area. On May 9, 2023, the Athletics switched their planned location in the Las Vegas area to the site of the Tropicana Las Vegas hotel and casino, which was subsequently demolished in October to construct a 33,000-seat partially retractable ballpark and a 1,500-room hotel and casino. By June 15, 2023, Nevada governor Joe Lombardo signed an MLB stadium funding bill known as SB1 into law after
704-456: A Kansas City native, Finley thought he could sell a baseball team like he sold insurance. Soon after buying the A's, he sent out 600,000 brochures to area residents and only netted $ 20,000 in sales. While in Oakland, the A's rarely had radio and television contracts, and were practically invisible even in the Bay Area. For the first month of the 1978 season, the A's radio flagship was KALX ,
880-781: A charter member of the National League in 1876, but were expelled from the N.L. after one season. A later version of the Athletics played in the American Association from 1882 to 1891. The familiar blackletter "A" is one of the oldest sports logos still in use. An image in Harper's Weekly with the rival Brooklyn Atlantics shows that the "A" appeared on the original Athletics' uniform as early as 1866. After New York Giants manager John McGraw told reporters that Philadelphia manufacturer Benjamin Shibe , who owned
1056-478: A committee to define the operating and broadcast territories surrounding the Las Vegas Valley, headed by Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio , before making a recommendation that would go to the executive council and full ownership. During the meeting, Lombardo would sign SB1 into law allowing Nevada to begin work on a new ballpark, and the Athletics to start the relocation process. The schedule for
1232-532: A different conversation by the time the votes are cast. When reports of Reno being considered an option were published, the city's mayor Hillary Schieve said they had not had any conversations with the Athletics organization about sharing Greater Nevada Field with the Aces but were open to discussing the possibility of the proposal. During the 2023 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Seattle , Manfred confirmed
1408-511: A home built in 1942 on Johnson Road just north of Pine Lake in LaPorte, Indiana. He hired John Mihelic as his ranch caretaker. The property was a working cattle ranch which consisted of an 18th-century, eleven-room colonial manor house and nine barns with various outbuildings. Finley had a large mansion built on the property, keeping the colonial house as caretakers quarters. The new house, which featured rounded porticoes and columns, resembled
1584-534: A hypothetical ballpark on the Festival Grounds. In October 2022, Oakland missed a deadline to reach an agreement on a ballpark in the Howard Terminal, with negotiations pushed back to another year. Kaval said that the delay in negotiations would "all but doom our efforts" in keeping the team in Oakland. On October 29, Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred said in a SiriusXM interview that he
1760-498: A member club of the American League (AL) West Division . The team will play its home games at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento for the 2025–2027 seasons before its permanent move to Las Vegas . While in West Sacramento, the team is being referred to as simply the "Athletics" and "A's", with no city name attached. The franchise's nine World Series championships, fifteen pennants, and seventeen division titles are
1936-615: A new ballpark and spoke with their owner, Dreamscape Properties. The team also hired eleven lobbyists to represent them in the Nevada Legislature to form a public-private partnership with the state. After the Athletics' two-day games at Las Vegas Ballpark as part of Big League Weekend, Clark County Commission Chairman Jim Gibson elaborated on Lombardo's statement ruling out new taxes for an MLB-caliber ballpark but noted, "The governor has said no new taxes, but that doesn't mean there aren't public revenues available. We'll look to
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#17327831197942112-580: A new ballpark, starting with sites in Uptown and the Estuary , but neither of those sites–or a site at 66th Avenue–gained any traction. In 2005, the Athletics were sold to Lew Wolff and John Fisher in what turned out to be a controversial move. Joe Lacob , who would become the owner of the Golden State Warriors in 2010, revealed that he had an agreement with Schott and Hoffman to purchase
2288-769: A new football league. The league would merge with the Canadian Football League and be renamed the North American Football League. The American cities would be made up of those that lost out on the United States Football League folding, with Finley representing Chicago ; the USFL's Arizona Outlaws had already come out in support of the idea of playing in the CFL as an American team, as had certain executives with
2464-598: A one-night stand appearance. Finley visited the group's manager, Brian Epstein , in San Francisco on August 19, 1964, where the Beatles were playing the first date of the tour. He told Epstein that he was disappointed that Kansas City was not among the group's itinerary, and offered first $ 50,000 and then $ 100,000 if the Beatles would schedule a concert in the Missouri city. Epstein refused, pointing out that on
2640-405: A public-private partnership including a special tax district after reaching an agreement with Red Rock Resorts to purchase and develop the land, with the backing of many within the state of Nevada and MLB. The deal would have also required $ 500 million in public funding from the special tax district to finance the ballpark and would need approval from the Nevada Legislature with June 5, the end of
2816-535: A retractable roof to allow for an open-air atmosphere whilst protecting spectators from the heat. On September 15, MLB reportedly set the vote on the Athletics relocation to Las Vegas for November. On September 27, Manfred said he hoped for a potential vote on the move during the owners meeting in Arlington between November 14 and 16. By September 28, Schools Over Stadiums later received a lawsuit from Athletics lobbyists seeking to prevent their petition from being put on
2992-568: A rivalry with the Los Angeles Angels since their relocation to California in 1968, and the charter membership of both teams in the AL West in 1969. The A's and Angels have often competed for the division title. The peak of the rivalry was during the early part of the millennium as both teams were perennial contenders. During the 2002 season, the A's famous "Moneyball" tactics led them to a league record 20-game winning streak, knocking
3168-558: A roof to protect players from the sun and brought up the issues of playing field, health, safety, accommodations, travel, and schedules, and that the MLBPA will have conversations on these issues pertaining to the Athletics possibly sharing it with the Aviators. On Oracle Park, Clark mentioned that the MLBPA could be involved in discussions about having the Athletics play in the same venue with the cross-bay Giants but noted they would engage in
3344-551: A separate, adjacent sports-themed attraction. On June 21, the Athletics officially began the process of relocation to Las Vegas through a relocation application to MLB being written up before being filed, submitted, and put to an owners' vote. Later, several ballpark designers, economics experts and architects discussed the small size of the Athletics' proposed ballpark in the San Francisco Chronicle with some even expressing doubt that it could fit. Two weeks after
3520-702: A special session for the legislature to vote on the Southern Nevada Tourism Innovation Act at 10 am, with the Senate Committee of the Whole convening by 12 noon to discuss the bill with support and opposition from both state senators and citizens. On June 8, the legislature adjourned and the Senate would not reconvene on the bill until June 12 as there were amendments proposed for the bill. The reconvening ended in recess without
3696-593: A spokesperson for the Athletics said the team was aware of Schools Over Stadiums and the NSEA's prior opposition to the bill. The NSEA's opposition to SB1 and proposal to get the bill on the ballot for Nevada voters was also supported by the group We Want a Voice which had a similar proposal and would work with the NSEA. Otherwise both were opposed by Nevada's largest teachers union, the Clark County Education Association (CCEA), which considered
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#17327831197943872-513: A vote in the 2024 elections by gathering around or more than 100,000 signatures from voting-eligible Nevada residents to do so. By September 7, the Athletics hired the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) sub-division CAA ICON as the official consulting firm for the ballpark in overseeing management of the project such as the architect and managers. On September 13, Kaval revealed the new ballpark would be climate-controlled and contain
4048-503: A vote in the Senate although behind the scenes negotiations with lawmakers continued and the Assembly would announce a morning meeting on the bill through a Committee of the Whole which became the first time they would review it alongside the Senate. During the hearing, the stadium bill received amendments such as a community benefits agreement and more money repaid to Nevada state tax credits. The amended bill would eventually be approved by
