Oakland A's owner John Fisher publishes letter to fans ahead of Las Vegas move

Oakland A’s owner John Fisher sent an emotional message to the fans ahead of their move to Las Vegas. On Monday, Fisher published a letter that reflected on what the A’s have done since arriving in Oakland in 1968.

“This upcoming series with the Texas Rangers will be the final games of the A’s storied 57 years in Oakland. And while the A’s previously played in Philadelphia and Kansas City, Oakland has been home for the greatest era in the franchise’s more than 123-year history,” Fisher wrote.

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John Fisher released a letter to A's fans ahead of their final series being played in Oakland.

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“Four World Series Championships. Six pennants and 17 division titles. Seven Baseball Hall of Famers. Charlie Finley and his mule. Billy Ball. Reggie [Jackson] and his incomparable swagger. Rollie [Fingers] and his handlebar mustache. Dave Stewart and the stare. Bill King‘s “Holy Toledo.” Rickey [Henderson], the greatest leadoff hitter in baseball history. The list goes on and on.

“Triumphs, near misses, the 1989 Loma Prieta (sic) earthquake in Game 3 of the Bay Bridge Series, the 20-game win streak, a Hollywood movie, and an unmatched cast of players, coaches, and fans. We’ve had it all.”

Why John Fisher is moving Oakland A’s to Las Vegas

Fisher then explained why the A’s are moving. “The A’s are part of the fabric of Oakland, the East Bay, and the entire Bay Area,” he stated. “When Lew Wolff and I bought the team in 2005, our dream was to win world championships and build a new ballpark in Oakland. Over the next 18 years, we did our very best to make that happen. We proposed and pursued five different locations in the Bay Area. And despite mutual and ongoing efforts to get a deal done for the Howard Terminal project, we came up short.

“Only in 2021, after 16 years of working exclusively on developing a home in the Bay Area and faced with a binding MLB agreement to find a new home by 2024, did we begin to explore taking the team to Las Vegas.”

The A’s are set to move into a new stadium on the Las Vegas Strip for the 2028 season. Until then, Oakland will relocate to Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park for their temporary home from 2025 to 2027. Sutter Health Park is the home of the Minor League Baseball team Sacramento River Cats and has a seating capacity of 14,014, making it MLB’s smallest stadium.