How The Oakland A's Were Ruined By Bad Ownership 

Is John Fisher the worst owner in modern sports?

Majority of the problem though is with the city and it’s officials this is 3 time this has happened since 2015 the last 2 mayors have been a joke and let this happened and didn’t give any of these teams a decent proposal

Ownership knew what they were doing. It was planned to move out of Oakland. Change my mind.

This is why they used to be called the AAA’s. A very applicable slang term.

Terrible owner yes for the A's...matched only by failed city leadership who chased out three championship teams in a decade. People from all over the greater bay area now have zero reason to go to Oakland and spend a single penny there. That stream has ended.

The Oakland owners are terrible and cheap yes, but they were willing to pay for the new stadium themselves, however the city of Oakland still couldn't get out of its own bureaucratic and corrupt way to finalize it. This has been an issue long before the current A's owners, this is a city who lost themselves 2 professional teams before the A's as well due to their inaction. There is no debate the coliseum is the worst venue in baseball and was easily the worst in the NFL and it has been so for decades but the city choose to do nothing, in fact they borrowed money against the coliseum so they actually still owe money on it.

This issue between the A’s and the city of Oakland has been going on for over 20 years. The city refuse to modernize the Coliseum or at least maintain it.

funding gap was about 84 million a few months ago for the whole 8 billion dollar project , with the city of Oakland receiving about 100 million in funding from the state . The A's pulled out just before . If they wanted a stadium , it would have been built already .

Bruh this city of Oakland ran out three professional sports teams can’t really blame the owner if they’ve been trying to build another stadium since the 90s 😂

As an A’s fan, I’m not surprised by this, Oakland is crumbling and now after losing The Raiders and Warriors and will likely lose The A’s, the politicians are to blame for this debacle.

Sounds like most wealthy business owners in America. Self serving interests at the cost of the employees and customers. What a winner Fisher is.

City of Oakland had opportunities to keep 3 professional teams and blew it. I have been to Vegas 3 dozen times and it's more than a tourist city. People are mad at the ownership, but they had to make a move. In an era of opulence, how can you win in a multi-purpose stadium?

The City of Oakland has lost three teams in five years. The Coliseum is outdated and the City focused on how much money they could get from the feds to build Howard Terminal. If the A's go up in value, then it will have been worth it for the owner. Oakland will have to decide if they want to rebuild the Coliseum for another professional baseball team or whether they will have low cost housing. The crime is out of control and that needs to be fixed before getting another baseball team.

This is far more on the government of Oakland than it is on The A's. 30 years of negotiation and Oakland won't let them do anything. Oakland has lost all three major sports teams in a span of five years. This isn't an A's problem, it's an Oakland problem.

You're spot on a different "Money Ball".. I'm sad to see the team leave Oakland... The ticket prices are cheaper than SF Giants .. And I could tell the loyal fans at Oakland ..which needs the "Economic Engine"... The architecture firm planned images of the new bay stadium looked Fantastic....... Sad to see The failed Grants... Appreaciate your insights

Why would you build a MLB stadium in Oakland? Howard Terminal is a financial disaster.

Agreed , but the once beautiful city of Oakland has become a dystopian landscape of crime and poverty. With tourism non existent and a corrupt political regime. Expecting to keep a franchise of any sort becomes an unwinnable war. Sad.

The A's could have built a new stadium in San Jose and stayed in the Bay Area but were cock blocked by the SF Giants who claimed territory rights.

There was never an alternate timeline in which Oakland keeps the Athletics past 2030. This tango had two dancers. First, you have a cheap owner. The only owner more cheap was the Expo murderer, Jeff Loria, who also killed the Marlins. Second is the city of Oakland. Let’s not kid ourselves. The city is slow to act…until after the last minute. The Warriors and Raiders left Oakland in recent years, after asking for a new stadium. Even after looking elsewhere for an opportunity (Warriors in San Jose…Raiders in LA(where they were previously), the city, which is incompetently run, did nothing. Only when the Raiders had already announced their move to Las Vegas, did the city make a proposal. The city lost 3 professional sport teams since 2019…4 overall, if you include the Golden Seals of the NHL. Bad owner with poor city is always a recipe for disaster and relocation. I feel bad for the Athletics fans of Bay Area, who don’t deserve it.

Oakland was NEVER behind the A's. Even in the 70's when they won 3 world titles. the attendance was bad, the city government did not help and the Raiders were the only team that was really promoted. I was and am an A's fan and lived through the the eara.

They’ve been trying to build a stadium since the mid-90s. Oakland isn’t a business friendly city. They wanted the A’s to pay for infrastructure and affordable housing near the new stadium costing 8 billion dollars. The stadium in Las Vegas is costing 1 billion dollars.