4224-425: A while yesterday. This will be very good for Las Vegas, very good for jobs, very good for hotel rooms. The key thing is getting the location nailed down and moving forward." Stevens also made a case for luring the A's to southern Nevada over an expansion team , claiming, "If Vegas doesn't land the A's, it could impact whether Vegas gets a team anytime in the near future. Having the [MLB] Commissioner [Rob Manfred] waive
4400-488: A white line to be painted on the field at the original "Pennant Porch" distance, and told the public address announcer to announce "That would have been a home run in Yankee Stadium" whenever a fly ball was hit past that line but short of the fence. The practice was quickly abandoned after it turned out that the announcer was calling more "would-be" home runs for the opposition than the A's. In 1963 , Finley changed
4576-400: Is all-black, initially with the green and white-trimmed "A's" wordmark, before switching to a white and gold-trimmed "A's" wordmark. Commercially popular but rarely chosen as the alternate by players, the black uniform was retired in 2011 in favor of a gold alternate jersey. The gold alternate has "A's" in green trimmed in white on the left chest. With the exception of several road games during
4752-477: Is clearly a sports town, and Major League Baseball should be a part of it." By May 26, the Athletics released the first official renderings of the new $ 1.5 billion, 30,000-seat ballpark on the site of the Tropicana. While the Athletics released the renderings of the new ballpark, Darrell Steinberg has said that the city of Sacramento could temporarily host the team for three seasons at Sutter Health Park ,
4928-401: Is forest green with a gold bill and white lettering. This design was also the basis of their batting helmet, which is used both at home and on the road. The road cap, which initially debuted in 1993, is all-forest green. The first version had the white "A's" wordmark before it was changed to gold the following season. An all-forest green batting helmet was paired with this cap until 2008. In 2014,
5104-455: Is widely recognized as one of the most famous, influential, and precedent-setting sports-related cases in the history of U.S. jurisprudence . By the end of the 1976 season, most of the A's stars had left the team as free agents. The few remaining stars from the A's dynasty years were traded away, with the exceptions of Vida Blue and Billy North. There was much bad blood between the ace and his owner. Going back to 1971 when Vida Blue first joined
5280-690: The Kansas City Athletics , before moving to Oakland, California , in 1968 and becoming the Oakland Athletics . The Athletics played their home games at the Oakland Coliseum from 1968 until 2024. Nicknamed the " Swingin' A's ", under owner Charlie O. Finley they won three consecutive World Series in 1972 , 1973 , and 1974 , led by players including Vida Blue , Catfish Hunter , Reggie Jackson , and Rollie Fingers . After being sold by Finley to Walter A. Haas Jr. ,
5456-481: The 1977 , only two years after winning a fifth straight division title and three years after winning a third consecutive World Series, the A's finished in last place in their division, with one of the worst records in baseball. After the 1977 season, Finley tried to sell Blue again, this time to the Cincinnati Reds. Kuhn vetoed this trade as well, saying that it amounted to a fire sale . Kuhn also claimed that
Oakland Athletics relocation to Las Vegas - Misplaced Pages Continue
5632-544: The 2024 MLB season had already been set by the time the A's relocation plans were announced. That meant that the Athletics played at the Coliseum for that season, which was the team's final year in Oakland. The A's, with MLB's cooperation, looked at options for a temporary home in 2025, with Las Vegas, Reno, Sacramento, and San Francisco 's Oracle Park being considered. These plans were later confirmed by an Athletics spokesperson in an interview with The Mercury News while
5808-581: The Baltimore Orioles at the Coliseum , in front of an opening-night crowd of 50,164. With four locations, the A's have had the most home cities of any MLB team. The Athletics' name originated in the term "Athletic Club" for local gentlemen's clubs—dates to 1860 when an amateur baseball team, the Athletic (Club) of Philadelphia , was formed. The team later turned professional in 1875, becoming
5984-568: The California Golden Seals ' relocation to Cleveland in 1976, the Golden State Warriors ' move across the bay to San Francisco in 2019, and the Oakland Raiders ' move to Las Vegas in 2020, the Athletics were left as the sole remaining professional sports team in Oakland. However, on April 20, 2023, the Athletics announced they had entered a land purchase agreement with Red Rock Resort located near Las Vegas to build
6160-511: The Democratic Party 's symbol is a donkey .) Since 1988 , the Athletics' 21st season in Oakland, an illustration of an elephant has adorned the left sleeve of the A's home and road uniforms. Beginning in the mid-1980s, the on-field costumed incarnation of the A's elephant mascot went by the name Harry Elephante, a play on the name of singer Harry Belafonte . In 1997 , he became Stomper , debuting Opening Night on April 2. Over
6336-474: The Haas family, the team changed its primary color to a more subdued forest green in 1982 and began a move back to more traditional uniforms. The 2023 team wore home uniforms with "Athletics" spelled out in script writing and road uniforms with "Oakland" spelled out in script writing, with the cap logo consisting of the traditional "A" with "apostrophe-s". The home cap, which was also the team's road cap until 1992,
6512-597: The Kansas City Athletics and played at Municipal Stadium until 1967. However, Johnson died from cerebral hemorrhage while watching the Athletics' spring training in Florida , and the team was sold once more to another Chicago businessman, Charles O. Finley . Finley sought to move the team out of Kansas City as early as 1961, when he courted Dallas-Fort Worth to AL owners, but nothing came out of it. Four years later, he would sign an agreement to move
6688-632: The Montreal Expos moved to Washington, D.C. , becoming the Washington Nationals in 2005. The Bay Bridge Series is the name of a series of games played between (and the rivalry of) the A's and San Francisco Giants of the National League . The series takes its name from the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge which links the cities of Oakland and San Francisco. Although competitive, the regional rivalry between
6864-620: The Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) making the same move in 2020 . With four locations, the A's have had the most homes of any MLB team. The relocation effort follows years of failed attempts to replace the Oakland Coliseum with a more modern stadium in the Bay Area . In 2023, the team announced it was planning to build a new ballpark in the Las Vegas Valley , causing negotiations over
7040-736: The Oakland Seals of the National Hockey League in 1970, renaming the team California Golden Seals. Mimicking the A's, he changed the team colors to green and gold and had the Seals wear white skates instead of the traditional black skates, a move deeply unpopular with both players and fans. In 1970, Finley also purchased the Memphis Pros of the American Basketball Association , changing
7216-609: The Philadelphia Athletics and shared the same city with the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). Between 1901 and 1954, the Athletics played their home games at Columbia Park and Shibe Park in Philadelphia under the ownership of Connie Mack . In 1955, Mack sold the Athletics to Chicago businessman Arnold Johnson , who moved the team to Kansas City, Missouri , to become
Oakland Athletics relocation to Las Vegas - Misplaced Pages Continue
7392-682: The San Francisco Giants and their Triple-A affiliate the Sacramento River Cats to play at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento on a temporary basis, beginning in 2025. Athletics (baseball) The Athletics (often referred to as the A's ) are an American professional baseball team based in West Sacramento, California . The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as
7568-811: The San Francisco Warriors moved across the Bay and rebranded themselves as the Golden State Warriors. It would retain this status for five years, after which the Seals (by then renamed the California Golden Seals) relocated to Cleveland, Ohio and became the Cleveland Barons . The Athletics' streak of success in the city in the early 1970s, known as the " Swingin' A's " era, saw the team win three straight World Series titles in 1972 , 1973 and 1974 . By
7744-593: The Washington Senators relocated from Washington, D.C. , to the Dallas–Fort Worth suburban city of Arlington, becoming the Texas Rangers and first relocation for MLB overall since 2005 when the Montreal Expos departed from Montreal to Washington, D.C., to become the Washington Nationals . The Oakland Athletics were founded as a charter member of the American League (AL) in 1901 as
7920-545: The White House . Finley had a large "Home of the Oakland A's" sign installed on the roof of another large barn where it could be viewed by vehicles passing on the Indiana toll road. It was to this place that Finley often brought the whole team and held picnics and pool parties attended by friends, business associates, and locals, who mingled with members of the team and took numerous photographs. In 1941, Finley married
8096-526: The playoffs . With free agency looming at the end of the 1976 season, Finley began dismantling the ball club. Reggie Jackson and Ken Holtzman were traded to Baltimore a week prior to the start of the 1976 season. Finley attempted to sell Rudi and Fingers to the Red Sox for $ 1 million each and Blue to the Yankees for $ 1.5 million, at which Major League Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn decided to invoke
