The Oakland Athletics have been suffering through a number of troubles this season. The roster has been underperforming and not playing up to fans’ expectations; the team currently stands at the bottom of their division. Additionally, ever since owner John Fisher announced that the A’s would be moving to a new ballpark in Las Vegas, fans have been protesting. Signs that demand he sells the team have been populating the Coliseum.

In the latest development, attendance numbers have dropped drastically, with fans missing games by not showing up at all. But recently, Oakland’s mayor gave a hopeful update about the ballpark situation, which may mean that Oakland could retain at least one of its major sports teams.

Mayor Shen Thao opens up about the future of Howard Terminal for the Oakland Athletics

The Coliseum has been standing since 1966, and the Athletics played their first game there on April 17, 1968. But in recent years, its shortcomings have been coming to light one by one. In 2001, an alternate site for a ballpark for the A’s was considered. And thus started the long journey of Howard Terminal, which went through site changes and designs. As of now, the A’s are still moving to the Vegas strip, but Oakland’s mayor Shen Thao recently spoke about the situation.

“Howard Terminal, it’s already entitled. And so I want the A’s to stay here. If the owners called us back and say, ‘let’s get back to the table.’ We are very close to a deal. If someone wants to buy the A’s, and that happens, we are very close to a deal. And so I would say that we will be able to break ground as soon as possible,” Thao said.

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She continued, “In regards to the process after having that deal, whatever that looks like, it could be two years. And if we do have a deal, this is something that I would want to expedite because it would be great for the city. It’ll be great for not just the fan base, but for our economic potential as well.” Interestingly, the mayor said something else a while back.

The reports read differently a month ago

The negotiation process has been a long one for Oakland and fans are tired of witnessing it. In April 2023, Thao apparently felt the same as she commented, “It is clear to me that the A?s have no intention of staying in Oakland and have simply been using this process to try to extract a better deal out of Las Vegas. I am not interested in continuing to play that game – the fans and our residents deserve better.”

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Yet, it seems like everyone wants things to work out in California, not Nevada.