Oakland: a “warning” for Montreal

A page was turned yesterday in California: the Oakland Athletics, also known as the Oakland A’s, played (and won) their last local game in Oakland. They had been based in the city since 1968.

The A’s went beyond sports during their California adventure: Moneyball, a film inspired by their story, was a big hit at the cinema.

Sadly, the many years of operating on a shoestring budget – at a time when professional sports involved rapidly increasing salaries and expenses – were to take their toll. The A’s will move to Las Vegas in 2028, and until then will play in Sacramento until a stadium is ready in Nevada.

Note that this is not a sale, but rather a move, while Josh Fisher will remain owner of the franchise… and he’s already promising to increase the team’s payroll considerably once he’s settled in Vegas.

The Athletics, who still have three games to play in Seattle, will miss the playoffs for a fourth consecutive year, even though Major League Baseball has recently increased the number of teams that extend their season beyond the end of the regular schedule.

Why am I telling you about the A’s this lunchtime? Because the City of Oakland represents everything I hope Montreal – and Quebec as a whole – will be able to avoid over the next few years. #Warning

Just 5 years ago (2019), Oakland had three teams in the four sports traditionally recognized as major sports in the United States: A’s (MLB), Raiders (NFL) and Warriors (NBA).

The A’s are on their last legs…

The Golden State Warriors have left Oakland to move (not far) to San Francisco in 2019…

And the Raiders left Oakland in 2020, a few months before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, after spending 48 years out of 60 in Oakland.

If anyone can feel the pain of Oakland’s sports fans, it’s the Québécois, both in Montreal and Quebec City.

The Nordiques left Quebec City in 1995…

The Expos left Montreal in 2002…

And we hear 1,001 rumours involving the Montreal CF… including a recurring one involving Las Vegas, a city that has been looking for concessions in all the major leagues in recent years.

And the Alouettes were on life support before Pierre-Karl Péladeau arrived.

Quebec City no longer has any teams in a major North American league; the Remparts, Capitales and Rouge et Noir are the teams that currently thrill the nation’s capital, but we’re not talking major league here.

The Habs, Montreal CF and Alouettes are in Montreal, but any NBA, MLB or NFL plans (even for a single game) seem more dream than reality. And all the rumours of CPL expansion in Quebec are not materializing…

Oakland lost its teams because it was a small city (430,000 inhabitants) and, above all, close to San Francisco and San Jose. Montreal is in a much more enviable situation…

But small budgets…

The tendency to lose clubs rather than attract them…

I see parallels between Oakland and Quebec. I hope I’m wrong…