Rob Manfred on The A’s Possible Move to Las Vegas, Reverse County, and more

NEW YORK — Commissioner Rob Manfred held a press conference Thursday afternoon at MLB headquarters in New York after the league’s regular owners’ meetings. Naturally, many of the questions over the course of 22 were about the Oakland Athletics and their possible move to Las Vegas. These questions, from various correspondents, and Manfred’s answers are below.

(Note: The following questions are listed in the order in which they were asked, but questions on other topics not included here were sometimes asked in between.)

Where are you from approving the A position now that we’ve got the legislative action in Nevada?

I have reviewed with the group as a whole the transfer process. Obviously, passing legislation in Nevada is really important. It is another important step forward. But there is a very comprehensive transfer process the club now needs to go through as a precursor to club voting.

How soon could that happen?

It depends in large part on how quickly the applicants can get their official relocation application together. I will appoint a transfer committee to review it. So there is some work that needs to be done, and I wouldn’t predict a timeline for that.

Can you explain the process a bit, what needs to happen?

They have to apply, and there are very strict requirements about the application: you have to talk about the market you’re leaving, and the efforts you’ve made there; Which markets do you want to go to, why is it better. It then goes to a relocation committee who has to review the application and make recommendations on things like area of ​​operation and local TV area. This recommendation comes to me, goes to the executive board, and at the end they make recommendations to the clubs, and then there should be three-quarters of the vote.

What kind of sense did you get from the owners in the kind of informal conversations you had this week about how they feel about a potential move? It doesn’t really sneak up on anyone.

It has always been baseball’s policy and preference to stay put. I think that always colors any conversation about moving on. That said, I think the owners as a whole understand that there was a multi-year, contract-paying effort where the vast majority of the time the only focus was Auckland. Look, believe me, and hear from them, I feel sorry for the fans in Oakland. I don’t like this outcome, and I understand why they feel the way they do. I think the real question is, what was Oakland willing to do? No Auckland show, ok? They never got to the point where they had a plan to build a stadium on any site. And it’s not just John Fisher. You don’t build a stadium based on club activity alone. The community has to offer support and you know, at some point, you realize that’s not going to happen.

What are the ways in which this application can work? What are some of the concerns that might cause you, the committee or someone not to agree to move to Vegas?

It would be really unfair for A to me to speculate about these kinds of things at this point. They just literally got through this legislative battle, and they didn’t even make the request. I just can’t do it now.

So I know you don’t want to get into the schedule, but you’re going to finish next year’s schedule. How does that play into the process in terms of figuring out how one might do things?

I don’t see the schedule as an important driver in the matter of timing. If moving a team from the East Coast to the West Coast, perhaps? it’s not. That’s an adjustment we can make, well, the schedule isn’t an issue.

Did you watch the Rays-A game on Tuesday as the fans came out to reverse boycott?

I was actually at a dinner with the owners.

Did you read the coverage?

I did. I saw –

What is your impression of that?

It was great. It’s great to see, this year, nearly the average Major League Baseball crowd at the facility for one night. This is a great thing.

Is there any angst about going from the 10th largest TV market to the 40th, building a 30,000-seat football stadium to be the smallest and turning the team into a permanent revenue-sharing receiver?

I think this is a more specific way of getting me to do what I said I wouldn’t do (laughs). Again, I won’t be speaking today, I think it’s not fair for me to be. They deserve to submit their own relocation application. When I have all the information on this app, if and when I see concerns about it, I will speak about it publicly. Until that happens, I won’t.

Why is it okay for John Fisher not to speak publicly? Is this an acceptable level of accountability to you, to your fans, to your mates?

See, we never force owners to stand on general availability. It’s not something we or tournaments do in general. You know, I think every owner has to make a decision about how they will interact with the market. I would have preferred to be more available rather than less, but everyone has to make up their own mind about that.

Well, maybe it’s better to ask him, but he doesn’t want to be asked – do you think John Fisher is making a bona fide effort to field a winning team?

I would say this: I think if you look at their A-record over time and economic conditions, including the state of the stadium they’ve been in for a very long time, they’ve had a very good track record during the pandemic. That’s what I want to say. Markets in this kind of financial difficulty often have to make difficult decisions regarding players when you have limited financial resources.

Do you think this is the best team he could play for?

I do not judge how people put together their teams, it is not appropriate for me to do so.

When was your last visit to the Auckland Coliseum?

I was at the Auckland Coliseum last year.

Does not happen?

I was there to meet a player. I went to meet the guys. I can’t tell you the date, but –

What is your impression of the stadium conditions at that point?

The stadium is not in good condition. The stadium is not a major facility in the league. I’ve said it over and over again. I especially think I met in the room kind of in the bowels of the stadium. You go down into the bowels of the stadium where the clubs are – it’s not a major league facility.

And have you heard feedback from players about their concerns about playing in that environment?

I have yes.

And in terms of thinking about something like transition fees, can you kind of walk us through the process of what that would look like with the owners?

The transition fee, the final decision, will be made in the process I described a moment ago. I’ve been clear with the owners: In the context where you have an owner commit a billion dollars privately to a move into a market where they’re receiving public funding, for baseball to step in and get a transfer fee, I don’t see that as a realistic possibility.

Even if this is not a realistic possibility, if it were to happen, if the first club or any other club had to pay the transfer fee, where would that money go? Does it go to the central fund, is it redistributed?

Yes, whatever is paid to central baseball goes into the central fund and is redistributed.

You haven’t waived the fee yet? I thought you waived the fee.

Yes, I just said that’s not a realistic possibility. I’d explain why: I’ve said publicly, there’s no waiver document, but I’ve said publicly we’re not looking for a transfer fee.

Is it part of your job to support or help owners access public funding, stadium subsidies? Is that part of being the CEO of Major League Baseball?

I think it’s part of my job to make sure we have 30 major league quality facilities at all times. We spent a really long time in Auckland with no one. I think because I see the baseball fields, because of the number of games and the economic impact that we produce as a public asset, I think it’s part of my job and it’s actually a good job to have a public-private company. partnership to build those facilities.

How do you come to terms with the large number of academic studies that say stadium support does not produce a positive benefit?

I love academics, they are great. I guess, take the areas where baseball stadiums have been built, okay? Look what was around Truist Park before it was built. Look at the area around the Nationals Park before it was built. I lived in that city. You know, academics can say whatever they want. I think reality tells you something else.

Do you expect existing A’s fans to continue to be fans of the team if the team relocates?

I hope so. I hope they will remain fans of baseball, no matter what they decide to get involved with. Again, I’ll say it again: The most annoying part of this particular series of events is the idea that fans who supported a team are losing a team. We hate that idea.

If a decision is made to move forward with a transfer, would it be best to try to get out of the lease in 2024 and try to play at a Triple-A ballpark?

No decision has been made on that.

(Top photo by Rob Manfred: Orlando Ramirez/USA Today)