Author Topic: The Vegas Athletics (Read 37052 times)

IanRubbish · « **Reply #325 on:** May 06, 2025, 09:03:54 pm »

They'd make the playoffs if the season ended now, wonder where they'd play if that actually happened. Oracle Park?

varoadking · « **Reply #326 on:** May 06, 2025, 11:21:18 pm »

Quote from: IanRubbish on May 06, 2025, 09:03:54 pm

They'd make the playoffs if the season ended now, wonder where they'd play if that actually happened. Oracle Park?

Where would the Rays play? Miami?

IanRubbish · « **Reply #327 on:** May 25, 2025, 11:40:33 pm »

They're now saying they've "essentially broken ground" moving dirt around, but seems like they're still over a month away from significant construction and getting cranes on site.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/athletics/we-have-essentially-broken-ground-construction-on-as-strip-ballpark-on-schedule-3376421/

IanRubbish · « **Reply #328 on:** June 13, 2025, 05:24:39 pm »

They've now called out June 23 as a ceremonial groundbreaking, but it's not clear if this really means anything in terms of actually spending money.

Brodie Brazil has some good analysis on this.

wj73 · « **Reply #329 on:** July 02, 2025, 05:25:54 pm »

From The Guardian:

Quote

Debacle in the desert: will the Athletics’ $1.75bn stadium on the Vegas Strip ever be built?
It’s been over two years since the A’s were awarded public funding for their new ballpark. But despite last month’s “groundbreaking”, its completion is anything but certain

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jul/02/athletics-las-vegas-stadium-john-fisher-mlb-debacle?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

IanRubbish · « **Reply #330 on:** July 02, 2025, 05:40:55 pm »

Quote from: wj73 on July 02, 2025, 05:25:54 pm

From The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jul/02/athletics-las-vegas-stadium-john-fisher-mlb-debacle?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Good article, thanks for sharing. Makes sense, Fisher doesn't have the money to spend, and not clear who he thought he was fooling with the fake construction equipment groundbreaking.

IanRubbish · « **Reply #331 on:** July 12, 2025, 02:48:02 pm »

The latest. Some actual construction items have made their way to the site.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/athletics/as-ballpark-site-work-forges-ahead-following-junes-groundbreaking-ceremony-3395435/

Smithian · « **Reply #332 on:** July 16, 2025, 01:51:55 pm »

Watching the Vegas mess and whatever Tampa is, I continue to wonder when MLB will recognize Salt Lake City is right there with deep business support, a supportive state government, and a shovel ready stadium.

Never even been to SLC but everything on paper makes it seem frictionless.

blue911 · « **Reply #333 on:** July 16, 2025, 02:54:28 pm »

Quote from: Smithian on July 16, 2025, 01:51:55 pm

Watching the Vegas mess and whatever Tampa is, I continue to wonder when MLB will recognize Salt Lake City is right there with deep business support, a supportive state government, and a shovel ready stadium.

Never even been to SLC but everything on paper makes it seem frictionless.

Tulsa, OK .We could call them the breeze

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #334 on:** July 16, 2025, 03:53:49 pm »

Quote from: blue911 on July 16, 2025, 02:54:28 pm

Tulsa, OK .We could call them the breeze

Tulsa Time or GTFO

Dave in Fairfax · « **Reply #335 on:** July 17, 2025, 10:55:41 am »

Tulsa Kings. Bring in Taylor Sheridan and Sylvester Stallone to your ownership group.

imref · « **Reply #336 on:** July 17, 2025, 05:45:53 pm »

Quote from: Smithian on July 16, 2025, 01:51:55 pm

Watching the Vegas mess and whatever Tampa is, I continue to wonder when MLB will recognize Salt Lake City is right there with deep business support, a supportive state government, and a shovel ready stadium.

Never even been to SLC but everything on paper makes it seem frictionless.

just the small matter of the lake poisoning the city.

https://attheu.utah.edu/research/just-how-dangerous-is-great-salt-lake-dust-new-research-looks-for-clues/

IanRubbish · « **Reply #337 on:** July 18, 2025, 12:21:15 pm »

Ballpark cam is up.

https://ballparkexperience.athletics.com/ballparkcam

IanRubbish · « **Reply #338 on:** July 19, 2025, 04:31:57 pm »

Doesn't look like they're doing much on the site besides moving piles of dirt. Fisher reminds me a little of Mini Me, an inept heir to a fortune he didn't earn and has no idea how to manage.

OfftheBat · « **Reply #339 on:** July 23, 2025, 11:34:54 am »

Quote from: IanRubbish on July 19, 2025, 04:31:57 pm

Doesn't look like they're doing much on the site besides moving piles of dirt. Fisher reminds me a little of Mini Me, an inept heir to a fortune he didn't earn and has no idea how to manage.

Well, at least Mini-Me didn't threaten relocation of the Nats... for now

welch · « **Reply #340 on:** July 23, 2025, 11:52:47 am »

Fisher should move back to Philadelphia, a baseball town. The Cardinals and Browns shared the Browns stadium for several years. The Phillies and A's could do the same. Or move to St Louis, which has lots of baseball fans and all them the Browns. Could that empty -- indoor -- football stadium be remodeled for baseball?

OfftheBat · « **Reply #341 on:** July 25, 2025, 12:10:20 pm »

Quote from: welch on July 23, 2025, 11:52:47 am

Fisher should move back to Philadelphia, a baseball town. The Cardinals and Browns shared the Browns stadium for several years. The Phillies and A's could do the same. Or move to St Louis, which has lots of baseball fans and all them the Browns. Could that empty -- indoor -- football stadium be remodeled for baseball?

