Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher won't budge despite constant protests from the fanbase: "I have not considered selling the team"
For a team as uncompetitive as the Oakland Athletics are, they sure have been in the headlines a ton this season. They are amid a relocation to Las Vegas, with the fans protesting the move every step of the way.
Fans have made shirts with the word "sell" that have become widely popular. The movement got so big that San Francisco Giants fans joined in when the fanbase chanted "sell the team" late in July.
Athletics owner John Fisher has stayed relatively quiet through all of this. He has recently come out and spoken with a Las Vegas media outlet to clear some things up.
"I have not considered selling the team" said John Fisher.
Fisher came out directly, stating that selling the team had not crossed his mind. The Oakland Athletics just submitted their relocation application and are excited about the team's future.
"We're super excited about where we are today with the new stadium we're going to build, which I think is going to be iconic for the Strip," John Fisher added.
Fisher is ready to get this move underway. He has already picked a construction manager for the project, Mortenson & McCarthy, who worked on the Las Vegas Raiders stadium.
John Fisher wants to model the Oakland Athletics after the Vegas Golden Knights
John Fisher wants to model the Oakland Athletics after the Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL. He saw their success early on and what it brought to the city and the fanbase.
The Golden Knights were founded in 2017 as an expansion team. During their inaugural season in 2017-18, they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals but lost to the Washington Capitals. They would, however, win the Stanley Cup this last season.
"The whole reason that we're building a new stadium is so we can have not just a competitive team, but, we hope, a team that can have the kind of success, for example, that the Golden Knights have had, winning the Stanley Cup in six years," said Fisher.
Fisher aims to win the World Series within six years of the relocation. They plan on doing this by moving past their "Moneyball" era and spending money on big-name free agents.
It will be interesting to see how the relocation goes and how factual those statements are. Will the Athletics be a brand new franchise, or will they return to their old ways?