A’s GM Forst won’t ‘side’ in team’s ballpark pursuit Originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
As the Athletics continue to explore their “parallel path” for a new ballpark in Oakland or Las Vegas, general manager David Forst just wants what’s best for the team.
“I’m hoping the A’s get a stadium. I don’t take sides,” Forst told ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez on Saturday. “The only thing that affects the way we operate baseball operations is actually having the facility.
“We really can’t spend too much time thinking about where right now.”
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said last month that A’s ownership has shifted its focus to building a new stadium in Las Vegas, as the franchise’s efforts to find a waterfront stadium through in the Bay hitting the barriers.
Most recently, the city of Oakland lost a $180 million grant from the US Department of Transportation that would have greatly benefited the Howard Terminal project’s off-site infrastructure needs for things like road, overpass, sewer and other upgrades. The city has received other funds to help bridge the gap, but those costs will only increase over time.
The uncertainty in Oakland is exactly why the A’s are simultaneously exploring the option of moving to Las Vegas, a process team president Dave Kaval described as a “parallel path.”
And like Forst, second-year A’s manager Mark Kotsay is more focused on a new ballpark for his team than where to build it.
“For us as an organization, we continue to pursue Oakland and Vegas and we call that parallel track,” Kotsay told Gutierrez. “For us, we’re always looking for the opportunity in front of us.”
The A’s and Cincinnati Reds this weekend play a two-game set at Las Vegas Ballpark, where Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate, the Aviators, have played since 2019. The minor league club plays at Cashman Field in Las Vegas for 35 years before that, and Aviators president and COO Don Logan told Gutierrez that the A’s should “make the best deal they can” to play in Sin City.
“Las Vegas offers a dynamic that no other team has,” Logan said. “We have 45 million visitors every year in this market, and that’s what we want – heads in beds. That’s Las Vegas.
“It’s a better opportunity here [for the A’s] for a long time.”
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The long term is definitely up in the air right now for the A’s and their fans in the Bay.