Raiders owner Mark Davis sounds unhappy with A’s proposed move to Las Vegas
Apr 21, 2023, 1:45 PM
Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis on the field prior to the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on November 27, 2022 in Seattle, Washington.
The Oakland A’s are burning plenty of bridges in Northern California after announcing they’ve purchased 49 acres of land in Las Vegas.
The $1.5 billion, 35,000-seat stadium will include a retractable roof, and house not just baseball, but other events, as well. The Las Vegas Review-Journal noted in its story if all goes well for the organization, crews could break ground on the new stadium in 2024. The team could be in their new home as early as 2027.
One bridge the team doesn’t have to worry about burning is apparently with Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis. Because the way it sounds, those bridges burned years ago.
In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Davis did not hold back when sharing his thoughts about possibly sharing a city again with the A’s.
“I won’t forget what they did to us in Oakland. They squatted on a lease for 10 years and made it impossible for us to build on that stadium.”
The two teams shared the Coliseum for years in Oakland, with Davis wanting to update the historic venue.
“They were looking for a stadium. We were looking for a stadium. They didn’t want to build a stadium, and then went ahead and signed a 10-year lease with the city of Oakland and said, ‘We’re the base team.’
Because of that lease, the Raiders were unable to make improvements, which eventually lead to the team’s move to Vegas.
“They marketed the team as ‘Rooted in Oakland,’ that’s been their mantra through the whole thing. The slogans they’ve been using have been a slap to the face of the Raiders, and they were trying to win over that type of mentality in the Bay Area… For them to leave Oakland without anything is pretty [screwed] up. Because that site that the stadium was on was a good site. We ended up in Las Vegas, which is absolutely fantastic and couldn’t be better. But the A’s never gave us a real good chance to stay up in Oakland.”
Davis clarifies at the end of his interview he has no ill will toward the players. All his disdain is directed at the management group.
