Oakland A's Propose $12 Billion Ballpark Project; Vow to Privately Finance Stadium

[thoughtcriminal]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^ you Philly guys still seem sore about losing the As. It was 67 years ago, how many real-deal old-timer As fans can there be left?

There are a few. There is the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society:https://www.philadelphiaathletics.org/
But not many alive who remember the A's when they were good. They won their last American League pennant in Philly in 1931 (almost three-peated, with World Series Championships in 1929 and 1930.)
But the idea is that good or bad, Philly is big enough to have two MLB teams. Two teams having to compete for the fan base (theoretically) makes both teams need to be stronger. I say theoretically because it almost never actually happens in markets with more than one team where if one is doing poorly, people will migrate to the other team. Usually a team's fan base is its fan base, and people don't switch between the two.
So yes, I think we could have two MLB teams, but not just any two teams. It's not like you could move the Tampa Rays here and have a sustainable fan base. The A's moving here would be largely nostalgic, at least at first, but then if they started winning championships they'd take root real fast.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by thoughtcriminal

There are a few. There is the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society:https://www.philadelphiaathletics.org/
But not many alive who remember the A's when they were good. They won their last American League pennant in Philly in 1931 (almost three-peated, with World Series Championships in 1929 and 1930.)

that's interesting.

chicago has only ever lost one established major league franchise to a relocation in the modern era: the football cardinals. they were one of the founding franchises of the NFL in 1920 (along with the bears), but they always lived in the bears' shadow. they won a single NFL championship game in 1947, but by that time the bears had already won 5 and were the MUCH bigger deal in town. in 1960, they moved down to st. louis, before moving again to phoenix in 1987, where they've seemed to settle in for good.

as a born and raised southsider, my dad remembers going to a handful of cardinals games with my grandpa as a boy (the cardinals played at comiskey on the southside and the bears played at wrigley on the northside back in those days), but NFL football didn't have the same psychological hold back in the '50s that MLB enjoyed, so while my dad remembers the cardinals being in town and going to several games, there was no life-long passionate fandom for them that was fomented in his youth. today, the cardinals' 40 year NFL history in chicago (62 years going back to their pre-NFL founding in 1898) is largely forgotten by just about everyone under the age of 60.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by PhillyRising

As for the rendering....the view of the cranes beyond the outfield doesn't seem pleasing.

I don't mind the view of the cranes actually. They're kind of embraced in a way by the city since there aren't a lot of other true landmark structures. It reflects the gritty, blue collar culture of Oakland. At 442 ft, Oakland actually has the three tallest cranes in North America.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by homebucket

I don't mind the view of the cranes actually. They're kind of embraced in a way by the city since there aren't a lot of other true landmark structures. It reflects the gritty, blue collar culture of Oakland. At 442 ft, Oakland actually has the three tallest cranes in North America.

100% agreed. those gigantic old cranes are cool as hell and are perfectly appropriate, locally important landmarks to highlight and draw attention to.

IMO, it's a million times more interesting to save and preserve them than to just tear 'em down and make yet another generic and "pretty" waterfront.

[TWAK]

Originally Posted by homebucket

I don't mind the view of the cranes actually. They're kind of embraced in a way by the city since there aren't a lot of other true landmark structures. It reflects the gritty, blue collar culture of Oakland. At 442 ft, Oakland actually has the three tallest cranes in North America.

They are hella cool, so they get the nor cal stamp of approval. As a fan of the A's and the Kings, boy does it suck when these relocation talks happen every five years. Maybe they should have moved to.....Fremont.

[dimondpark]

I like the cranes but Oakland has this misguided desire to 'preserve' things that dont need to be preserved. For example, the auto row along Broadway is now being completely transformed into upscale, high density housing, but the planning commission demands that developers retain the facades of the old auto showrooms--im like FOR WHAT? WHO the hell cares about auto showrooms? You wanted to change the neighborhood so change that shit.

But I digress.

[SFBruin]

I think that preserving the cranes is a bad idea.

They take up a large area, serve no practical purpose, and probably require some degree of maintenance to boot.

I'm not an A's fan, though, so my opinion isn't super important.