A's president: 6 cities have contacted team about relocating

The Oakland Athletics appear to have no shortage of options if they decide to leave the Bay Area.

Athletics president Dave Kaval said Friday that representatives from six cities have approached the A's about potentially relocating the team to their metropolitan areas. Kaval confirmed he will visit Las Vegas next week but did not name any of the other suitors.

"Six cities have contacted us, and we're working closely with the league to understand the best time for visits and interaction," Kaval told Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle. "Next week, we're focused on Las Vegas, but we'll keep the media and the communities posted on any further trips."

The A's began publicly flirting with relocation in April, the latest turn in their long quest for a new ballpark. Their lease at the Oakland Coliseum, their home since 1968, expires in 2024.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has previously mentioned Charlotte, Portland, Nashville, Vancouver, and Montreal, among others, as candidates for future expansion or relocation. None of them have been publicly linked to the Athletics.

The A's aren't abandoning Oakland just yet, though. They're trying to get permission to build a new ballpark at Howard Terminal, a site that's closer to downtown Oakland than their current home. Oakland city council agreed last week to hear the team's proposal and said it's "committed to negotiating in good faith for a strong future for the A's in Oakland."

Kaval once again shot down any hope of building a new stadium at the Coliseum site, telling Ostler it's too far from downtown Oakland to properly host a team full time.

"I think it's important to recognize that two teams have already left the site, both the (NBA's Golden State) Warriors and the (NFL's Las Vegas) Raiders," Kaval said. "So it has not shown itself, from a market perspective, to be a location that's viable for 21st-century professional sports. ... So you have the teams that have left, (and) you have the fact that the most successful locations are in the downtown urban environment.

"That's why we're at a point now where really in Oakland, it's Howard Terminal or bust."