MLB Commissioner Not Excluding Bay Area From Expansion Talks

Newsweek

16-07-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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The Athletics left Oakland with the intention of building a stadium in Las Vegas before this season, and the exit was not an easy one for the fans in Oakland. Fans were boycotting the team consistently as the talks of departure continued for the Athletics' ownership, but according to John Shea of The San Francisco Standard, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has not ruled out the return of a second team to the Bay Area.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 23: (L-R) Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas), U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), President Marc Badain of the Athletics, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, principal owner John Fisher of...
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 23: (L-R) Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas), U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), President Marc Badain of the Athletics, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, principal owner John Fisher of the Athletics, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Steve Hill and Clark County (Nev.) Commission Chairman Jim Gibson participate in a ceremonial groundbreaking for the USD 1.75 billion, 33,000-seat domed stadium for MLB's Athletics at Sutter Health Park on June 23, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. More
Photo by Justine Willard/Athletics/Getty Images
"In terms of expansion, open book," Manfred remarked about the potential return to Oakland in expansion.
MLB isn't ruling out any possibilities in its effort to expand the league. This includes the possibility of San Jose, where the San Francisco Giants claim territorial rights to the region.
Whether the league chooses to expand at all will have to wait until both the Tampa Bay Rays and the Athletics are in permanent homes that are up to MLB standards.
The Rays were displaced after Hurricane Milton tore the roof off of Tropicana Field last year, but MLB is hopeful that the Rays will return to the stadium next season.
The Athletics hold the key; they have broken ground, but the stadium is scheduled to be opened by 2028 at the earliest. Once both teams are in stadiums that meet the standard, the league will return to the prospect of expanding to new markets, or in the case of the Bay Area, returning to an old one.
Even after the controversial exit last year, baseball in Oakland might still have a sliver of a chance of returning.
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