8272-506: The "A's" wordmark returned to white but added gold trim. From 1994 until 2013, the A's wore green alternate jerseys with the word "Athletics" in gold, for both road and home games. During the 2000s, the Athletics introduced black as one of their colors. They began wearing a black alternate jersey with "Athletics" written in green. After a brief discontinuance, the A's brought back the black jersey, this time with "Athletics" written in white with gold highlights. The cap paired with this jersey
8448-516: The "Athletics" wordmark. Prior to the mid-2010s, the A's had a long-standing tradition of wearing white cleats team-wide (in line with the standard MLB practice that required all uniformed team members to wear a base cleat color), which dated to the Finley ownership. Since the mid-2010s, however, MLB has gradually relaxed its shoe color rules, and several A's players began wearing cleats in non-white colors, such as Jed Lowrie 's green cleats. Following
8624-482: The "BART Series" for the Bay Area Rapid Transit system that links Oakland to San Francisco. However, the name "BART Series" has never been popular beyond a small selection of history books and national broadcasters and has fallen out of favor. Bay Area locals almost exclusively refer to the rivalry as the "Battle of the Bay". Originally, the term described a series of exhibition games played between
8800-571: The "K.C. Pennant Porch" in right field in April 1964 , which brought the right field fence in Municipal Stadium to match Yankee Stadium's dimensions exactly, just 296 feet (90 m) from home plate. However, a rule passed in 1958 held that no (new or renovated) major-league fence could be closer than 325 feet (99 m), so league officials forced Finley to move the fences back after two exhibition games. The A's owner then ordered
8976-574: The 10-watt college radio station of the University of California, Berkeley . A year later, the A's didn't sign a radio contract until the day before Opening Day. Largely as a result, the A's never drew well even in their championship years, and were even sued by the city of Oakland and Alameda County in 1979. The A's have recently held promotional days with throwback uniforms from the Finley years, and have invited former players and play-by-play announcer Monte Moore to attend. Finley purchased
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#17327831197949152-399: The 2011 season, the Athletics' gold uniforms were used as the designated home alternates. A green version of their gold alternates was introduced for the 2014 season, serving as a replacement to the previous green alternates. The new green alternates featured the piping, "A's" and lettering in white with gold trim. In 2018, as part of the franchise's 50th anniversary since the move to Oakland,
9328-400: The 2024 ballot was rejected by Nevada District Judge James Todd Russell, who said that the plaintiffs would have to refile their referendum petition with the full text of SB1 or appeal the decision in a higher court on Tuesday. On November 9, Athletics fans sent boxes to 29 MLB owners containing paraphernalia urging them to vote no. On November 14, the relocation committee issued a report on
9504-401: The A's and Giants is considered a friendly one with mostly mutual companionship between the fans, as opposed to White Sox–Cubs , or Yankees–Mets games where animosity runs high. Hats displaying both teams on the cap are sold from vendors at the games, and once in a while the teams both dress in original team uniforms from the early era of baseball. The series is also occasionally referred to as
9680-483: The A's launched a survey for fans of the Las Vegas Aviators , the team's Triple-A affiliate, to determine potential interest for an MLB team in Las Vegas and a new ballpark. The final results of the survey released a month later indicated that most Aviators fans and Las Vegas residents were interested in having an MLB team in the city. That same month, the A's made an offer for an undisclosed plot of land in
9856-477: The A's nominally had someone who had the title or duties of general manager until 1966 . Finley also repeatedly tried to move the team. In January 1964 he reached an agreement with Louisville , to move the team there for the 1964 season, signing a two-year lease on a stadium. When that proposed move was blocked by the American League he entertained offers from Denver and San Diego Finley replaced
10032-417: The A's or another MLB team looking to relocate to Nevada "may or may not be eligible for a variety of existing economic development programs in the state". In February, it was revealed that Resorts World Las Vegas President Scott Sibella and other Las Vegas hotel owners had met with Athletics officials for a ballpark at the Festival Grounds site, with Sibella noting, "We reinforced our support that we believe
10208-440: The A's showed signs of improvement, under manager and Berkeley native Billy Martin . However, after that season, Finley's wife divorced him and would not accept an interest in the A's as part of a settlement. With most of the Finleys' assets invested in either Charlie O's insurance interests or the A's, the Finleys were forced to sell. In 1980 , Finley agreed in principle to sell to businessman Marvin Davis , who planned to move
10384-528: The A's to Walter A. Haas, Jr. , president of Levi Strauss & Co. in August 1980 for $ 12.7 million, with the deal finalized before the 1981 season. Carl Finley was asked to remain with the new owners as vice president/mentor. Under new management, the A's made the playoffs in 1981 . The Finley management was very effective at marketing. They changed the team uniforms to green and gold with white shoes and they gave some players colorful nicknames. The Finley organization introduced ball girls (one of whom,
10560-458: The A's tradition in that his number was a re-retirement, as well as his not being in the Hall of Fame. Charles O. Finley Finley was born in Ensley, Birmingham, Alabama , attended Ensley High School but was further raised in Gary, Indiana , and later lived in La Porte , 60 miles (100 km) east of Chicago . Finley made his fortune in the insurance business, being among the first to write group medical insurance policies for those in
10736-437: The A's were considering the Resort Corridor, the Cashman Field site and the Valley cities of Henderson or Summerlin , Nevada , as possible locations for a ballpark. Kaval also said that the team was still continuing to explore "parallel paths" in not just Las Vegas but in Oakland as well. In September 2021, Kaval said that the Athletics would finalize the list of possible ballpark sites in Las Vegas by November. In November,
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#173278311979410912-449: The A's won the World Series again in 1989 , Tony La Russa , who managed that team, and outfielder Rickey Henderson were originally scouted by Finley. In 1974 , after winning a third straight World Series championship, Finley lost ace pitcher Jim 'Catfish' Hunter to free agency as a result of a contract clause violation. The A's still managed to dominate throughout the 1975 regular season without Hunter, but were swept by Boston in
11088-466: The A's wore a kelly green alternate uniform with "Oakland" in white with gold trim, and was paired with an all-kelly green cap. This set was later worn with an alternate kelly green helmet with gold visor. This uniform eventually supplanted the gold alternates by 2019, and in 2022, after the forest green alternate was retired, it became the team's only active alternate uniform. The nickname "A's" has long been used interchangeably with "Athletics", dating to
11264-404: The Angels out of the first seed in the division. The A's finished 4 games ahead while the Angels secured the Wild Card berth. Despite the 103-win season for Oakland, they lost to the underdog Minnesota Twins in the ALDS . The Angels beat the heavily favored New York Yankees, then beat the Twins, and then won the 2002 World Series . During the 2004 season, the teams were tied for wins headed into
11440-427: The Angels' franchise, on December 19, 1960, he purchased the estate's controlling interest in the Athletics ; he then bought out the minority owners a year later. Finley quickly started to turn the franchise around, refusing to make deals with the New York Yankees (for which the Athletics had been criticized) and searching for unheralded talent. From 1961 onward, Finley was effectively his own general manager, though
11616-437: The Angry A's , owner Charlie O. Finley banned the word "Athletics" from the club's name because he felt that name was too closely associated with former Philadelphia Athletics owner Connie Mack, and he wanted the name "Oakland A's" to become just as closely associated with him. The name also vaguely suggested the name of the old minor league Oakland Oaks , which were alternatively called the "Acorns". New owner Walter Haas restored
11792-426: The As, and had a legendary 24-8 rookie season, he earned $ 14,000. That winter, Blue sought a $ 92,500 salary, held out, missed much of the 1972 season, before Blue and Finley settled at $ 63,000. Later, in 1976, after an 18–13 season with a 2.35 ERA, Blue told reporters, "I hope the next breath Charlie Finley takes is his last. I hope he falls flat on his face and dies of polio ." Blue's curse seemed to strike home, as in
