The holiday season, and a time for giving. To honor that tradition, the County of Alameda has reportedly given A's owner John Fisher a bill that needs to be paid for $45 million.
The bill is what is left on his tab to own half of the Coliseum site, which he decided to purchase back in 2020 as a secondary option to keep the A's in Oakland. Or at least that's what he said in order to get a sweetheart deal. While the sale agreement didn't have a clause that said that the deal would fall apart if the A's left town, it does have one that's going to make things difficult for Fisher. If the team announces that they're leaving for another city, then the remainder of the bill is due within 180 days.
the County believes that it's time to start that clock, meaning that Fisher has until mid-May to come up with the remaining $45 million on the $85 million purchase.
For most billionaires, that would be a drop in the bucket. But John Fisher is also planning on building a ballpark in Las Vegas (hence the relocation) and paying somewhere in the $1.2 billion range to do it. How is he paying for that? Nobody knows! It has been reported that he is using a form of debt and equity financing to pay for the project, which means that he is selling some portion of the A's to make this whole thing happen.
That also means that he doesn't have the funds to do this alone. MLB waived the relocation fee, believed to be around $300 million, in order to pave the way for Fisher to land in Nevada. It also lightened some of the financial load. Now, there's another $45 million being tacked on.
This will likely end up going to court as Fisher tries to fight it, claiming that he never announced a move to Las Vegas. Yet, the team's social media account is all of a sudden very interested in the goings on of Vegas and Fisher himself actually spoke in front of a microphone! He didn't do that during the previous 18 years of owning the club. Wonder what's changed?
It's a pretty weak case that he "hasn't announced" the team is leaving. He's done everything he can do to signify that the team is leaving Oakland without using those specific words. However, at the press conference he spoke at after MLB's owners unanimously approved relocation, Fisher said "today is an incredibly difficult day for Oakland A's fans." Why is that, John?
Somehow, some way, Fisher's part of the Coliseum should no longer be in his possession by the end of this process. He could give it back while getting some or all of the money he's already invested, or the City of Oakland could just take it from him through eminent domain. With Fisher out of the picture, that land would be free to be redeveloped by any group that wants to build a brighter future for Oakland. After tearing down the A's organization for 18 years, it's only fitting that the redevelopment of the Coliseum site wouldn't include Fisher in any way.
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