A’s president’s tweet about Golden Knights angers Oakland fans

Las Vegas Review-Journal

4 years ago

FILE - Oakland Athletics President Dave Kaval, center, speaks beside Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf ... — FILE – Oakland Athletics President Dave Kaval, center, speaks beside Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, right, and Ces Butner, President of the Board of Port Commissioners, during a baseball news conference in Oakland, Calif., in this Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018, file photo. Major League Baseball instructed the Athletics to explore relocation options as the team tries to secure a new ballpark it hopes will keep the club in Oakland in the long term. MLB released a statement Tuesday, May 11, 2021, expressing its longtime concern that the current Coliseum site is “not a viable option for the future vision of baseball.” (AP Photo/Ben Margot, FIle)

The night before the Oakland Athletics began their week of meetings with Southern Nevada officials, the team’s president made his arrival in Las Vegas known, begrudgingly to Bay Area fans.

A’s President Dave Kaval took in the Golden Knights playoff game Monday night versus the Minnesota Wild at T-Mobile Arena and let his 25,000-plus followers know via Twitter.

“Wow! Stanley Cup playoffs,” Kaval posted to his verified Twitter account, accompanied by a video of fans cheering at the arena.

The tweet predictably did not play well in the Bay Area, especially as Kaval sent it while his A’s were playing the Seattle Mariners in Oakland.

“Gross,” Athletics’ fan Nick Rechtschaffer tweeted. “I get city council is dragging their feet & you want to play hardball … There is literally a game going on in OAKLAND right now.”

Not all the response was negative. Las Vegas-area tweets were rare among the avalanche of Bay Area posts, but the feelings about Kaval’s tweet were clearly different in Southern Nevada.

“Bring the A’s to Vegas we will appreciate and take care of your franchise… this (atmosphere at T-Mobile Arena) is just a sampler of what it could be like,” Michael Maxson tweeted.

The A’s are exploring relocation from Oakland after getting the green light from Major League Baseball, citing issues with the team’s current home, RingCentral Coliseum, and its aging condition.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the first meeting for the A’s group was with Clark County officials Tuesday morning. The meeting took place at the Clark County Government Center in downtown Las Vegas, the source said.

No details of what was discussed was revealed Tuesday by either the Athletics or county officials. The A’s officials are also scheduled to meet this week with representatives of Las Vegas and Henderson.

Las Vegas spokesman Jace Radke said Mayor Carolyn Goodman is scheduled to speak to the Oakland A’s representatives later this week.

Henderson spokeswoman Kathleen Richards on Tuesday confirmed the A’s reached out to the city and the two sides set up a meeting for Thursday. City Manager Richard Derrick and members of his development team are planning to attend the meeting, Richards said.

The A’s are slated to make a similar fact-finding trip to Portland, Oregon, next month, according to the Portland Diamond Group, which includes Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, his wife and entertainer Ciara and former Nike executive Craig Cheek.

“The Portland Diamond Project is excited to confirm that representatives from the Oakland A’s Major League Baseball franchise will be visiting Portland in the near future to meet with PDP principals and City of Portland leaders about the possibility of relocating the team to our city,” the group said in a statement obtained by the Review-Journal. “We don’t yet have a date or full details confirmed.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.

Review-Journal staff writers Mark Anderson and Blake Apgar contributed to this report.