Vegas event flops with no new details

    Sorry, Oakland Athletics fans, I bring you bad news from the future home of your once-beloved baseball club.

A’s owner John Fisher appeared Wednesday morning at a Chamber of Commerce event, “Preview Las Vegas.” After listening to his brief lounge act, then tossing a few questions at him backstage, I can offer no hope that Fisher’s Vegas plan will blow up and he will take another shot at Oakland.

The A’s move to Vegas still seems like a half-baked plan, with more holes than my blackjack strategy. But a short visit here reminded me that this is a city built on preposterous ideas. And that sports teams have a magical ability to cloud minds when it comes to getting civic leaders to take seemingly foolish risks. Right, Mark Davis? 

Yesterday the Athletics held what was billed as a sort of preview of their plans for their new Vegas stadium. And yet there was little to no new details that emerged from the event, even after Fisher spoke on stage for roughly 25 minutes.

Still, there was a few notable pieces from the lackluster event in front of the Chamber of Commerce. First, the owner claimed that the stadium renderings have been delayed solely due to the tragic shooting of police officers back in December.

Another piece of news is that Fisher is still actively looking for investors (suckers) to big him money to push the funding over the finish line. Fisher says that the stadium funding will come “mostly” from his family’s equity (note: his parents’ money) but the fact that he’s still looking for investors indicates that “mostly” might only be “majority”.

No surprise here from Fisher. Right up his alley to be cheap.

And perhaps most importantly for the people of the East Bay, Fisher was asked about his decision to try and buy 50% of the Coliseum site and what his plans for that purchase are. His response was less than encouraging:

Q: But some, including me, have said that your half-interest in the Coliseum, with no stated plan, is holding up potential development.

Fisher: “Is it holding up potential development? You write that it is. … Not really sure that it is holding up any potential development…”

Q: It seems like a big investment ($90 million) to not know what you’re going to do.

Fisher: “OK.”

At this point it feels like Fisher is actively trying to hurt the East Bay community, giving the finger to the area on his way out while stealing away an important piece of Oakland’s history. All while there remains no renderings, no funding structure or plan, and no home for the foreseeable future. Fisher claims to have done everything possible to keep the A’s in Oakland. His actions look like he’s done everything possible to take the A’s out of the Bay Area. Would Fisher, a lifelong Giants fan, really just take the team out of California to give his real favorite team full control over Northern California? Fair question.