Damon Amendolara hosts The D.A. Show 6a-10a ET on CBS Sports Radio daily. Watch the show live at WatchDA.com Subscribe to us on RU-vid: / cbssportsradio Like us on Facebook: / cbssportsradio Follow us on Twitter: / cbssportsradio
@@hoapresThe MLB owners voted against the Giants moving to Tampa after the move seemed like a done deal. Maybe owners are spineless now unlike back then, but they could squash this if they wanted to.
John Fisher isn't going to make a billion dollars off of this A's franchise. The only way that works is if there is another billionaire out there who is stupid enough to buy the Titanic after it is sunk. Yes, the market value of the team will go up, but the debt load will go up twice that. It will be a remediation project for Baseball after the bubble collapses. And I don't even think they make it to groundbreaking day for the new Vegas stadium. The debt on the stadium needs to be paid starting the day shovels hit the ground. For four or five years, the A's won't even be able to recover their payroll at the turnstiles, let alone pay a construction note. And best of luck finding a bank that is stupid enough to run a bridge loan for that long...The A's had a sweetheart deal at the Coliseum. The place is as rundown as it is because the A's never spent a dime on it. That's a big stadium. $1.5 million per year, or over 82 home games, about $2.51 per game/seat at a 46k capacity. For rent that cheap, the city didn't factor in maintenance costs, let alone rehabilitation costs. (Nor did the Raiders, I might add.) If there is one thing I will fault the city for is that they let this team get away with this slumlord business for so long, even as they were selling the likes of Giambi, Damon, Isringhausen, Chapman, et al, and pocketing the money. It blows my mind that anybody would even want to do business with this guy...But sadly, this is the culture of corruption in America. We not only tolerate it, we CELEBRATE it! The people who get screwed are ridiculed. The people who stand to benefit from it revel with glee in some kind of mass schadenfreude. This whole A's debacle isn't an isolated incident. It's merely one more puss-filled blister in the moral herpes of the American business community...I've gotten to the point that I think that Oakland may be better off without the A's. Both the Coliseum site and Howard Terminal have such brilliant possibilities economically for the city that the A's would just be the trailer park left in the middle of it if Fisher is left in charge...If MLB could find an adult at 1271 Avenue of the Americas, NYC to separate Fisher from this franchise and begin the repair, I'd say hell yeah, please stay! But with Fisher, I'd say "Don't let the door hit you in the ass!"...I was in San Diego when the Chargers left. Life is still really good in San Diego without them... Thanks for the support, DA...
I agree and disagree... I agree a big part of his plan was to be bad, and no fans will come, and that will support his plan to move... However, the main reason he is being allowed to move, is because MLB feels they must have a new ballpark ASAP, wherever it may be...
The A's are rushing to move because without a deal in place by the end of the year, then the A's lose their revenue sharing (aka MLB welfare money) and that's the rush/push to get a new stadium deal ASAP. Even his reason for rushing is to line his pockets, and MLB is complicit.
Incompetent owner who not only is ruining 1 franchise… he’s ruining 2 franchises. If no one was aware , He also owns the MLS team San Jose Earthquakes. He puts no effort nor money into both franchises. MLB needs to force him to SELL !
As an A’s fan thank you Damon! John Fisher is a cheap penny pinching owner, who just wants handouts on his new stadium. I don’t see how the owners and league can be okay with this. Of course it’s all about money and business but even if we talk about that this move will hurt everyone. It will hurt the other owners, and leagues pockets because they are moving out a big market to a much smaller one. It will hurt the other owners because if they approve this then that means they have to continue their revenue sharing with the A’s. I get it they want a team in Vegas, but with the expansion way everyone wins. John Fisher makes his billion by selling the team, the MLB stays in a big market like the Bay Area, us A’s fans keep our team, owners can still continue getting revenue from the Bay Area market, and Vegas can get their organic homegrown team. Everyone wins
“Handouts” That’s funny. And what do think Oakland is doing you buddy? You think Oakland is putting up their own money or taxpayers money for Howard Terminal? NO! They are getting handouts themselves. All the money that Oakland says it has allocated for Howard Terminal are from “ Handouts” SMH. Check your facts buddy.
