A’s to talk Coliseum lease extension with Bay Area officials
The Oakland Athletics plan to meet with Bay Area officials this week to discuss extending the team’s Oakland Coliseum lease.
A’s President Dave Kaval is scheduled to meet Thursday with representatives from Oakland and Alameda County, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Review-Journal. Talks would center around the team continuing to play games in its current home for the 2025, 2026 and 2027 seasons, the source indicated.
The A’s lease at the Coliseum is set to expire at the end of the year. The team is paying $1.25 million to use the stadium this season. The A’s plan to move into their new Southern Nevada ballpark in time for the 2028 campaign.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said last year she would have multiple demands if the city were to extend the lease. She wanted the team to leave the Athletics name behind and for MLB to promise Oakland an expansion franchise.
The A’s have a 50 percent controlling interest in the Coliseum and the city owns the other half. It is unclear if any lease negotiation would include the team being required to sell or relinquish its share.
The A’s are planning to construct a $1.5 billion, 33,000-seat ballpark on the Strip on 9 acres of the 35-acre Tropicana site.
The team has looked into other sites besides the Coliseum for its temporary home from 2025-27. Possible locations include Salt Lake City and Sacramento, California.
Bally’s Corp., which owns the Tropicana, announced this month that they will shutter the Rat Pack-era hotel April 2 to begin the demolition process. Plans call for the Tropicana to be demolished and the site cleared by April 2025, when construction on the ballpark is planned to begin.
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.