Former A's Manager Bob Melvin on Team's Potential Relocation to Las Vegas

Bob Melvin talked about hope in this process, so how much hope is there?

Before Monday night's game in San Francisco, local reporters caught up with San Diego Padres skipper Bob Melvin to ask his thoughts about his former team's potential relocation to Las Vegas. Melvin managed the A's from partway through the 2011 campaign until after the 2021 season. 

In San Francisco Melvin had this to say on the potential move:

Bob Melvin gives his thoughts on the A's potential move to Las Vegas pic.twitter.com/0tHOQBEArU

— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) June 20, 2023

As a true Bay Area native, he isn't giving up hope just yet. As David Samson, the former president of the Miami Marlins put it last week on his podcast, "They just passed step one of 50."

Melvin's full quote: "Yeah, it's sad. Anybody that grew up here, does not look forward to that happening. I don't know that anything is 100% sure yet, but, obviously for a lot of people here that followed the A's, and it's a storied franchise with a rich history. A lot of winning. Some of the great players in all of baseball played there. It would be sad. We'll see where it goes from here. It looks like it's getting some traction in Vegas, but you never know until the last minute. I think a lot of people are holding out hope that maybe it doesn't happen." 

Part of the hope until the last minute that Melvin could be referring to is the recent near-relocation of the Sacramento Kings. Like the A's, they had people crying on air thinking the team was gone. Now they have a brand new arena in Sacramento, new owners, and just made the playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 season. 

The main difference is seemingly how on board MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred seems to be with the Las Vegas deal. 

One of the main impediments for the team's relocation isn't the owner's vote sometime this summer; that should go off without a hitch. No, it's A's owner John Fisher gathering up the funding for his part of the project. He needs to supply at least $1.1 billion for the ballpark's construction. 

The Nevada Independent reported a week ago that Fisher may be working with Goldman Sachs "on a combination of debt and equity financing covering no less than $1.1 billion to be finalized once a stadium development agreement is completed." Fisher may sell part of the A's in order to pay for a ballpark for the team. Forbes has a valuation of the A's at $1.18 billion. 

That could be where the hope seeps in for Bay Area fans. The total amount needed for the project is nearly the entire valuation of the team. The hope is dependent on how much cash on hand Fisher has at the ready. You have to think that he wouldn't sell even as much as half of the team to finance the ballpark, because then he wouldn't be the controlling partner. So how much debt, and how much equity is part of this deal? 

It feels as though there are a few more layers left to reveal themselves in this never-ending saga.