Oakland Mayor Could Demand A’s Renounce Team Name, per Report

The team will need to negotiate to secure a temporary home if it intends to move to Las Vegas.

The rift between the Athletics and the city of Oakland continues to fester as the franchise plans an eventual relocation to Las Vegas. That potential move comes after years of unsuccessful talks between the two sides over a potential new stadium.

The A’s reached an agreement in May to build a $1.5 billion stadium along the Las Vegas Strip.

However, if the A’s do indeed move to Las Vegas, they will need a place to play until their new home in Nevada is completed. The venue is unlikely to be finished until at least 2028. 

However, the team’s current lease at Oakland Coliseum expires after the 2024 season. If the A’s ask Oakland for a lease extension, the move reportedly might cost the club more than money.

As part of lease extension talks, Oakland mayor Sheng Thao could ask Major League Baseball for the city to keep rights to the name “Athletics,” forcing the organization to choose a new nickname, according to Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle. Additionally, Thao could seek for Oakland to jump to the front of the line for a potential MLB expansion team.

The Athletics organization has kept the team name through multiple moves, first from Philadelphia to Kansas City in 1955, and then Kansas City to Oakland in 1968. However, the name has became synonymous with the city of Oakland over the past 50 years.