John Fisher is joke poor leaderships from day one bought team. All old owners who Oakland A's since moved 1968. Nothing has change years for Oakland A's it sad for fans.
Does TV news interview, but not for tv🤡. You really can't make this stuff up. Everyone who thinks the A's don't draw well, just imagine for a second the A’s Fan Experience of everyone under age 40. your entire life as a fan, the team has been telling you they want to leave town, that you’re not the fan they want, implicitly there’s better fans elsewhere. Your entire life every player that you've called your favorite, (McGwire to Olson, Hudson to Hendricks), has left the team as soon as they're a free agent. your entire life every time the team is good, & a player away from being Championship caliber, instead of adding someone, the team is torn down. after 30 years of this continual state of fandom, are you ready to keep giving them money? Where is your $ going bc it ain’t the product. Those that say this thinking is why they’ll move, really. Our $ is now going to building a stadium in Vegas so I feel quite validated in not showing up recently. Don’t take it from me, Real A’s Fans- my grandparents have had 2 szn tix since 1970. There's a room in their home dedicated just to storing A's memorabilia. even they stopped renewing their tickets a few yrs ago.
@@mustbtrouble OK but that isn't going to happen. It would be NICE for Fisher to SELL the team with the A's REMAINING in Oakland but that IS NOT happening.
I feel like Damon is the only person outside of the LV/SF Bay Area markets who really understands whats going on with Fisher and the A's. Thanks Damon!
Really? you think this is a unique perspective? I completely disagree. Who are these fans or people outside Oakland/LV who don't believe the owner is tanking to move to a new city?
@@sethsmith6910who are the A’s fan who don’t realize the stadium is trash and Oakland if they had their way would keep them at the coliseum to save money?
@@805fillmore Dude, what are you talking about? Downtown Oakland has been getting housing and office highrises built for the last decade like literally never before. Building a brand new Bayshore ballpark would be the feather in their cap. They want this. Especially since it will bring a ton of housing and office development that is pure tax revenue for them! This is really what happened here. He wanted to move the team to sell it. The city proved to be surprisingly eager to work with him on a plan that he thought would be undoable for them. So now we get this weirdo move while Oakland actually fulfilled his requirements. The whole thing stinks of Fisher's scheming. He thought that he's a master strategist and fell on his face.
@letsgowalk Samson understands because he was part of tearing down the Montreal Expos & conning Miami to build a billion dollar stadium that no one goes to.
My dad told me when I was little. Hate is a strong word and to never say it but I can tell you one thing . I hate John fisher and what he has done to this organization
I agree with your dad, but Fisher deserves it. I just can't understand what the $%^%$% he's doing. This makes zero sense. He's just a stuck up rich kid that mommy and daddy never said no to. Now the whole world has to bend to his will or he throws a tantrum. Daf_$%^?!
Preach! ESPN is keeping the uninformed narrative and still bashing the fans for not showing up after the all star break on this dumpster fire of a season
Also, when Fisher bought the team in 2005, it's been said Reggie Jackson's group (maybe other groups?) made better offers, but Fisher got it because Lew Wolff was buddies with Selig. This has been a scam from the beginning The A's sneaked the funding bill at the last possible moment in the NV legislative session and the governor called an unexpected special session for it, letting other bills such as the movie bill die. All this just so that there was as little time possible to thoroughly vet it. The questions that remain for the relocation vote are: relocation fee, where they'll play temporarily, design, and funding. Even if Fisher doesn't come up with good answers for these questions, in the end, the only thing that will matter is if he greased enough owners' palms to get the votes. They're a shady bunch, always have been
There isn't going to be any fee to move. Which was also another mistake the commissioner made. Waiving the fee only encourages this same shady behavior in the future from other owners.
Baseball must not be paying attention to companies like Disney….. never to big to fail…. Manfred has ruined baseball and ultimately the money is getting tighter and tighter. Less fans are engaged…. Less parody In the league…. The sport is becoming less accessible more and more….every pr decision seems to be a nightmare….. Now mlb wants to go to war with every city that doesn’t give them public money while they do the absolute least possible in accountability…..
