MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has lots of things to worry about: the overall state of the game, ratings and viewership, expanding the MLB brand, setting the rule changes for next season, and future expansion plans.
One of those things on his mind, however, is the future of the Oakland Athletics as a franchise.
The A’s have a series of issues that affect MLB’s plans: they are one of the least competitive franchises in today’s game, they sold all of their relevant assets in offseason transactions, and their stadium, the Oakland Coliseum, is ancient.
“Rob Manfred says the city of Oakland needs to get an agreement done quickly for a new ballpark for the #Athletics. ‘The condition of the Coliseum is a really serious problem for us. It is not a major- league quality facility at this point,”’ Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweeted on Tuesday.
Rob Manfred says the city of Oakland needs to get an agreement done quickly for a new ballpark for the #Athletics.
"The condition of the Coliseum is a really serious problem for us. It is not a major- league quality facility at this point.''— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 19, 2022
People Don’t Have Any Incentives To Go To The Coliseum
With such an old stadium and such a bad team (the A’s are, at 32-61, the worst team in the American League), very few people go to the Coliseum to watch a game.
The A’s have an attendance problem that needs to be attacked.
If they play their cards right, they could be competitive in a couple of years (that time could be accelerated with some investment in players, but some things never change), but nobody wants to go to that stadium.
That’s why the condition of the Coliseum is such a big problem for the league as a whole.
Before thinking about an expansion – and that’s something the league really wants – they need to solve what is going on in Oakland first.
It’s easier said than done.
NEXT: Home Record Proves Why A's Fans Are Not Coming To Games