I don't like the Athletics' ownership, let's be clear, but this is both the ownership and the city of Oakland. You have to blame the city of Oakland. The Warriors, Raiders, and now the Athletics have left because the city leadership either didn't understand what these teams meant to the community and local economy or they didn't care. If you were to get divorced three times in a five year period, it's probably you that's the problem.

The A's have been demanding a new stadium for decades and the city of Oakland won't do it. They finally said fuck you Oakland we're moving

I'm just thankful that up here in Minnesota we were able to resolve any new Arena new stadium issues with all our professional teams but as of right now Target Center of the NBA's Timberwolves is the oldest arena in the NBA so we need to keep an eye on the Timberwolves ownership to see if they will stick around and help with financing for a new Arena and Minneapolis or if they're going to pull off what Norm Green did after buying out his other partners and was the owner of the North Stars back in the early 1990s and after that they became the Dallas Stars and then we had to go through a process to bring back the National Hockey League and now we have the Minnesota Wild and Xcel Energy Center in St Paul

To be fair, the Oakland fans abandoned the Athletics long time ago, so now they are reacting to the move out of Oakland

WE NEED A NEW OWNER!!! Willing to invest in good players instead of selling them. If not this team will continue to be a farm team for the rest of the league. It is autrocious how many oakland A's players are now with other teams including the head coach

This situation is similar to which comes first. The chicken or the egg.

Oaklands DOWNFALL began when the Raiders cameback to Oakland a 2nd time! But when Fischer took over the A's, that was the signing of the Death Warrant.

I understand that it’s trendy to criticize the owner of a relocating team and make them seem like the devil but this might be different. I don’t know, either Oakland got stuck with the three worst owners in sports or the city itself is the problem.

One thing that owners and managers did was strip it down and gut the roster after 2022

If the city of Oakland wanted to keep Oakland, they could have made the new stadium happen sometime over the last two decades. This is 100% on the city, not on the ownership.

I blame the city. How tf are they gonna be in talks for decades upon decades, and nothing come out of that? Oakland ran out their three teams and it’s sad.

If Fisher recognized the A's can't be profitable in Oakland, and moves the A's to Vegas, where the franchise triples in value, how is that being a bad owner?

Now, it’s time to bring back the Expos!!!

I feel it’s the city of Oakland’s fault. They lost the raiders twice the warriors and now they will lose the A’s. Both the Raiders and the A’s were trying for a long time to get a new stadium but kept failing. I figured that once the Raiders and Warriors left they would do what they can to keep the A’s.

God Bless Oakland. There is more to life than sports. Howard Cosell said it best, "In that time, I came to realize, however reluctantly, that there was an inexorable force working against revelations of truth about sports in America. That force exists in the form of an unholy alliance between the three television networks and the sports print medium. It is the fundamental purpose of both, for their own reasons, to exalt sports, to regale the games, the fights, the races, whatever, to the point where these contests are indoctrinated into the public mind as virtual religious rituals."

Some in Vegas don't want them. Vegas honeymoon is almost over with the Raiders. Las Vegas is thinking; 'you're not taking advantage of Vegas are you? We have the Golden Knights. Why do we need another team from Oakland?'

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. fans outside of the bay area and casuals keep blaming Oakland, but it's all Fisher's fault.

John Fisher is a business man and he's making a business decision.

That note was like breaking up with someone thru text

Las Vegas will be good for baseball.

Life like stadiums are a funny thing. Some people go to a game and have a great time. Others go and are miserable and complain about the experience. It all boils down to expectations. The most brutal thing I ever experienced was the raider fan base especially if you were there to take in a game and rooted for the opposing team. Even with that factored in, I saw my team spank the raiders 3 years and the experience was awesome. The restrooms were the most vile disgusting thing I can recall as far as infrastructure. Never saw any moths or feral cats. When going to the As games as a kid through to adult it was great. Never forget seeing the walking triple (rickey Henderson) or the swinging As during their heyday and visiting as part of little league for the tickets we sold. Good times. Wish the city would have found a way to work something out for the stadium (with the different owners over the years) which we all know has been going on for decades. From a business side though, oakland has turned into a cesspool and visiting anything there can be dicey. Oh well thanks for the memories Rickey Henderson, vida blue, sal bando, joe rudi, reggie jackson, dennis eckersley amongst others.

If Oakland had heart they would DEMAND they keep their name and colors. Take up some pride OAKLAND

Have you been to Oakland? That place sucks!

What the hell difference does it make, the A’s rate no better than a farm team. Good riddance.

Montreal Expos allover again. Bad stadium. No spending. Farm team for other MLB teams. Provincial/local government will not assist with new ball park.Lots of upset fans. No attendance.