@@shadowperson779 it’s not tho. Only a few teams are driving that increase. After team 7 on the list there’s a a 5% drop across the board. The increase only accounts for about 2k more fans a game. Teams like dodgers are driving this “growth” but the league as a whole is not up….. that’s what you call funny math to make it look good. People are trying to say it’s the rule changes and I don’t believe that to be the case. Prior to this year it’s been since 98’ they had growth at at the 9% The sport had huge issues
Not only did John strip it down to the studs, and field a single A team......he jacked ticket prices up. You forgot that part D.A. otherwise, great job. 👍🏻
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾well articulated. Outside of losing the team the travesty is how poor his relocation efforts and plans are. In contrast, Oakland has raised over $500 million for a 12 billion dollar project. This is insane that people even humor the vegas plot w/ all of the holes in it. Crazy. Keep talking about it Damon; you articulate this problem better than anyone on TV.
You know how cheap John Fisher is? The largest contract in A’s history was back in 2004 given to Eric Chavez 6 years for 66M, 2 years before Fisher bought the team. Is there another team in pro sports that can say the largest contract they ever gave out was 20 years ago?
Fisher is the worst. Only three teams have never issued a 100M contract, but only ONE team has never even had a 100M *payroll* and that's the A's. John Fisher is a uniquely cheap owner, and he's now trading away players like Sean Murphy while they are STILL UNDER TEAM CONTROL! He's willfully tanking the team for sure, and this move is a con by MLB. He likely has a backroom deal to move the team and allow smaller market clubs to threaten their own state/local governments for free money otherwise they will relocate. (Look at KC, Brewers, TB, etc.) That is why MLB is waiving the relocation fee for Fisher too. It only makes sense if this is part of a con job.
What really doesn't make sense is why would the MLB owners vote against their own best self interest when it comes time for the relocation vote? Their voting to move from the fifth largest TV market to the smallest ball park and smallest TV market in MLB, they're waving relocation money that could have been in their pockets, their setting a precedence by waving the relocation fee for other MLB teams who want to move, the A's were 10% of the way to a deal with the City of Oakland for building at Howard Terminal in downtown Oakland and ended the deal to go to a "binding deal" at the Rio in Vegas which also failed, the owners need to get real and vote no on the relocation before this blows up and other owners want to start relocating for nothing, last best hope is the Nevada Schools over Stadiums measure gets on the ballot to stop the public funding of the A's Vegas ballpark.
It only makes sense if Fisher made a backroom deal with the other owners to do this, and then smaller markets can also threaten relocation and get even more free money from their state/local governments. The smaller market owners would want the free money and with revenue sharing even if people don't show up, they make money. And the larger market owners will have teams like the A's, Pirates, Royals, etc. that don't spend, so they never compete with them when vying to sign a big contract guy like Ohtani. What they don't realize is that the fans lose, and once that apathy for baseball sets in, it will be rapid. Baseball already has a payroll problem where the haves and have-nots are separated so much that there's no legitimate parity, and fans of teams with owners who don't spend start the season knowing they have no chance since they didn't spend. Fans then have no season to watch and when you add the treat of relocation for smaller markets? I'm out.
@@inaka99 My only issue is with this second part and the claim that baseball's "payroll problem" and no "legitimate parity" will cause apathy. Why? Because such issues are a million times worse in college sports , college football especially, and are only getting far worse as I type this because the two largest conferences in the BIG 10 and the SEC are siphoning off schools to break up other conferences and get even bigger TV deals for themselves and making it near impossible for conferences like the ACC, Big 12 and the doomed PAC 12 to even survive, let alone compete - but every person in the media seems to be parroting that such will be GOOD for college sports while crying foul about baseball, which has actually had the most different # of champions since the turn of the century than any other major sports league despite all these claims about "competitive imbalance."
One other big difference between the Golden Knights and the A's (and Raiders): T-Mobile Arena was privately financed. MGM and AEG didn't demand government handouts, like the A's and Raiders did.
Nailed it on the head! Look at the price of the GAP in 2019, 2021, and 2023. Dude lost $1 billion. This whole situation is a scam to put wealth back into a person who never earned it in the first place. Such an awful time to be an A's fan, and worse off a supporter of MLB.
