Rob Manfred Hints that Patience may be Wearing Thin with A's Situation

The A's need to find an interim home for at least three seasons and have blown by at least three deadlines set by the league

Rob Manfred spoke to the media from the owner's meetings on Thursday, and of course he was asked the one question about Oakland A's potential relocation to Las Vegas that he may be able to answer: Where will the team be playing from 2025-27? 

Rob Manfred, from the owners meetings re A's in Vegas: "I would be disappointed if we didn't open that stadium, Opening Day, 2028." They're still not sure where they will play between 2025-2028. Should know in next few months: "Someplace in the west," per Manfred.

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) February 8, 2024

Aside from not really giving any new information here, it also seems like Manfred is trying to play it cool and act like the A's haven't already missed three separate deadlines to find a temporary home as Jeff Passan reported last week. 

While the "someplace in the west" will grab headlines and people will make jokes about the A's playing in a number of random cities, it's the first part of the quote above that is interesting here. "I would be disappointed if we didn't open that stadium, Opening Day, 2028." 

That makes it seem like the A's need to stay on schedule with the ballpark project, which means that the financing has to be lined up before long, too. Construction has to begin by April of next year if the A's are to meet that 2028 target. The Tropicana hotel is set to close up shop on April 2, 2024, meaning that the team's partners will also be leaning on them to get things handled soon so that their own finances aren't impacted by Fisher's loathing of deadlines. 

If the A's fall behind on that timeline, then that could really be when we see how much Manfred and the owners are willing to put up with. The path was cleared for Fisher in Las Vegas, a market that the league definitely wants to be in. If Fisher is unable to seal the deal in Vegas without having to pay a relocation fee and with the owners and the commissioner standing behind his plan to rip the team from Oakland, then at some point they'll have to say enough is enough and move on. 

While three years of an interim home at a minor league ballpark seems like a stretch for the Player's Association to green light, it's unlikely that the A's would be looking at those minor league parks if there weren't some assurances that they'd get the go-ahead. Maybe adding a fourth year would be what breaks things down between the PA and the league, which is why Manfred would be "disappointed" if the A's don't have a place to play in Las Vegas by 2028. 

If Opening Day, 2028 is in fact a hard deadline, then that would strip away Utah as a long-term solution, presumably. The only place that could feasibly have a ballpark ready to go around that timeframe would be Oakland, They have the renderings and most of the plans already. The A's are arguably further along in Oakland than in Vegas, despite the owner's vote to approve relocation.

Switch the project to ballpark-only to begin with and go from there. Plus, if the A's were to remain in Oakland, then it would also give them a place to play for those interim seasons. While playing at the Coliseum might not be ideal for the players, it's still a big-league park.

Even Fisher would win in that scenario, too. He'd be able to keep receiving his RSN checks from Comcast Sports California to the tune of around $70 million per season. 

The big roadblock currently is that the city of Oakland and Fisher have not been speaking to one another, so in order for the A's to stay, someone is going to have to break the ice. But with the events of the past couple of weeks, it now seems like there may be a path forward in The Town if someone picks up the phone.