11968-417: The Athletics about the ballpark proposal at Tropicana." Aside from the deal with Bally's, the Athletics pitched a tax district to pay for the new Strip ballpark. The reason the Athletics switched the site of the proposed ballpark from Wild Wild West Casino to the Tropicana Las Vegas was due to Culinary Union 226's not supporting the site change. By May 12, Culinary Union 226 eventually reached an agreement with
12144-408: The Athletics and Giants started battling for a "Bay Bridge" Trophy made from steel taken from the old east span of the Bay Bridge, which was taken down after the new span was opened in 2013. The A's won the inaugural season with the trophy, allowing them to place their logo atop its Bay Bridge stand. When the A's left Oakland, the Giants had won the trophy 4 times, to the A's 3. The A's have held
12320-405: The Athletics announced their sponsorship for the softball charity game Battle for Vegas in Summerlin's Las Vegas Ballpark and a fan fest held alongside this event with the Golden Knights and Raiders, making this first time the team supported an officially-sanctioned event in the Las Vegas area. On July 13, Hill revealed that the Athletics would not fully use $ 380 million in public funding to finance
12496-403: The Athletics announced they would begin the relocation process to Las Vegas when the bill was signed. By June 21, the team had begun the relocation process with MLB by drafting a relocation application. The application was submitted to MLB by August 23. The move was unanimously approved by MLB ownership on November 16, 2023 during the owners meeting in Arlington, Texas . The Athletics' lease with
12672-494: The Athletics had started the relocation process to Las Vegas by submitting information for the application. However, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao met with Manfred during the All-Star Game to share documents with him and 29 other MLB owners outlining the city's plans to build a new ballpark at the Coliseum or Howard Terminal from years prior in a bid to keep the Athletics from relocating to Las Vegas. After Thao met with Manfred,
12848-414: The Athletics reached a "loose agreement" for a financing package less than $ 500 million with state officials after weeks of discussion with a reduction of contributions from Clark County. The proposal involved $ 180 million from the state of Nevada of which $ 90 million would be repaid from the ballpark's revenues while $ 150 million would come from Clark County which would be repaid from a tax district set up on
13024-482: The Athletics to Denver . However, just before Finley and Davis were due to sign a contract, the NFL 's Oakland Raiders announced they were moving to Los Angeles in 1982 . Oakland and Alameda County officials, not wanting to be held responsible for losing Oakland's status as a big-league city in its own right, refused to let the A's out of their lease with the Coliseum. Forced to turn to local buyers, Finley agreed to sell
13200-536: The Athletics to Oakland and share the Oakland Coliseum with the American Football League (AFL)'s Oakland Raiders . The Athletics became Oakland's third professional sports team after the Raiders and the Oakland Seals of the National Hockey League , who had commenced play a few months earlier as part of the 1967 NHL expansion . Oakland would go on to become a four sports city in 1971, when
13376-436: The Athletics to provide union contracts for their workers on the new Strip ballpark. However, the project initially had an issue with Nevada lawmakers who were willing to provide only $ 195 million in tax credits instead of $ 395 million for the Athletics. Moreover, Clark County officials were concerned that taxpayers would be on the hook to cover debt payments and that property taxes would be increased to pay them. In spite of this,
13552-460: The Athletics to their facility, but Finley was unable to break the team's lease at the Coliseum and the A's remained in Oakland. In 1980, Finley agreed to sell the team to a Denver interest in industrialist Marvin Davis , but when the Raiders announced their move to Los Angeles shortly after that same year, the city of Oakland and Alameda County refused to allow the Athletics to break their lease at
13728-499: The Athletics would reach a deal with the Southern Nevada Building Trades Union to use workers and contractors from the area to build the new Strip ballpark which is expected to begin construction in mid to late 2024 and was contingent on the state of Nevada approving a financing package. On April 26, Kaval met with Nevada Democratic legislators, including Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager , to discuss
13904-409: The Athletics' traditional elephant mascot with a live mule . " Charlie-O " was paraded about the outfield, into cocktail parties and hotel lobbies and into the press room after a large feeding to annoy reporters. (The mule died in 1976 , at age 20.) After supposedly being told by manager Ed Lopat about the Yankees' success being attributable to the dimensions of Yankee Stadium , Finley built
14080-469: The Aviators. However, Thao included a provision to keep the Athletics name and history in Oakland if the team were to play at the Coliseum for three more years alongside another for a potential expansion team after speaking with Manfred again. In September, Schools Over Stadiums filed a referendum petition with the office of the Nevada Secretary of State to put the Athletics' stadium proposal for
14256-631: The Beatles made their August/September 1964 concert tour of the United States, Finley was determined to bring them to Kansas City to perform at Municipal Stadium. Seeing one open date on the tour, Finley offered and paid the Beatles $ 150,000 ($ 1,473.6 million+ today) for a concert on September 17, 1964, erasing a scheduled off day for the band in New Orleans . The tickets read: "CHARLES O. FINLEY/ IS PLEASED TO PRESENT..FOR THE ENJOYMENT/ OF THE BEATLE FANS IN MID-AMERICA/ 'THE BEATLES'/ IN PERSON” on
14432-460: The Brewers' Attanasio. In the same month, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said the organization was ready to negotiate with MLB over the effects and working conditions of the Athletics' relocation to Las Vegas including a temporary home in Las Vegas, Reno, Sacramento, or San Francisco. The conditions outlined by Clark were focused on the field, travel, amenities, housing, support, and the area for
14608-403: The Coliseum due to its joint ownership of the facility and impending relocation to Las Vegas. On June 19, Bally's chairman Soo Kim told KTNV-TV that the Tropicana might not be razed until two years later into construction and that there was a scenario where part of the resort-casino could remain after the ballpark is complete. He also noted that the ballpark would include a new casino-resort and
14784-436: The Coliseum, Peralta 's Laney College and Howard Terminal considered, but the lack of progress derailed these proposals. It was this lack of progress that led the franchise to pursue Las Vegas as their new home. On May 11, 2021, MLB permitted the Athletics to explore relocation possibilities should the team fail to get a replacement stadium from the city of Oakland by 2024. Among the cities and regions under consideration by
14960-525: The Coliseum. Finley was forced to sell the team in August 1980 to Levi Strauss & Co. CEO Walter A. Haas Jr. , who was committed to keeping the team in Oakland. Spending on the Athletics resulted in the team making three consecutive trips to the World Series, winning the title in 1989 over the cross-bay San Francisco Giants in the notorious 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake -interrupted series. When
15136-579: The Giants franchise moved there a decade earlier than the A's did. On March 24, 2018, the Oakland A's announced that for the Sunday, March 25, 2018, exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants, A's fans would be charged $ 30 for parking and Giants fans would be charged $ 50. However, the A's stated that Giants fans could receive $ 20 off if they shout "Go A's" at the parking gates. In 2018,
15312-405: The Howard Terminal project and that the city of Oakland was considering obligation bonds as an alternative. On January 26, newly elected Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo met with team officials to discuss the possibility of a public-private economic partnership to finance a new ballpark, with Lombardo ruling out an increase in state taxes to pay for construction. Lombardo's spokesperson clarified that
15488-589: The Las Vegas Stadium Authority (LVSA) as its owner with the bill itself, named the Southern Nevada Tourism Innovation Act, introduced into the Nevada Legislature for a vote. By Memorial Day 2023, the legislature held its first and only regular session hearing on the Southern Nevada Tourism Innovation Act with officials, residents and some out of state people speaking for or against the bill which lasted for six hours. New details of
15664-473: The Las Vegas Strip is being created with an initial deadline of May 26 with other options, such as a special session if it can't be passed in time. However, the Athletics are considering alternative options in the Las Vegas area if they fail to secure legislative support for $ 500 million in the new Strip ballpark. Additionally, language for a potential funding bill would likely be available at the end of
15840-518: The Majors. Marvin Miller , the founder of MLB's players union , called him "absolutely the best judge of baseball talent I've ever seen." During the early 1970s, the once-moribund A's became a " Swingin' A's " powerhouse, winning three straight World Series from 1972 to 1974 and five straight division titles from 1971 to 1975 , in the Oakland Coliseum . Though he no longer owned the team when
