Is the A's Name Worth Keeping in Las Vegas?

A's ownership could use the team's name as a bargaining chip

We've heard that the Mayor in Oakland wants to keep the A's name in The Town, and at this point that may be doing the franchise a favor. With all of the bad publicity the franchise has received in recent years, and especially once they announced their intention to leave for Las Vegas, the A's brand may not be the one that Vegas residents are clamoring for. 

If given a choice, would the people of Nevada prefer an expansion team or the A's, the majority would choose the expansion franchise. They'll take the A's if that means they get baseball, but they may not be as excited as they were when the Golden Knights landed in town as Vegas Born. Instead, the A's have the stench of sewage, possums, feral cats and political donations on them and are seen more as a liability than an asset. 

So why not just leave the A's name in Oakland? They would still be the same team, with the same history and the same players, but with a Vegas rebranding. Make them the Golden-er Knights. 

With a re-brand, the A's would leave behind all of the nasty things that have been, are being, and will be said about them and would get a fresh coat of paint. Plus, they'd get new jerseys, which means more merchandise sales. 

There's the added bonus that the city of Oakland wants to keep the name, which could be used as leverage to get something else out of them, like a lease extension.

There should be no reason for owner John Fisher to want to keep the name after all of the work he has done since he bought the team to destroy the A's brand. May as well start over new, right?

It's just tough to see the logic as to why Fisher would want to keep the name at this point. Moneyball was 20 years ago and you can't run a team like that and have success without spending a little money anymore. The clips of the fans in the bleachers going crazy aren't going to be representative of a Las Vegas team. That's an Oakland thing, like the Black Hole at Raiders' games. 

The team is going to be different because no other city is like Oakland. The vibes in the stands will be different. The team name should be too.