Congresswoman Barbara Lee Pushes MLB to Reconsider Involvement in Oakland A’s Relocation Process
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12) today sent a letter to the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Rob Manfred, requesting that he reconsider his direct involvement in the negotiations of the Oakland Athletics potential relocation to Las Vegas.
The Oakland A’s have been actively negotiating a deal with Las Vegas legislators to fund a new ballpark and relocation to Las Vegas. According to press reports, Commissioner Manfred has committed to waiving the relocation fee, which is standard for any team seeking to leave their home city. Such action could be perceived as incentivizing the team’s relocation, which runs counter to the rationale behind the MLB’s century-old exemption from Anti-Trust laws and has been consistently upheld by Supreme Court rulings.
“I write regarding the future of the Oakland Athletics Baseball Club in the East Bay. Many of my constituents in the East Bay and I are increasingly frustrated with the continuing apparent failure of the team and Major League Baseball to deal in good faith with local government agencies,” wrote Congresswoman Lee.
“The City of Oakland and Alameda County have been home to the A’s for five and half decades. Multiple generations of Oaklanders have grown up identifying with the team’s dogged efforts and hard-earned triumphs. The A’s organization adds significant tangible economic benefit to our region, including numerous good paying jobs at Oakland Coliseum. But as important is the sense of unique shared cultural identity that surrounds the team and its local fanbase,” Congresswoman Lee continued.
“MLB’s continued active encouragement of the A’s abandonment of Oakland and the East Bay runs counter the rationale supporting MLB’s century-old exemption from federal anti-trust law. I ask you to reconsider efforts to subsidize or otherwise encourage the relocation of the Oakland A’s out of the East Bay.”
Congresswoman Lee is exploring legislation to address the century old MLB’s anti-trust exemption as it relates to franchise relocation. Read the full text of the letter here and below.
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Dear Commissioner Manfred,
I write regarding the future of the Oakland Athletics Baseball Club in the East Bay. Many of my constituents in the East Bay and I are increasingly frustrated with the continuing apparent failure of the team and Major League Baseball to deal in good faith with local government agencies.
The City of Oakland and Alameda County have been home to the A’s for five and half decades. Multiple generations of Oaklanders have grown up identifying with the team’s dogged efforts and hard-earned triumphs. The A’s organization adds significant tangible economic benefit to our region, including numerous good paying jobs at Oakland Coliseum. But as important is the sense of unique shared cultural identity that surrounds the team and its local fanbase.
I believe strongly that our community also provides value to the A’s. Oakland has been the scene for this franchise’s greatest successes. East Bay performing artists have celebrated the A’s musically, and the A’s team colors and style feature prominently in local fashion, providing the franchise with significant value and cultural cache?. Not least, the fans and employees of the A’s and Oakland Coliseum have made their own significant contributions to the team’s bottom line for fifty-five years.
The City of Oakland and Alameda County have worked to assemble a compelling plan for a new ballpark and surroundings, including items the A’s had previously publicly said were indispensable for a new home field. And yet recent press reports suggest the team and Major League Baseball are pursuing an alternative that includes none of these assets.
These reports lead me and many in the East Bay to conclude that the A’s and MLB have in fact not been acting in good faith. As a federal legislator, I believe such actions are inconsistent with federal policy goals related to the MLB’s exemption from antitrust scrutiny.
In a July 2022 letter to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, you volunteered that, “The antitrust exemption helps ensure that MLB Clubs maintain deep and enduring relationships with their fan bases, whereas franchises in other major professional sports regularly relocate from one market to another.” That same month, in an interview published in the Los Angeles Times, you are quoted as saying “The principal utility of the exemption is that it allows us to be more aggressive than other leagues in preventing franchise relocation. It is a fan-friendly doctrine in the law.”
Yet in this case, Major League Baseball is actively seeking to subsidize the relocation of the Oakland A’s through your public offer to waive MLB’s standard relocation fee and actively take crucial revenue, and a cultural staple, from the East Bay.
MLB’s continued active encouragement of the A’s abandonment of Oakland and the East Bay runs counter the rationale supporting MLB’s century-old exemption from federal anti-trust law. I ask you to reconsider efforts to subsidize or otherwise encourage the relocation of the Oakland A’s out of the East Bay. Thank you for your full and fair consideration of this matter.