This video is one year old and the A’s are no closer to LV now than they were last year.

The reason why the A’s aren’t supported locally is because of the ownership. The reason why they don’t have a new stadium is because of both city and ownership.

This owner doomed us once they took over, also our council members and mayor's office have shown they don't care. Other mayor's have understood how important and detrimental it is for the city to retain sports teams. The supposed leadership of this city are charging taxpayers for what? Causing a client up on international Ave, redoing the streets, but not where the pot holes are. Where us the money going? Who's pockets are being lined? Truthfully These last few mayor's gave no insight and understanding of how important these sports teams are to oakland. Seems like they don't care and are into doing whatever to put the city in a desperate place of despair without nothing to dustract or help root for, or b proud of. I don't believe they are true people of oakland, people who know, care and understand the roots. NOT TURNING THIS INTO ANYTHING ABOUT RACE, BUT ALL THE AFRICAN AMERICANS MAYOR'S, UNDERSOOD THE VALUE AND CARED ABOUT THE TRADITIONS. WHAT DO WE DO, LOOK ELSEWHERE, OUTSIDE OF OAKLAND. THE CHILDREN OF OAKLAND WHO ARE AND WERE INSPIRED TO PLAY SPORTS BECAUSE OF OUR TEAMS, HAVE what now? As I was 12 years old and playing baseball inspired by homegrown players such as Dave Stewart and Ricky Henderson, right b4 our baberuth Allstars was about to start, the oakland As donated and invested in us, by putting up night lights and redoing the field, green man on 66th Ave. It was the best, I recall all players and parents thankfully and us kids were really stoked, we got to play under the lights for the first time like professionals, on a field that they redone to look like a major league field.

Fisher is being enabled by all MLB owners. They care about a bottom line, which is fine with tourism attendance, at the expence of the actual fans. Also sickening to see the Golden Knights (one of the few teams in the 4 major sports I actively am upset whenever I see headlines about them doing well for starting the Vegas sports trend and how they've treated players like Fleury) advising them. The one thing the Golden Knights have: they didn't rip an established team away from genuine fans. Fisher is doing that. I'm an A's fan as long as the team is in Oakland, at an arena with free street parking close by and a garden with edible plants in the stadium. But Fisher certainly isn't making the end easy. While I don't know for sure I suspect I'll feel the same way St Louis fans feel about the Rams (except potentially worse due to compounding my existing feelings on the Golden Knights whom are advising Fisher).

Oakland is a hellhole. But it didn't have to be this way. It must've been a nice place to live at one point.

Absolutely, the best analogy of the A’s and Ebenezer Scrooge Fisher. He is a despicable owner.

It has always amazed me how if someone has enough money to buy something, it automatically makes them smart enough to run it.

Oakland government shares the blame along with John Fisher.

This is a progressive move for the Athletics as this would turn them into title contenders once again.

No, the Oakland A's were ruined by the Oakland citizens that voted for the mayors and city officials (who have continued to failed their city) for the past 20 years.

The A's ownership has been cheap for over 30 years now. Can't completely blame Oakland. Also, I hate Moneyball.

A's should have changed their name SF A's of Oakland, then just dump "of Oakland" later. Just having SF in their name is probably worth millions...

I don't know. The City of Oakland and fans have played their part.

The A's were willing to pay for the new stadium themselves. The notion the owner was cheap in the past...was the past. They tried to build a stadium but the city due to politics turned down the offer. The end.

Calling Fisher the worst is only partially valid. Oakland is a terrible place for sports. After losing the Warriors *and* the Raiders plus the fact that this isn't a new issue. Oakland itself has more responsibility than just "a little"

Oakland is a third world city, smart to move before it gets worse

This is life imitating art (Major League).

Is plenty of blame to go around the Oakland City Council didn't help much either and I believe that if the city would have helped the owner of the team I spent more for its players knowing it was going to play in a better ballpark

In reality both the City Of Oakland is to blame and bad ownership

As a kid I loved the A’s. But since the early 2000s, it’s just impossible to support them. Teams need hero’s, and the As just haven’t had any around long enough to inspire loyalty.

The fans deserve some responsibility.

John Fisher is not the worst owner in modern day sports! There are many many worst than him.

Actually, it is Oakland to blame.

Omg what tv show was that at 0:51 ???

It’s not the owners. Oakland is a dump. How many teams have left Oakland? How many teams are coming to Oakland?

Question....where are all these A's fans? Or should I say where were they? Because they sure aren't at the games? It's a mess and it's not entirely the owners fault.

So now Oakland will still have the dumpy old Coliseum but no sports teams. That doesn't seem to make much sense. Why not build two new stadiums for the Raiders and A's to keep them in Oakland and get rid of the Coliseum instead?

