City of Champions no more: A's are gone

Team has binding agreement to purchase land in Las Vegas, Oakland mayor immediately throws in the towel; Embattled registrar chats with county supervisors: More on Fremont's Hinduphobia proclamation

Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson questioning Tim Dupuis (foreground), the county’s registrar of voters on Tuesday afternoon.

UPROOTED IN OAKLAND

—Oakland A’s management announced on Wednesday night a binding agreement to purchase land just off the Vegas Strip. But there is still hope for Oakland, right? If there was, it immediately vanished after Mayor Sheng Thao made it clear the city is done with the A’s.

—"In a time of budget deficits, I refuse to compromise the safety and well-being of our residents. Given these realities, we are ceasing negotiations and moving forward on alternatives for the redevelopment of Howard Terminal,” Thao told the San Francisco Chronicle.

—And with that, the last of Oakland’s three once-venerable sports franchises, has left the East Bay. All three gone within four years, an unprecedented exodus in American sports history.

—How this all went down and which side deserves fault will be intensely debated for years. However, the final nail in the Oakland’s baseball coffin, may ultimately be bad timing.

—Tucked in Thao’s unfortunately wimpy response is the city’s biggest problem when it comes to any large expenditure: A potentially harmful recession looming, possibly later this year, and a gargantuan city budget deficit that could reach $200 million.

—With Howard Terminal seemingly always in need of a bit of luck and fiscal creativity, now couldn’t have been a worst time to tweak the city budget in the near-term.

—There’s no way Thao could ask Oaklanders to help build a waterfront ballpark, while asking them and city employees to take cuts services, and wages and benefits.

—In fact, losing a Major League Baseball team may not be close to the worst thing that could happen to Oakland. It’s economy is in shambles. Who in their right mind would open a business in Oakland? It’s viewed as unsafe to visit.

—Because of this, it’s sales tax revenues tend to bleed to the coffers of surrounding cities. Covid has killed its already moribund downtown.

—Most worrisome of all is the combination of a recession, coupled with rising interests rates. Oakland’s projected budget hit stems heavily from a steep decline in real estate transfer taxes. People have simply stopped buying homes in Oakland. This won’t last forever, but if it persists, there’s a growing possibility that Oakland’s could fall over a fiscal cliff.

—In the end, Oakland has so many deeply ingrained problems. It’s politics is sclerotic and lacking leadership. It’s populace is divided along racial and economic lines. Nothing seemingly get done. It’s a real life Gotham City. However, in this case, there’s no Batman.