Inside The As

ESPN's Jeff Passan Does Not Believe A's to Las Vegas is a "Done Deal"

Jason Burke

Nov 26, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign on the Las Vegas strip.
Nov 26, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign on the Las Vegas strip. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

A couple of months ago, ESPN's Jeff Passan said that if the A's proposed move to Las Vegas fell apart, that it would surprise nobody. In a recent interview with Rich Eisen of the Rich Eisen Show, Passan continued to have his doubts about the A's planned move to Las Vegas.

"Is anything with the A's ever a done deal? There's a perception among some people that Sacramento was gung-ho for the A's moving there because they are convinced that the Vegas deal is gonna fall apart, because it always falls apart. They've had 20 years of deals, potential deals, falling apart."

Passan is correct here. A lot of people are speculating about the A's potentially staying put in Sacramento given some of the questions still involved with the Vegas relocation. One question that still has yet to be asked is how, precisely, the ballpark will get paid for. A's owner John Fisher has said that he is looking for investors at roughly $500 million, which would result in him selling a portion of the ball club.

That also leads to another big question: What valuation is Fisher looking for? If it's what the team is currently worth--roughly $1.2 billion per Forbes--then that would be nearly 42% of the team. Given that there are no investors lineup up in Las Vegas, you have to think that the valuation he's looking for is a bit higher in terms of team value, resulting in a lower ownership stake.

In Sacramento, his BFF Vivek Ranadivé may be happy to take a lesser valuation to get in on a baseball team, and also be heralded as the guy that brought Major League Baseball to Sacramento.

The scenario makes sense. The feasibility leaves some questions. Would MLB want a team in Sacramento? How long would the A's have to play in a minor-league facility while the team and city work out a ballpark deal? How long is too long for the MLB Player's Association?

These are all pretty significant questions that would need to be answered.

After Passan's quotes began circulating around the internet, former A's outfielder Josh Reddick shared his own thoughts on the matter.

The entire Jeff Passan interview on the Rich Eisen Show can be seen here.

Published
Jason Burke
JASON BURKE

Jason is the host of the Locked on A's podcast, and the managing editor of Inside the A's. He's a new father and can't wait to take his son to his first baseball game at the Coliseum.