Elephant Rumblings: AASEG re-engaging to buy part of Coliseum complex

MLB news roundup

Welcome to Thursday, Athletics Nation!

We got news yesterday that the Athletics are looking into dumping their share of the Coliseum to an interested buyer, the African American Sports and Entertainment Group. The two groups are expected to meet sometime next week to begin negotiations on a deal that would see the group buy the Athletics’ half of the complex. The other half is owned by the City of Oakland, which has expressed interest and optimism in the AASEG’s redevelopment plan.

The Athletics bought 50% of the property from Alameda County way back in 2019 for a total of $85 million, back when they (supposedly) still wanted to build a new ballpark in Oakland. You would have to think that Fisher would at least like to match that figure. In fact Fisher and the team are still paying that price tag off, five years later. Hear that, Vegas?

The AASEG previously wrote to the A’s about buying the land in September, which was rejected out of hand. Since then however MLB and its owners have officially approved of the relocation to Vegas and now the AASEG is trying again to buy the land. The AASEG would like to develop the Coliseum area into a much improved “sports, entertainment, business and educational district”. The Athletics have already once reportedly turned down one offer from the AASEG but with the seeming financial crunch that might be happening behind the scenes, the second time might be the charm in getting a deal together.

With Fisher no longer interested in the East Bay and its market, it was expected that he would be more aggressive in unloading his shares of the site. Instead it has felt like the exact opposite as Fisher gives the finger to the city of Oakland yet crawls back asking for a lease extension. While he is allowing two soccer teams to play in the stadium, the Oakland Ballers baseball team was rejected the chance to play at the Coliseum, even though it wouldn’t have interfered with the Athletics’ schedule.

With the Athletics in their final year at the Coliseum site (for now), perhaps Fisher is using the idea of selling the team’s shares of the complex as a bargaining chip in his negotiations for a lease extension. Even if the AASEG does end up buying the land though, the city of Oakland wouldn’t really get anything directly out of it, so there isn’t really any reason the city of Oakland would acquiesce in their demands that the A’s history remains in the East Bay. While Fisher doesn’t seem to care about the East Bay anymore, he still controls that land and is holding up redevelopment so that he can extract the most dollars out of his relocation saga. Selling his shares and allowing someone interested in investing in Oakland would be the best outcome for both sides. Let’s see if they can find a deal this time around.

A’s Coverage:

• A’s topple Giants 7-4 behind three home runs
• Kemp shares wish that A’s stay in Oakland in thank-you to fans
• A’s help Muller change key part of his game after 2023 struggles
• Allen boosting offensive game in pursuit of everyday role
• Sears tests new pitch in strong spring debut
• Did the A’s use two killed Nevada state troopers as an excuse?

MLB News & Interest:

• Dodgers’ Yamamoto impresses in spring debut
• Brown: Astros plan to offer Bregman extension at some point
• Guardians shit down setup man Trevor Stephens for three weeks
• Orioles sign Kolton Wong, Julio Teheran to minors deal
• Boras: Bellinger deal dictated by ‘irregular” market
• Sonny Gray gets Opening Day nod for Cardinals
• Former #1 picks Skenes and Holliday could match up today
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

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