Dave Stewart has harsh words for the Oakland City Council
Stewart said that both sides are to blame for the A’s leaving Las Vegas.
Unsurprisingly, Major League owners voted unanimously Thursday approving the relocation of the Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas. There are still plenty of details to be worked out, such as where the team will call home for three seasons after 2024, and another hurdle to clear as teacher’s in Nevada continue protest the $380 million in public money for a new stadium. Despite those uncertainties, there never was much of a chance that the other 29 MLB owners were going to step in and stop the move.
The loser in all of this is of course the fans and their wishes are seldom taken into account. A’s great Dave Stewart recently vented his frustration in an interview with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale saying that there is reason to blame the A’s, but also Oakland’s City Council.
“The [Oakland] City Council has as much to blame for this as the A’s,’’ Stewart told USA TODAY Sports in a telephone interview. “If you put two sides in a room, you should be able to get something done, and after all of these years, nothing changed. There should have been a middle ground. I always felt like they could get something done, and after all of these years, nothing happened.
“This is going to be so damaging to the city of Oakland. The city of Oakland is in pretty bad shape economically with the crime, homelessness. They needed an economic driver like the A’s. I saw the Raiders leave, and the [Golden State] Warriors leave, but I thought the A’s would be there forever.
This is clearly frustration on Stewart’s part. Still, it is a shame that in this conflict it is the fans and people of Oakland that will suffer.