I don't think that the Phillies & Cards' owners would allow that to happen. Besides, aren't the Cards having attendance "problems" this year? Having a 2nd team in their town would be detrimental to their attendance

IanRubbish · « **Reply #342 on:** July 26, 2025, 03:14:43 pm »

Quote from: OfftheBat on July 25, 2025, 12:10:20 pm

I don't think that the Phillies & Cards' owners would allow that to happen. Besides, aren't the Cards having attendance "problems" this year? Having a 2nd team in their town would be detrimental to their attendance

Yeah, neither city is anywhere near big enough for a 2nd team. St. Louis survives by having limited competition from other sports.

The owners don't seem that eager to expand, but they're foolish considering how many fast growing markets have no MLB. Salt Lake in the West and Nashville or Charlotte are probably the best markets.

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #343 on:** July 26, 2025, 03:35:45 pm »

This is heretical, but maybe the White Sox should move to Charlotte and the Angels or Os to Nashville. Is Chicago really a 2 team market? No other league has 2 teams there. I guess LA typically has 2 teams (NFL, Nba), but Orange County is kind of middled by SD and LAD. As for Baltimore and DC, I think Angelos was realistic, but the wrong city of the pair had the team

HalfSmokes · « **Reply #344 on:** July 26, 2025, 05:15:37 pm »

Salt Lake could easily support a team; I would be shocked if something happened with Fisher’s financing and the A’s ended up there

IanRubbish · « **Reply #345 on:** July 26, 2025, 07:17:51 pm »

Quote from: JCA-CrystalCity on July 26, 2025, 03:35:45 pm

This is heretical, but maybe the White Sox should move to Charlotte and the Angels or Os to Nashville. Is Chicago really a 2 team market? No other league has 2 teams there. I guess LA typically has 2 teams (NFL, Nba), but Orange County is kind of middled by SD and LAD. As for Baltimore and DC, I think Angelos was realistic, but the wrong city of the pair had the team

The White Sox and O's are in questionable support situations, but the Angels draw well for a team that's been bad for so long, and pretty much own OC plus a decent share of Riverside County and eastern LA County.

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #346 on:** July 26, 2025, 07:25:55 pm »

Quote from: IanRubbish on July 26, 2025, 07:17:51 pm

The White Sox and O's are in questionable support situations, but the Angels draw well for a team that's been bad for so long, and pretty much own OC plus a decent share of Riverside County and eastern LA County.

I was kind of surprised the Os sold locally vs Nashville. I thought Rubinstein might even have bought the Nats.

HalfSmokes · « **Reply #347 on:** July 26, 2025, 07:51:41 pm »

Quote from: JCA-CrystalCity on July 26, 2025, 07:25:55 pm

I was kind of surprised the Os sold locally vs Nashville. I thought Rubinstein might even have bought the Nats.

The move would be to buy the nats and sell the Os to an ownership group from out of town

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #348 on:** July 26, 2025, 08:07:34 pm »

Quote from: HalfSmokes on July 26, 2025, 07:51:41 pm

The move would be to buy the nats and sell the Os to an ownership group from out of town

he's a B-more guy originally so he's not doing that.

Dave in Fairfax · « **Reply #349 on:** July 26, 2025, 08:10:24 pm »

I don't know if TV market is still a good proxy for whether a place is a good basesball market given the changes to how baseball is viewed, but here are the top 50 TV markets with what they have for baseball, AA and up.

1. New York - 2 MLB, 1 AA (EL)
2. Los Angeles - 2 MLB
3. Chicago - 2 MLB
4. Philadelphia - 1 MLB
5. Dallas-Ft. Worth - 1 MLB, 1 AA (TL)
6. San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose - 1 MLB (2 until 2025)
7. Boston - 1 MLB, 1 AAA (IL)
8. Atlanta - 1 MLB, 1 AAA (IL)
9. Washington, DC - 1 MLB, 1 AA (EL) (if we include Bowie)
10. Houston - 1 MLB, 1 AAA (PCL)
11. Detroit - 1 MLB
12. Phoenix - 1 MLB
13. Tampa-St. Petersburg - 1 MLB
14. Seattle-Tacoma - 1 MLB, 1 AAA (PCL)
15. Minneapolis-St. Paul - 1 MLB, 1 AAA (IL)
16. Miami-Ft.Lauderdale - 1 MLB
17. Cleveland-Akron - 1 MLB, 1 AA (EL)
18. Denver - 1 MLB
19. Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne -
20. Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto - 1 AAA (PCL), temporarily 1 MLB
21. St. Louis - 1 MLB
22. Portland, OR -
23. Pittsburgh - 1 MLB
24. Charlotte, NC - 1 AAA (IL)
25. Indianapolis - 1 AAA (IL)
26. Baltimore - 1 MLB
27. Raleigh-Durham - 1 AAA (IL)
28. San Diego - 1 MLB
29. Nashville - 1 AAA (IL)
30. Hartford-New Haven - 1 AA (EL)
31. Kansas City - 1 MLB
32. Columbus, OH - 1 AAA (IL)
33. Salt Lake City - 1 AAA (PCL)
34. Cincinnati - 1 MLB
35. Milwaukee - 1 MLB
36. Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville-Anderson -
37. San Antonio - 1 AA (TL)
38. West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce -
39. Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek -
40. Birmingham - 1 AA (SL)
41. Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York - 1 AA (EL)
42. Las Vegas - 1 AAA (PCL)
43. Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News - 1 AAA (IL)
44. Albuquerque-Santa Fe - 1 AAA (PCL)
45. Oklahoma City - 1 AAA (PCL)
46. Greensboro-High Point-Winston-Salem -
47. Jacksonville, FL - 1 AAA (IL)
48. Memphis - 1 AAA (IL)
49. Austin - 1 AAA (PCL)
50. Louisville - 1 AAA (IL)

- No idea where Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver or any other Canadian market would be ranked if included above.