16016-696: The Moneyball Act in the House named after the 2003 memoir of the same name by Michael Lewis which required the Athletics or any MLB team moving 25 miles from its former home city to compensate them or the league would lose its antitrust exemption. On June 15, Manfred addressed reporters during the three-day MLB owners' meeting in New York after the Legislature approved SB1. He said that the Athletics would file an application for relocation and establish
16192-483: The Oakland Coliseum expired at the end of the 2024 season . They will play at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, California , beginning in the 2025 season. This will be the third city relocation in the franchise's history since they had previously played in Philadelphia and Kansas City before their move to Oakland in 1968. It will mark the first relocation of an American League team since 1972 when
16368-508: The Oakland Coliseum, reaching a low point on April 17, 1979, when only 653 fans attended a game against the Seattle Mariners . Finley, by this point, had begun to explore selling the Athletics to another buyer who would move the team from Oakland, with Denver and the aforementioned New Orleans as options. Louisiana Superdome officials pursued negotiations with Athletics officials during the 1978–79 baseball offseason about moving
16544-438: The Raiders returned to Oakland in 1995, the Coliseum would be renovated to increase its capacity for football with a structure known as Mount Davis , which made the facility less than ideal for baseball as the large section of seats above forced them to add tarpaulin and obscured the view of the hills of Oakland. Following Haas' death in 1995, the team was sold to Stephen Schott and Ken Hofmann . In 1999, Schott and Hoffman put
16720-529: The Raiders; he did not rule out other ways of publicly financing the ballpark, such as infrastructure improvements or tax increment financing. In January 2023, the Athletics continued talks with Bally's over the possibility of converting the Tropicana into a new ballpark while talks with Ruffin over the Festival Grounds had stalled. The news came out around this time when the Department of Transportation (DOT) refused to grant $ 182 million in federal funding for
16896-517: The Reverse Boycott. After the Unite the Bay rally, the Athletics organization announced they would select Gensler or the joint bid by HNTB (which participated in the construction of Allegiant Stadium ) and Bjarke Ingels Group as the design team for the ballpark by November for new renderings with the latter having previously participated in the scrapped Howard Terminal plans. Brad Schrock,
17072-429: The Senate Committee of the Whole (COW) in a 12–7 vote and sent to the Senate floor for another vote where it was approved 13–8 with the bill in the Assembly. The Assembly would then vote to approve the bill 25–15 with amendments and the Senate would concur ensuring it would end up with Governor Lombardo on June 14. Shortly after SB1's approval in the legislature, the team released a statement thanking legislators for passing
17248-400: The Tropicana could be torn down in segments while allowing some of it to remain or brought down all at once via implosion. On July 25, fans of the Athletics and Giants, during the local Bay Bridge Series between their respective teams at Oracle Park, chanted "Sell the team!" and wore "Sell!" t-shirts as part of Unite the Bay, an event held to protest the Athletics move to Las Vegas similar to
17424-662: The Valley for a $ 1 billion ballpark to be built there. The Howard Hughes Corp, the owners of the Aviators, offered free land for the A's to build a new ballpark. Previously, team representatives had met with the Hughes Corp. in Summerlin. In April 2022, the A's narrowed down the list to two possible sites in the Las Vegas Strip : The Tropicana Las Vegas resort and the Las Vegas Festival Grounds . Around
17600-521: The addition of Blue to an already formidable Reds pitching staff would make a mockery of the National League West race. Finley and his "right-hand man," cousin Carl A. Finley started scouting for new talent in 1977. The Finleys brought in future stars such as Rickey Henderson , Tony Armas , Mitchell Page , Mike Norris , and Dwayne Murphy to rebuild the team. It was not until 1980 that
17776-412: The agreement with the Athletics, Treasurer Zach Conine, and Clark County officials in a press release for the bill's sending to legislature. In the press release, Lombardo said, "This agreement follows months of negotiations between the state, the county and the A's, and I believe it gives us a tremendous opportunity to continue building on the professional sports infrastructure of southern Nevada. Las Vegas
17952-399: The ballot next year. In October, the Las Vegas Stadium Authority held its first meeting on Wednesday to receive the first drafts of the proposed lease and community benefits agreements. The Authority also revealed that construction for the new stadium was slated to tentatively begin in April 2025 with a completion date of January 2028 and a 30-year, rent-free lease for the Athletics along with
18128-644: The ballpark were also revealed, such as 2028 as the projected opening date instead of 2027 and the potential to host other events apart from Major League Baseball, which included the World Baseball Classic (WBC), WWE Royal Rumble and SummerSlam , XFL games, MLS matches, rugby sevens , NCAA games, the Monster Jam World Finals, the Davis Cup , Monster Energy Supercross , and cricket . On June 7, Lombardo called for
18304-499: The ballpark, two days after the Athletics submitted their relocation application. When asked about a temporary home for 2025–2027, Kaval said a three-year lease extension at the Oakland Coliseum, Las Vegas Ballpark, or Oracle Park were strongly under consideration for the Athletics until their permanent one is finished. He also noted that the Las Vegas Ballpark would need upgrades to host the Athletics temporarily alongside
18480-698: The best site is on the Sahara/L[as] V[egas] Blvd. Having the A's in Las Vegas will be great for the Strip communities and the LV community" and that the team "will have our full support". Derek Stevens, the co-owner of the Circa , Golden Gate and The D properties downtown, confirmed that he attended the meeting and said, "I talked to with ownership in John Fisher and their President Dave [Kaval] for
18656-532: The bill during the special session. With SB1 approved, Bally's fully turned its attention to demolishing the Tropicana to make way for the Athletics' ballpark. During the special session on the bill, Las Vegas Convention and Assembly President Steve Hill said the Athletics could play some games in Reno at the Reno Aces ' Greater Nevada Field while their new home on the Las Vegas Strip was under construction. Around
18832-433: The bill was approved by the Nevada Legislature , and the Athletics officially announced they would begin the relocation process. On November 16, 2023, the Athletics' move to Las Vegas was unanimously approved by MLB team owners. According to the team, the new Las Vegas ballpark will not be completed until 2028. The lease to the Oakland Coliseum expired after the 2024 season. Before the scheduled move to Las Vegas in 2028,
19008-448: The bill's approval, the Athletics revealed that Bally's would provide 3 to 4 more acres of land on the Tropicana for the ballpark with plans to hire a design architect, a construction firm and a project manager amidst concerns about its size and a statement from Clark County spokeswoman Jennifer Cooper saying her county can't issue $ 120 million yet until other agreements are finalized and the Athletics deposit $ 100 million in private money for
19184-645: The cap. Upon moving to Oakland, the "A" cap emblem was restored, and in 1970 an "apostrophe-s" was added to the cap and uniform emblem to reflect that Finley was officially changing the team's name to the "A's". While in Kansas City, Finley changed the team's colors from their traditional red, white and blue to what he termed "Kelly Green, Wedding Gown White and Fort Knox Gold". It was here that he began experimenting with dramatic uniforms to match these bright colors, such as gold sleeveless tops with green undershirts and gold pants. The uniform innovations increased after
19360-574: The construction manager for the ballpark. On August 23, Fisher published a commentary editorial for the Las Vegas Review-Journal announcing that the Athletics had fully submitted their relocation application to MLB. On the same day, Fisher conducted an interview with the Review-Journal regarding the team's impending relocation to the Las Vegas Valley. By August 25, the Las Vegas Stadium Authority (LVSA) held another meeting on
19536-400: The construction. We want to ensure that we coordinate with their needs and any other ongoing work in the area, as we strive to be good partners with our community and stakeholders. If there are any adjustments we can make to our schedule or prioritize certain tasks to facilitate potential stadium work, we would like to know so that we can act quickly," though he added "NDOT has not yet heard from
19712-434: The controlling interest in the new team, had a " white elephant on his hands", team manager Connie Mack defiantly adopted the white elephant as the team mascot, and presented McGraw with a stuffed toy elephant at the start of the 1905 World Series . McGraw and Mack had known each other for years, and McGraw accepted it graciously. By 1909 , the A's were wearing an elephant logo on their sweaters, and in 1918 it turned up on
