Fans of the Oakland Athletics have been sending "Stay in Oakland" boxes to Major League Baseball owners with various paraphernalia in hopes of swaying the owners to vote no on the team's planned relocation to Las Vegas, according to a report by the Associated Press. The boxes are being sent to 15 owners across the league including John Henry of the Boston Red Sox, Hal Steinbrenner of the New York Yankees, Arte Moreno of the Los Angeles Angels and other influential figures as well.
The boxes contain, among other things, a note telling the owner the reasons they should vote no on moving the A's, a DVD created by "The Summer of Sell" group, a USB flash drive and a personal letter from Oakland mayor Sheng Thao. The express purpose of the boxes is to convince ownership of strong fan support in Oakland for their team, continuing what has been a wave of consternation directed at A's owner John Fisher after the team reached a tentative agreement for a new stadium in Las Vegas.
"This project has been a culmination of our collective works and we hope it shows the owners what we all know to be true," Paul Bailey, whose Last Dive Bar clothing company produced the boxes and postcards, told The AP. "The fans are not the problem."
As the MLB owners prepare to vote on the Athletics' relocation at their annual meetings next week, fans of the team in Oakland have been trying to rally to prevent the team from moving. This past week, the Oakland City Council unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming its support of the A's staying in the city, with some 200 people flooding the council chambers and chanting, "Stay in Oakland!"
Losing the Athletics to Las Vegas would be yet another blow to the city of Oakland, which already lost the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas following the 2019 NFL season.
