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The city of Oakland plans to present MLB‘s Athletics ownership with an offer to extend the team’s lease for five years, with an opt-out after three.
The Athletics have announced plans to move the franchise to Las Vegas, where a proposed stadium is scheduled to be completed by 2028. The current Athletics lease in Oakland ends this season, leaving a substantial gap in their home schedule.
The Oakland Coliseum is in poor shape, and the team is not drawing well after poor records and announcing its plans to move. Slightly more than 3,000 fans attended the second game of the season.
The city of Oakland deal requires the team to pay a $97 million “extension fee,” according to document obtained by ESPN and KGO-TV in San Francisco on Saturday.
The team and the city will meet Tuesday. MLBCommissioner Rob Manfred has expressed a desire to have the team’s interim plans completed by early summer for scheduling purposes.
The A’s have been looking at Sacramento and Salt Lake City as possible interim ballparks. Relocating to Sacramento or Oakland would let the team retain its $67 million per year in TV rights.
“We are very interested in doing business, and in having the A’s stay in Oakland,” said Leigh Hanson, Oakland’s chief of staff. “Part of that is helping them solve this interim location challenge and just being clear in what we expect in return.”
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