19888-415: The deal commented, "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." Within the legislature, lawmakers said that a funding bill would arrive and that there was no timeline for immediate action yet; there
20064-528: The direction of the Las Vegas Boulevard, a jumbotron and a three-acre plaza with the overall design created by the Denmark -based Bjarke Ingels Group and HNTB respectively. On April 2, the Tropicana Las Vegas was closed and was subsequently demolished in October to make way for the construction of the Athletics new home starting in 2025. On April 4, the Athletics reached an agreement with
20240-540: The end of 2024, the franchise's overall win–loss record is 9,329–9,859–87 (.486). The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans from 1901 to the present day, having begun in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 and then to its home in Oakland, California , in 1968. The A's made their Bay Area debut on Wednesday, April 17, 1968, with a 4–1 loss to
20416-401: The end of the decade, the team was in a full-fledged rebuild as Finley had considerably reduced investments into the team and many star players left to other teams via trades and the newly-implemented free agency process. To save money, Finley even severed the team's local television and radio broadcasting contracts, making it very difficult for fans to follow the team. Attendance plummeted at
20592-469: The final week of September with the last three games being played in Oakland against the Angels. Both teams were battling to secure the division championship. Oakland lost two of the three games to the Angels, and they were eliminated from the playoff hunt. The Angels were swept in the playoffs by the eventual champion Boston Red Sox. The Athletics lead the series 541–491, and the two teams have yet to meet in
20768-542: The first games taking place in 2003) but the rivalry had effectively died in the intervening years since the A's left Philadelphia. In 2014, when the A's faced the Phillies in inter-league play at the Oakland Coliseum, the Athletics did not bother to mark the historical connection, going so far as to have a Connie Mack promotion the day before the series while the Texas Rangers were in Oakland. The first City Series
20944-534: The former Shirley McCartney. They had eight children before the marriage ended in a bitter divorce, the proceedings of which lasted 6 years. The Finleys separated in 1974, and according to a biographer, Finley was unfaithful during his marriage and frequently estranged both his friends and family. Shirley Finley won a massive divorce settlement. Finley was estranged from most of his children at the time of his death. Finley died three days shy of his 78th birthday. His former wife, who remarried, died in 2010. Finley entered
21120-550: The founding principal owner of the Angels . Fate, however, would play a role in Finley's fifth, and ultimately successful, attempt to enter baseball — and it would come from his 1954 target, now the Kansas City Athletics . On March 3, 1960, owner Arnold Johnson died suddenly and unexpectedly from a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 54. The second-division Athletics struggled through a last-place season while being operated by Johnson's estate. Just weeks after Finley lost his bid for
21296-405: The front, and showed a photograph of Finley wearing a Beatles wig on the back with the quote, "Today's Beatle's (sic) Fans/ Are/ Tomorrow's Baseball Fans." John Lennon was quoted later as saying he disliked Finley's attempt to strong-arm the Beatles into playing longer than their then-standard half-hour concert set. The Beatles' $ 150,000 fee for the concert was considered a show business record for
21472-492: The future Debbi Fields , went on to found Mrs. Fields' Original Cookies, Inc. ), and advocated night games for the World Series to increase the ability for fans to attend. Finley also was an outspoken advocate of the designated hitter rule, which he advocated until it was adopted by the American League. They were always full of new ideas, including: Despite his reputation as a master promoter, Finley had less success marketing his team. According to baseball writer Rob Neyer ,
21648-590: The governor and legislature to see what kind of appetite they have for whatever's required." In April 2023, it was revealed that negotiations between the city of Oakland and the Athletics organization had ended, with the team moving forward with a new $ 1.5 billion 30,000-seat retractable stadium at the site of the Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel across Interstate 15 from the Golden Knights' T-Mobile Arena , financed through
21824-509: The head director of the ballpark design, said that the project could have up to 33,000 seats. Schrock also revealed on July 27 that the ballpark would turn four acres of its site into a plaza similar to T-Mobile Arena . In August, Kaval revealed that the new stadium in Las Vegas would have 33,000 seats instead of 30,000 in the initial plans. On August 21, the Athletics announced that the Minneapolis -based Mortenson | McCarthy would serve as
22000-540: The home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats (a former A's affiliate now affiliated with the Giants), until they move to Las Vegas. With the unveiling of the first renderings of the ballpark, the Athletics also saw the language for the stadium bill revealed publicly, which contained many of the confirmed details of the tentative agreement, such as public funding capped at $ 380 million and
22176-521: The legislative language still needed to be finalized. The deal was announced by the Athletics and Bally's on May 15. In response to the Bally's deal, Nevada Department of Transportation spokesman Justin Hopkins told the website LVSportsBiz.org, "Our project team would like to know more about the Athletics' construction plans, including their anticipated start date and how their access needs will be affected by
22352-538: The local teachers union . The owners would eventually vote on the Athletics move to Las Vegas by Thursday after Manfred made a recommendation to the league during the Arlington meeting. The move was approved unanimously by the league, with a timeline still to be determined. On November 28, the non-profit fan group Oakland 68s announced the establishment of the Oakland Ballers , a team in the independent, MLB-affiliated Pioneer League set to play in 2024. The team
22528-487: The matter of SB1 to be settled, and Clark County Commission Chair Jim Gibson echoed similar such sentiments even claiming the bill's additional revenue would be used to help with students, teachers, and other aspects of education. In July, owners John S. Middleton of the Philadelphia Phillies and John Sherman of the Kansas City Royals joined the newly formed MLB relocation committee on Las Vegas alongside
22704-454: The medical profession. Finley showed a penchant for flair and inventive business practices. Sometimes, when wooing prospective customers, Finley would drive the client through the richest section of Gary. Pointing out a large mansion, Finley would declare "That's my place there, but I'm having it remodeled right now." Finley's fortunes grew and he ended up owning a 40-story insurance building in downtown Chicago. In 1956, Charles Finley purchased
22880-410: The natural grass field of Las Vegas Ballpark would not accommodate the team and the Athletics with a proposal to implement artificial turf on the stadium based on the Texas Rangers' Globe Life Field floated which was toured by the Athletics as a model for the new Strip ballpark while Rob Manfred has said that it was a feasible option for the A's to share Las Vegas Ballpark with the Aviators. By April 22,
23056-408: The new ballpark at the Tropicana. Instead, the team would use around $ 340 million for the ballpark. Two days later, Hill said that the Las Vegas Stadium Authority would meet on August 24 to detail the process of the Athletics relocation. On July 20, Kim said that Bally's was waiting for the Athletics to go through the stadium planning process before the Tropicana could be demolished. He also noted that
23232-517: The new ballpark for half an hour. By April 28, the Athletics' ballpark would earn the support of several southern Nevada Chambers of Commerce. Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman when asked about the $ 500 million needed for the ballpark responded "To make this work the owners need to make a bold statement upfront. What you want to see is the private ownership come in and be invested in our community and not just look to each of us who calls this home for more taxes. No thank you!" However, Goodman's Clark County
23408-472: The official name to "Athletics" in 1981, but retained the nickname "A's" for marketing. At first, the word "Athletics" was restored only to the club's logo, underneath the much larger stylized-"A" that had come to represent the team since the early days. By 1987, however, the word returned, in script lettering, to the front of the team's jerseys. From 2025 to 2027, while the team temporarily plays its home games in West Sacramento, all of its uniforms would feature
23584-605: The only free date available, September 17, the band was scheduled for a day of rest in New Orleans . Finley encountered Epstein again in Los Angeles a week later and they agreed on $ 150,000. The A's (as they were officially known from 1970 ) moved to California in January 1968, just as the new talent amassed over the years in the minors (such as Reggie Jackson , Sal Bando , Joe Rudi , Bert Campaneris , Catfish Hunter , Rollie Fingers , and Vida Blue ) became ready for