Why does he need them ??? . Oakland should re-name the coliseum until they leave the A's at A-hole stadium 😮❤😂 till there new stadium is ready

The plot of the film Major League being played out.

If they were willing to pay for a new stadium themselves and the city couldn't male that happen I'd be blaming the people you're electing more than anything.

What you did not show was a ranking of baseball teams in terms of local revenue, which includes local broadcasts, merchandise, tickets, etc. I suspect you'd find the A's in last place. So where does the money come from for Fisher to pay big contracts. Granted, he bled the team, but I blame the City of Oakland more than ownership failings for the A's to flee to Las Vegas.

Just looking at the owners tell it, they don't have that honest go get em look. Some sort if sit back, scam it , fake it till u make it look. Some sor of we bought for this price, even though they have done nothing,looking to squeeze as much money out of the team as possible

Wait a minute the A’s have just bought land. MLB still has to vote for relocation hard for me to believe they will let them move what needs to happen that horrible ownership needs to sell that’s it. Just a tired fan⚾️❤️

1 Warrior's, 2 Raiders, 3 A's, Three Strikes "Your Out" at The Ole Ballgame this video is propaganda to take attention off a political party that has no idea on what their doing...

A's should have been able to move to San Jose.

Going back to Charlie Finley they don't keep any of their stars.

bad ownership? I guess Oakland is just UNLUCKY. 3 teams have left already and the MLB remaining team has been trying to get a new stadium for 2 decades? much like the Raiders, who left came back and left again....Boy, John Fisher is one Big Influencer if you believe this?

Also they have a home in California. That's just bad luck and no ownerships fault.

You mean bad city politics! Stop blaming the ownership! That’s a cop out!

If fisher moves to vegas the team will still suck, if you dont spend money

Frakes nails it!!

They deserve to dissolve for ruining baseball with money ball

Norm green

Maybe not.

I did not know that Moneyball was their brain child. It serves them right for not servicing the fans. I remember the A's from the days of Jackson and Billy Ball, and they've never been hot contenders save for once or twice. They want to leave? Fine by me. Good riddance.

No its the owner fisher he has enouigh money to go to any ciry in the bay area elsewhere besuudes oakland.

The As are the StLouis Browns of modern day

The City’s fault

Is it true that Raiders owner Mark Davis is having a falling down fit over the Las Vegas A's??????????

Hate to say it but this is the city of oakland, whatever race u are, u should want to support the city that has supported you. So there were proposed sites near China Town, but opposed. So China town comes together to say no because to close to certain businesses. When do they come together to support anything larger than self, never, but they want the city to support specific things pertaining to their race. This is what I mean, the city doesn't support us, we support the city to help add to, not take from. What if other citizens came together and said ahh, we don't want your individual stores nail shops, hair products in our area or neighborhood, we feel exploited and that's the only time u quote un quote want to tolerate or interact with our community, it's obvious, especially the Way u watch us like a hawk." Hurry up and buy ", si to speak. It goes deeper, once these teams are gone, that means alot of lost jobs, even alot of people go to the games to recycle. Maybe things are giving bad in your life, and in the city, do people understand if your team in your city is doing well, then that becomes a crutch of hope people latch onto. Without that money generated from the teams, now the only, needing and not having that money, will ticket more, start doing all the petty things to suffice for the lost. Just wait and see. Just remember how important that world series title was for oakland during the Los prieto earthquake

I'm not an Oakland fan but maybe if everyone leaves all the time the problem ain't with the owners. Just sayin. Then again, the A's have a long storied history of ripping great teams apart. I hated the A's of the early 70s because Reggie, Catfish, Sal, Rollie, and the rest of that dysfunctional bunch beat my team on a regular basis. So I laughed my ass off when Charlie Finley had the fire-sale that broke that bunch apart. Since then, I guess I've been neutral on them. Anyway, good luck Oakland. Frisco isn't that far a drive I hear.

Here's the big question. Will John J Fisher now spend money in Las Vegas on the baseball team.

kinda makes you miss ol' chuck?

Billionaires can rebuild entire sections of cities in far less than 20 years. The whole idea billionaires will never say out loud but actually live by: Never spend your own money. In order for any city to come up with one billion dollars for anything you are taking away from someone and something. Money for the arts, education/schools, health clinics, roads and bridges, libraries, police and fire departments. These soulless vessels who own pro sports franchise do not care. They don't own their own stadiums because, once gain, they'd have to spend money. MLB commish and ownership lackey Rob Manfred should have stepped in long ago, telling Fisher to sell the team or MLB would work out a plan with the city of Oakland, build a new stadium and Fisher would have to reimburse MLB for the cost.