A’s, City of Oakland have “positive” first meeting

“Nothing was taken off the table”

The reported meeting between Oakland city/Alameda county officials and A’s representatives finally occurred this afternoon, and it seems that it was a productive first step in what could be a quick negotiation:

The meeting today took place in Jack London and lasted for just about an hour. Based off what we’re hearing it sounds like the meeting was cordial and productive enough that more meetings are expected to continue negotiations.

With the A’s lease at the Coliseum set to expire after this year, time is not on the Athletics’ side in this. After looking around places like Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Oracle Park, and minor league stadiums in Las Vegas, the club enters these negotiations in a weakened position. It’s clear they want to stay in the Bay Area, at least until the Vegas move. That’s mainly due to the TV contract revenue they would lose if they depart for somewhere outside the Bay Area; remember, it’s $67 million a year that Fisher and the A’s would be walking away from. Not a small chunk of change.

Oakland has been very clear on their demands: they want the A’s to leave their history and colors behind, while also getting assurances that when the time comes, Oakland gets an expansion team. We also heard another demand from the city today: an increase in the rent at the Coliseum. Currently the Athletics pay $1.2 million a year to the city of Oakland to play at the Coliseum, and they want that to go up.

So the first step in the negotiations is done and it’s probably the best outcome that could have come out from today’s meeting. No one expected there to be any sort of agreement today but at least things didn’t fall apart after one meeting. Let’s hope things progress in the direction we all want it to. Stay tuned.