23760-632: The option for the team to buy the stadium and pay for all operations to maintain "facility standards". The organization also voted to approve a $ 700,000 retainer for the law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. By Thursday, Manfred announced that he would make a recommendation on the Athletics relocation before the eventual vote in November at the owners meeting in Arlington, Texas . By November, the Schools Over Stadiums' petition to put SB1 on
23936-503: The options in Las Vegas and Reno were contingent on approval from the MLB Players Association (MLBPA). In the case of Reno and Sacramento, both cities had Triple-A facilities that could be used to accommodate the Athletics for three seasons similar to Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin. On June 20, the city of Oakland and Alameda County explored the options of forcing the Athletics to pay $ 30 million in purchase payments for
24112-591: The organization. Though Jackson and Hunter played small portions of their careers in Kansas City, no player that played the majority of his years in the Kansas City era has his number retired either. The A's have retired only the numbers of Hall-of-Famers who played large portions of their careers in Oakland. The Athletics have all of the numbers of the Hall-of-Fame players from the Philadelphia Athletics displayed at their stadium, as well as all of
24288-409: The players and the players' families. When asked about the playing field, Clark said, "We would have to make sure that the quality of that turf, if that's what happens, or the quality of the grass and the support for it, if that's what happens, is up to snuff." Clark also noted that if the Athletics were to play at Las Vegas Ballpark temporarily for three seasons, it would be a challenge due to not having
24464-464: The postseason. The City Series was the name of baseball games played between the Philadelphia Athletics and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League , that ran from 1903 through 1955. After the A's move to Kansas City in 1955, the City Series rivalry came to an end. Since the introduction of interleague play in 1997, the teams have since faced each other during the regular season (with
24640-496: The project. On June 29, the Nevada State Education Association (NSEA) created a new political action committee known as Schools Over Stadiums for the purpose of exploring "every possible path" of reversing the legislature's and Governor Lombardo's approval of SB1, including litigation or a ballot measure on the bill in 2024, with over 102,586 signatures required for the latter option. In response,
24816-417: The proposed Oakland Ballpark at Howard Terminal to collapse. Initially, the team's agreement to build a new ballpark in Las Vegas started at the Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel but later shifted to the Tropicana Las Vegas with a 1,500 room hotel and casino. On June 15, Nevada governor Joe Lombardo signed an MLB stadium funding bill worth $ 380 million, known as SB1, into law. Not long afterward,
24992-479: The ranks of Major League Baseball owners after multiple failed attempts to acquire franchises during the 1950s. He first attempted to buy the Philadelphia Athletics in 1954 , but American League owners instead approved the sale of the team to Arnold Johnson , who moved the club to Kansas City for the 1955 season. In 1956, Finley unsuccessfully bid for the Detroit Tigers , who instead were sold to
25168-429: The rarely used "best interests of baseball" clause in order to void Finley's sales. Finley, in turn, hired famed sports attorney Neil Papiano and proceeded to file a $ 10 million restraint-of-trade lawsuit against Kuhn and Major League Baseball. Papiano and Finley lost the case (see Finley v. Kuhn ). The court ruled that the commissioner had the authority to determine what is in the best interests of baseball. This lawsuit
25344-592: The regular legislative session, as the deadline to agree on a funding package and could call a special session in this case. Prior to selecting the Wild Wild casino, the Athletics were offered the resort corridor of the Rio hotel and casino for $ 1 by the Dreamscope Cos but turned it down in favor of Wild Wild West after a previous deal on the Festival Grounds had collapsed. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao upon learning of
25520-412: The regular uniform jersey for the first time. In 1963, when the A's were located in Kansas City, then-owner Charlie Finley changed the team mascot from an elephant to a mule , the state animal of Missouri. This is rumored to have been done by Finley in order to appeal to fans from the region who were predominantly Democrats at the time. (The traditional Republican Party symbol is an elephant , while
25696-478: The relocation fee is huge. When people say they want an expansion team that is a 'Vegas Team,' people forget the expansion fee will be between $ 1 billion to $ 2 billion. Who in Vegas has that kind of money for an expansion fee and THEN have to deal with all the other elements like stadium costs and operating cash?" On February 17, it was revealed that the Athletics were exploring the Rio hotel and casino as an option for
25872-411: The same "A" on it. In the early days of the American League, the standings listed the club as "Athletic" rather than "Philadelphia", in keeping with the old tradition. Eventually, the city name came to be used for the team, as with the other major league clubs. After buying the team in 1960, owner Charles O. Finley introduced road uniforms with "Kansas City" printed on them, with an interlocking "KC" on
26048-546: The same time as the bill's hearing in the Nevada Legislature and subsequent passage in the Senate, Oakland Athletics fans organized a large "Reverse Boycott" for a home game at the Coliseum against the Tampa Bay Rays . The intent of the protest was to encourage as many fans to attend the game as possible to demonstrate that there is still a sizable market for Major League Baseball in Oakland. Additionally, US House Representatives Barbara Lee and Mark DeSaulnier introduced
26224-632: The same time, the Tropicana's non-land assets were sold to Bally's Corporation and approved by Nevada state regulators later that year. Earlier in December 2021, the A's had submitted a bid to acquire the Tropicana site and redevelop it into a ballpark prior to the Bally's acquisition. MLB, in reaction to the A's interest in Nevada, decided to remove a relocation fee for the team in the event that they move to Las Vegas. In August, A's officials organized two meetings with casino owner and financier Paul Ruffin for
26400-417: The seasons, the Athletics' uniforms have paid homage to their amateur forebears. Until 1954, when the uniforms had "Athletics" spelled out in script across the front, the team's name never appeared on either home or road uniforms. Furthermore, neither "Philadelphia" nor the letter "P" appeared on the uniform or cap. The Philadelphia uniform had only a script "A" on the left front, and likewise the cap usually had
26576-735: The second-most in the AL after the New York Yankees . One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the team was founded in Philadelphia in 1901 as the Philadelphia Athletics . They won three World Series championships in 1910 , 1911 , and 1913 , and back-to-back titles in 1929 and 1930 . The team's owner and manager for its first 50 years was Connie Mack , and Hall of Fame players included Chief Bender , Frank "Home Run" Baker , Jimmie Foxx , and Lefty Grove . The team left Philadelphia for Kansas City in 1955 and became
26752-471: The site and the public total would be between $ 350 million and $ 380 million. Additionally, a credit enhancement would be used for the ballpark to improve the chances of repayment along with a two-year debt reserve account and the ballpark itself would be owned by the Las Vegas Stadium Authority, similar to Allegiant Stadium upon completion while Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. contributed to the project free of charge. On May 24, Governor Joe Lombardo announced
26928-462: The team from 1980 until his death in 1995, was honored by the retirement of the letter "A". Of the six players with retired numbers, five were retired for their play with the Athletics and one, 42, was universally retired by Major League Baseball when they honored the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking the color barrier. No A's player from the Philadelphia era has his number retired by
27104-487: The team to Louisville , where they would rebrand themselves as the "Kentucky Athletics," but this never came to fruition as the AL blocked the move. Other cities considered by Finley included Atlanta , Milwaukee (the previous home of the Atlanta Braves from 1953 to 1965), New Orleans , San Diego and Seattle , all of which would gain their own MLB teams, except for New Orleans. In 1968, Finley chose to relocate
27280-418: The team to remain in Oakland prior to the team's move to Las Vegas). Controversially, the official MLB broadcast of the game cropped out these signs leading the league to apologize, "We were unaware of the edit. When it came to our attention, we corrected it as it isn't consistent with our policy" said a spokesperson. On May 4, Lombardo announced that a legislative package for the Athletics' proposed ballpark on
27456-524: The team up for sale and had an agreement in place to sell the team to an ownership group led by the Save Mart Supermarkets CEO Robert Piccinini and sports executive Andy Dolich , with plans to build a new ballpark in Oakland, but the sale was blocked by MLB commissioner Bud Selig as he ordered the owners to table the vote to effectively kill the deal. In 2001, the Athletics began looking at sites in Oakland for
