With the Raiders leaving Oakland, A's Managing Partner John Fisher needs to "seize this rare moment," as the club looks to build a new ballpark either at the Oakland Alameda-County Coliseum site or elsewhere in the city, according to Tim Kawakami of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. The A's "could be the accidental winner" in the Raiders' relocation to Las Vegas, and the club "should take over as the kings of Oakland." MLB ownership-level sources said that the A's are a "potential gold mine, but only if Fisher is willing to spend a little money before he lands a new stadium, as an emotional seed investment in what could be happening next." Kawakami: "Get the fans excited. Build a better team. Drive momentum for a stadium. Get the stadium" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 3/29). In Oakland, David DeBolt noted after years of A’s ownership planning to move the team to San Jose or Fremont, a shake-up in the ownership group in December has "brought a renewed sense of pride in playing in Oakland." New President Dave Kaval, who stepped in after Managing Partner Lew Wolff "stepped away from day-to-day operations, made an early commitment to staying in Oakland." The A’s have now "identified four options for a new ballpark in Oakland and expect to make a major announcement this season" (EASTBAYTIMES.com, 3/25).
GREAT OPPORTUNITY: CSNBAYAREA.com's Ray Ratto wrote Fisher has "shown admirable restraint so far as he contemplates life" without the Raiders in Oakland. Fisher "hasn’t jumped up and down" on Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s desk and demand that she "take care of the only team she ever has to worry about ever again." Ratto: "Then again, that might just be prudence on his part." Schaaf following the Raiders' departure looked "like she’d just had a marathon run over her." However, now that the A’s "are the last turkey in the shop, it would be good for Fisher" and Kaval to "take great care not to push the city too hard." Fisher and Kaval "need to understand that as one of the few mayors in the nation who gave and held to a take-it-or-leave-it proposal the NFL hated at the start, middle and end, Schaaf has some steel in her spine, and now has the experience to wield it." They "push too hard at their peril." Ratto: "The A’s should view this opportunity as theirs and theirs alone. They should also view as an opportunity with limits" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 3/28).