Imagine walking into your neighborhood franchise whether that be a McyDees, Chic Fil A, Taco Bell etc.. when was the last time any of these joints where in disrepair and falling apart? Even in the ghetto, a lot of these franchises are like a beacon of modernity because the middle-class people who run these establishments would be penalized harshly. So when Billionaires run a franchise, all they have to do is f@$k with local government to pull public money for progress? What kind of BS is this? When shovels hit the ground in Vegas, Im done with the A's (the team I've grown to love) and Im done with the MLB and their garbage waybof doing business...
@@lovesgucci1 he owns an MLS Soccer team in San Jose called the SJ Earthquakes. He scammed for a new stadium but he doesn’t spend money on payroll of course.
@@EricHeinze-uh9nn I can’t believe San Jose spent tax dollars on a soccer field for a billionaire, in a town with multi billionaires! I’m fine with a city helping a to build a stadium for a major sports league but it needs to be mutually beneficial. Vegas & other Nevada politicians that approved tax dollars, are in for a tough re-election in a few years!
I watch Moneyball in a whole different aspect now. Its Major League. Raiders fan aint happy in Vegas. Davis wanted to stay in Oakland feels screwed but who cares huh.
Shame on Manfred and other owners for allowing this dark stain on mlb to move forward in plain sight, in slow-enough motion to see it clearly, very obviously a con. Thank you Damon!!!
If baseball ⚾️ goes to the Gambling capitol of the world can they send Pete Rose a clearance to enter Cooperstown. Owners shouldn’t have a monopoly on hypocrisy and self-serving agendas. You can’t tell me that baseball being in Vegas poses less of a threat to the game’s integrity than Rose’s entry into the Hall of Fame. MLB would be good to open the toll gate for Pete before they get shamed into it as the result of some incident involving the integrity of the game and it being compromised by some gambling addicted players. At a minimum, sign a deal that he will be entered posthumously six months after his transition from earth! Choose this pathway for those who are hellbent on punishing Pete Rose for the rest of his life. Right is right… Pete’s resume should be in Cooperstown… telling his whole story gets is closer to telling a more comprehensive story and reminds us all that ball is a “Perfect game” mastered and fed by imperfect and flawed characters. If A’s go to Vegas, Pete goes to Cooperstown and the Oakland Oaks with Dave Stewart and Reggie Jackson as a significant part of a majority ownership group keep Oakland a major league city. That is a triple play that I can get behind and provides adequate remedy for all involved… methinks 😊🎉😮
David Samson has been saying Fisher isn't moving the A's because Fisher doesn't even have a Stadium blueprint drawn up or all the other things that are needed to apply to move a team. Samson said if the owners approve this move without Fisher having his application filled out and finished and he doesn't even know where the A's are going to play until the new stadium gets built means the _FIX_ is in. Manfred already decided to move the A's and Manfred didn't care and lied still after talking to the mayor of Oakland. Let's see if that Nevada referendum money for schools not stadiums passes and the money NV was supposed to hand over to the A's gets rescinded. That is still on the table.
Preach. He’s relying on revenue sharing too! I don’t understand how you can Be born into so much wealth and still turn out as a greedy, cheap, piece of shit
As an A's fan born and raised in Southern California it's sad to know that the Coliseum is the around the same age as Dodger Stadium yet is a dump because ownership didn't do any major updates after the Raiders left. Now to see them trying to move to Vegas for the state of the art stadium is sad. But I'm a fan of the team so I'll keep cheering for them. But I hope the vote to relocate is denied.
Dodgers fans only ones that might show up. But i wouldnt. I dont go to Vegas to watch live sports. Maybe at end of nite i end up at sports betting lounge
He's a worse version of how the Ilichs treats the Tigers. That family has made it no secret that they care more about the Red Wings. That by itself is fine but if they don't see the Tigers as a high priority why don't they just sell the team to someone else who cares? Not to mention the gimmicks of Comerica Park have not aged very well since it was first built. If Fisher is allowed to mistreat his teams the way he does that could start a chain reaction where other teams in a similar situation get the same treatment. I stand with A's fans, along with the others seeing their teams get destroyed, even White Sox fans.
I actually went to the Oakland Coliseum in 2010 to see the A’s play the Red Sox and the Coliseum was a real dump even then. No wonder the tickets were cheap.
