3 Potential Landing Spots for the A's for 2025-27 Seasons

Will the A's stay in Oakland, move to San Francisco part-time, or head to Las Vegas a little early?

In an interview that ran in the Nevada Independent earlier this week, Dave Kaval said that the Oakland A's have three potential spots to play games once their lease expires following the 2024 season: The Coliseum, San Francisco's Oracle Park, or Las Vegas Ballpark, where the Triple-A Aviators play.

Here is where Kaval's antics over the past few years will end up costing John Fisher money. On the way out of Oakland, the A's have not made any friends with the city, blindsiding city officials with the news of their intent to relocate to Las Vegas, then blaming the city for their decision. There is no incentive for Oakland to welcome the A's back out of the kindness of their own hearts. 

For the Giants ballpark, sure that could work, but Kaval has actively tried to poke the bear over a number of seasons, including a "land, sea, and air takeover" of McCovey Cove. Giants fans didn't seem to enjoy that very much. Renting out Oracle wouldn't be cheap. 

The A's current rent at the Coliseum is $1.25 million per year. 

Those seem like the two most complaint-free destinations for A's baseball from 2025 until a Las Vegas ballpark would be ready, at least as far as the Player's Union is concerned. Sure, the Coliseum needs upgrades, but it has the space that a minor league park doesn't and would work in the interim. 

As John Shea of the Chronicle points out, there are plenty of financial reasons for the A's to remain in the Bay Area until their new facility is ready, too. They receive around $60 million a season from their RSN deal. If they were to leave the Bay Area, then that money would disappear. Also from Shea: "The Giants wouldn’t comment on Kaval’s statement, but according to an industry source, the idea of the A’s playing a limited number of games — as many as 40...has been floated around"

The other option mentioned by Kaval has been the Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin, Nevada. While that makes sense from the perspective of trying to get the local fans excited about the incoming product, it could also take away from Opening Day 2028 excitement, which wouldn't be ideal. The A's roster may not be at its peak by that point either, and you wouldn't want to expose the new market to anything resembling the 37-91 team they have now.  

In a television interview earlier this year, Aviators president Don Logan said that the facility would need some upgrades, like replacing the natural grass with turf to withstand the extra games being played, as well as a new clubhouse that could end up being across the street. There was no discussion of how to block out the sun on those hot days.

Those are the three options that John Fisher, Dave Kaval, and the A's have. A city and a county that they have not been kind to in the media over the past few months as they plan to rip away a beloved team. A Giants team that doesn't want them on their field for anything over 40 games. A minor league facility that would need significant upgrades just to accommodate MLB--let alone who would be on the hook for that deal--while also giving up on the RSN money. 

Seems like the Coliseum is the team's best hope. They get to keep the RSN money, which is key, and they would also be allowed to play all 81 games there without making any upgrades. The real question will be how amenable is Oakland to that option? They'd certainly have demands that would have to be met. 

Somehow John Fisher has already submitted his relocation application without something as simple as "where the team will play for three seasons" being checked off.