27632-522: The team was the Las Vegas area, the home of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Vegas Golden Knights and National Football League (NFL)'s Las Vegas Raiders. The A's started exploring the possibility of relocating to Las Vegas and would later organize meetings with local government officials and tour potential sites led by Fisher in the next week. After a presentation at a June MLB owners meeting in New York City , team president Dave Kaval said that
27808-422: The team will play in West Sacramento, California at Sutter Health Park (home of the San Francisco Giants ' Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats ) for the 2025–2027 seasons (with an option for the 2028 season if necessary). While in West Sacramento the team will be referred to as simply the "A's" and "Athletics," with no city name attached. The relocation will mark the first move by an MLB team since
27984-437: The team won three consecutive pennants and the 1989 World Series behind the " Bash Brothers ", Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire , as well as Hall of Famers Dennis Eckersley , Rickey Henderson and manager Tony La Russa . In 2002, the Athletics set the record for most consecutive wins in a season with twenty, an event that would go on to be the pioneering step in the application of sabermetrics in baseball. From 1901 through
28160-420: The team's colors to Kelly Green, Fort Knox Gold, and Wedding Gown White. In 1967 , he replaced the team's traditional black spikes with white. Finley also started phasing out the team name "Athletics" in favor of "A's." (When Mickey Mantle saw the A's' green-and-gold uniforms, he jeered, "They should have come out of the dugout on tippy-toes, holding hands and singing," according to Baseball Digest .) When
28336-467: The team's early days when headline writers used it to shorten the name. From 1972 through 1980, the team name was officially "Oakland A's", although the Commissioner's Trophy , given out annually to the winner of baseball's World Series , still listed the team's name as the "Oakland Athletics" on the gold-plated pennant representing the Oakland franchise. According to Bill Libby's Book, Charlie O and
28512-401: The team's move to Oakland, which came with the introduction of polyester pullover uniforms. During their dynasty years in the 1970s, the A's had dozens of uniform combinations with jerseys and pants in all three team colors, and never wore the traditional gray on the road, instead wearing green or gold, which helped to contribute to their nickname of "The Swingin' A's". After the team's sale to
28688-533: The team's name to the Memphis Tams , the name being an acronym for Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi. As was the case with the A's, he changed the Tams' colors to green and gold. He hired recently retired Kentucky Wildcats basketball coach Adolph Rupp as team president. Finley ran it on a shoestring budget. After the first season, he sold the teams and returned to baseball. In March 1987, Finley proposed
28864-455: The team, but Selig would block that sale and only allow the team to be sold to Wolff, who was Selig's fraternity brother in college. After the sale, a plan for a ballpark in Fremont known as Cisco Field materialized to replace the aging and outdated Coliseum before that plan fell through. Wolff and Fisher turned their attention to a possible relocation to San Jose with the same proposal, which
29040-416: The teams during the regular season since the commencement of interleague play in 1997. Through the 2024 regular season, the Athletics have won 76 games, and the Giants have won 72 contests. Through the 2024 season, the A's also have edges on the Giants in terms of overall postseason appearances (21–13), division titles (17–10) and World Series titles (4–3) since both teams moved to the Bay Area, even though
29216-527: The two clubs after the conclusion of spring training, immediately prior to the start of the regular season. It was first used to refer to the 1989 World Series in which the Athletics won their most recent championship and the first time the teams had met since they moved to the San Francisco Bay Area (and the first time they had met since the A's also defeated the Giants in the 1913 World Series ). Today, it also refers to games played between
29392-400: The viability of Las Vegas as a baseball market to the other MLB owners in Arlington. Although the report posed questions about Las Vegas as an MLB city, the Athletics move was expected to be approved by the entire league and there was no organized opposition. Amidst the vote, Schools Over Stadiums filed a lawsuit to overturn SB1 after the failed effort to put the legislation on the ballot, led by
29568-399: The week. Despite it, the Athletics struck a deal with Bally's to build a new ballpark on the previously explored Tropicana Las Vegas site and reduce the share of public funding from $ 500 million to $ 395 million while Bally's would build a casino-hotel adjacent to the ballpark; the tax package for the revised proposal was similar to the original one at Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel but
29744-551: The years that the Philadelphia Athletics won World Championships (1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, and 1930). Dave Stewart was about to have his #34 jersey retired by the Athletics in 2020, but the ceremony was postponed until further notice, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Questions were raised if there would be a formal ceremony after no news about a reschedule happened in 2021 before it was announced in April 2022 that Stewart would have his jersey retired on September 11, 2022. Stewart broke
29920-471: Was "not positive" the A's could remain in Oakland and that the team had made progress in exploring Las Vegas as a viable relocation site. In November 2022, a source familiar with the Athletics' negotiations with Las Vegas said that even if the team were to move to the city, the Triple-A Aviators would stay put and temporarily share Las Vegas Ballpark with their MLB affiliate while a new ballpark
30096-408: Was blocked by the Giants as the team already had territorial rights to the city. Around this time, the Raiders announced their impending relocation to Las Vegas and the Golden State Warriors moved across the bay to Chase Center in San Francisco , leaving the Athletics as Oakland's only major professional team. The Athletics would then put their focus in a new stadium solely on Oakland itself, with
30272-412: Was established in response to the Athletics' relocation to Las Vegas and is modeled after their time in Oakland right down to sharing the same color scheme and logo including its abbreviated name. By March, new renderings of the ballpark were officially revealed to the public containing a fixed roof inspired by traditional baseball pennants, multi-tiered seating, the world's largest cable-net window facing
30448-1528: Was held in 1883 between the Phillies and the American Association Philadelphia Athletics . When the Athletics first joined the American League , the two teams played each other in a spring and fall series. No City Series was held in 1901 and 1902 due to legal warring between the National League and American League. Home Run Baker * Chief Bender * Ty Cobb Mickey Cochrane * Eddie Collins Jimmy Collins Stan Coveleski Elmer Flick Nellie Fox Jimmie Foxx * Lefty Grove * Waite Hoyt George Kell Nap Lajoie Connie Mack * Herb Pennock Eddie Plank * Al Simmons * Tris Speaker Rube Waddell * Zack Wheat Luke Appling Lou Boudreau Whitey Herzog Tommy Lasorda Satchel Paige Enos Slaughter Harold Baines Orlando Cepeda Dennis Eckersley * Rollie Fingers * Goose Gossage Rickey Henderson * Catfish Hunter * Reggie Jackson * Tony La Russa Willie McCovey Joe Morgan Mike Piazza Tim Raines Don Sutton Frank Thomas Billy Williams Dick Williams Harry Caray Herb Carneal Al Helfer Bill King By Saam Lon Simmons The Athletics have retired six numbers; additionally, Walter A. Haas, Jr. , owner of
30624-473: Was negotiating with the Athletics to reach a deal on the ballpark with an option to extend the negotiations. In response to the team's planned relocation to Las Vegas, Athletics fans would hold a protest during the team's April 28 home game against the Reds, holding up signs that read "Sell", "Stay", "#FisherOut", "Kaval=Liar" and "Sell the Team" with the latter chanted in the stands along with "Stay in Oakland" (the same phrase used by Oakland Raiders fans urging
30800-420: Was some skepticism or opposition to handing out $ 500 million for the ballpark. Shortly after announcing the stadium deal, team president Dave Kaval was interviewed by CBS affiliate KLAS-TV . He revealed that the Athletics had an agreement with the Aviators to play at the Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin temporarily until their new home on the Strip was complete. Conversely, Aviators president Don Logan said that
30976-448: Was under construction. On November 3, Bally's CEO Lee Fenton said that the Tropicana site was "very much in the cards" for the A's to build a ballpark should the team relocate to Las Vegas and revealed that Bally's held talks with the team. On November 7, then-Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak and other officials said that the state would not use a hotel room tax to fund a Las Vegas ballpark for the A's like they did with Allegiant Stadium for
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