Damon, I just checked the average attendance for games and seasons on Baseball Almanac. During the years of 1972-74 they averaged anywhere from 10-12K a game and only went over 1M in both '73 and 74. They had an uptick in 1989 when they averaged 35K a game and 2M that season. Other than that, they'd only average anywhere from 15-25K a game from 1990 to now in 2023. In a ballpark that holds over 46K. Face it, Oakland didn't support the A's even when they were winning.
The problem is that Fisher only funds the team's payroll with stadium revenue etc, it will never come out of pocket. So it's a double edged sword because the fans in Oakland aren't going to the games so there's limited revenue. If the team moves to Vegas it'll be the Mayweather effect where people go to the games to see the team facing the A's. So on one hand you will have more stadium revenue to fund the team's active payroll but you still have an owner that won't pay anything out of pocket to at least push the A's to be contenders. He doesn't want to win, if he did then he'd put more money in but if he doesn't have the money to then he needs to sell the team so the A's get an owner that can at least support the team. The stadium situation still would need to be dealt with even if he sells the team.
MLB was hands on with the con. Selig denied the attempted purchase of the A's by a group that included Reggie Jackson even though they agreed to pay $25 million more than any other offer.
The owners love the tide turning like this. If they can constantly keep the public paying for their teams or threaten to leave, then their teams value goes up thanks to the public paying for it. Brewers, D-Backs, Royals, Rays, White Sox all going to do the same thing. They arent about to say no.
Thank you for constantly bringing this issue into the light. Fisher has no reason to do this other than to keep his revenue sharing. He MUST SELL THE TEAM
Maybe there are some things you are not aware of or choose to ignore. From 1968 to 2022, a 54 year period, the A's attendance as been consistently below American League averages, except for 9 years. Even in 1974, their 3-peat year, their attendance was next to the worst in all the American League. So that means the current stadium condition, team performance, and owner are not to blame when looking in the historical context. The A's have had some very passionate fans, but not enough go to the ballpark over the decades. What it means to me is that the Bay Area media market (#10) cannot successfully support 2 MLB teams. Only the top 3 media markets can, NY, LA, and Chicago. I know viewing area is larger than the bounds of media markets, but that applies to all markets.
But to counter your argument that enough fans are not there. Look across the Bay. San Francisco was continuously near or at the bottom of the league when they were in Candlestick. In fact, I believe the A's outdrew them most of the years since they came to Oakland. and some years, both teams were at the bottom. The Giants got new ownership and built a new stadium and now are at or near the top in attendance. So a new stadium could make it more attractive to fans to come out. I think the fans are there but I don't have faith in Fisher pulling off what the Giants did. Unfortunately it would probably only happen with new ownership which sounds like that is not going to happen as of right now.
The A’s outdrew the Giants from 68-00 in this market. The Giants were in almost exactly this same situation in the early 90’s. They’d struggled with attendance for years and had failed in numerous attempts to replace Candlestick Park and had a foot out the door to Tampa when Peter McGowan stepped in last minute and bought the team, the. He financed his own ballpark and the Giants have been a top drawing team ever since. All I know is that the A’s have had one decent owner in their entire Oakland history that was truly committed to the city and that was the Haas family and when they did the A’s drew. Every other owner has flirted constantly with other cities going back to Charlie Finley. People around here are pretty sophisticated and if they sense ownership isn’t sincere and invested they won’t go. Too many other entertainment options.
@@neneshubby Also to danr4137. I don't doubt what you both are saying about the Giants in comparison the A's. Perhaps both situations are reflective of the Bay Area in general. At this point, only the top 3 markets successfully support 2 MLB teams, although no major city is problem-free. But given problems in the Bay Area, MLB would probably have the A's in another city for geographic diversity. But back to the DA attacks on Fisher, note that the A's attempted to get a new stadium in the Bay Area for over 20 years, and the in the recent situation, Oakland has been far from blameless. The media has not been fair in covering that, putting all the blame on Fisher.
The only Stadium proposal they have brought to Oakland has been the Howard terminal project which is approved if the A's wish to build it.@@Baseball_Fan_NV
Damon, it is so heartening here a voice that understands what scrooge mcfuk and his sock puppet kavel are doing to a loyal fan base. I've been a fan since 1973, this situation is painful.
