Commissioner of Baseball, Robert D. Manfred Jr., threatens Oakland

Commissioner of Baseball, Robert D. Manfred Jr., threatens Oakland

By Lynda Carson - July 13, 2021

Oakland - The Oakland A’s have played baseball in Oakland at the Coliseum since 1968. However, John Fisher, the owner of the A’s, has proposed a $12 billion scheme for a new ballpark at Howard Terminal, and mixed use development that will disrupt the activities of the union workers, and shipping activities at the Howard Terminal if the proposed development moves forward.

Now comes the Commissioner of Baseball, Robert D. Manfred Jr, who threatened Oakland today, when he reportedly stated that, “the City Council’s vote next week on the Howard Terminal ballpark project “will determine the fate of baseball in Oakland” and that to consider relocation a bluff would be “a mistake.”

Additionally, reportedly Robert D. Manfred Jr., also stated, that a negative vote on July 20 by the council could spell the end of baseball in Oakland. “John Fisher (A’s owner) has done everything I’ve asked him to do in terms of keeping the A’s in Oakland and more than I asked him to do in terms of financial commitment. So we’re going to know one way or another what’s going to happen in Oakland in the next couple of months. If you can’t get a ballpark, the relocation process, whether it’s Las Vegas or a broader array of cities that are considered, will take on more pace,” said Manfred, according to the Mercury News.

The taxpayers of Oakland have spent a fortune to accommodate John Fisher and the Oakland A’s through the years with the Coliseum, and other handouts to the baseball team, and multi-billionaire John Fisher.

The unseemly threats by the Commissioner of Baseball, Robert D, Manfred, to put pressure on Oakland for a new proposed ballpark while the A’s already have a ballpark at the Coliseum, is despicable.

John Fisher Wants To Waive Affordable Housing Requirement:

The proposed ballpark scheme for Howard Terminal plans to include 3,000 units of luxury housing, because they are pushing for a waiver to get around Oakland’s affordable housing requirement. Meanwhile, there are over 4 thousand unhoused persons living on the streets of Oakland and in encampments.

That’s right. The A’s and multi-billionaire John Fisher want to waive a requirement that 15 percent of the housing built at the proposed ballpark at the Howard Terminal be affordable housing, which will make the homeless problem worse in Oakland.

This is occurring during a major drought that threatens us, and it appears that there is not enough water to go around as it is in California presently. It also appears that it may be best to put a freeze on new residential building projects until there is certainty that there will be enough water available to support the new proposed projects.

Making matters worse, the taxpayers of Oakland will be getting reamed when they get stuck paying off around $800 million to a billion dollars in financing for the infrastructure improvements needed to support the privately owned proposed ballpark scheme, of multi-billionaire John Fisher.

Reportedly, multi-billionaire John J. Fisher who reportedly is worth $3.6 billion, resides in a posh home in San Francisco valued at more than $14.7 million. Meanwhile, he is trying to squeeze Oakland into subsidizing up to $800 million to a billion dollars in infrastructure financing for his scheme to have a new waterfront ballpark. A waterfront ballpark scheme that many Oaklanders are in opposition to. Residents who were not allowed to vote for, or against the proposed scheme that will cost them around a billion dollars.


Robert D. Manfred Jr., the Commissioner of Baseball who rakes in around $11 million a year, reportedly has a net worth of $20 million. He is an attorney and graduate of Harvard Law School. Manfred also was a supporter of (Rep) John McCain, and owns a home in Tarrytown, New York. He also has a condominium in Florida, including a posh $5.6 million condominium in New York City.

As Commissioner of Baseball, Robert D. Manfred Jr., and multi-billionaire John Fisher meddle in Oakland’s politics, reportedly there are dark days ahead for Oakland, and the city can expect to make drastic service cuts and layoffs in its plan for the summer of 2021. Oakland’s 2020-2021 budget process began with a projected deficit of $96.5 million, which was later revised to $104.7 million across all funds, reportedly.

Public Debt Regarding The Coliseum:

According to Wikipedia, “A 1996 expansion of the stadium was funded by a controversial issuance—critics said that "(Oakland) Raiders' late owner, Al Davis, fleeced local officials at the expense of taxpayers"—of some $220 million of public debt by both Alameda County and the City of Oakland, resulting in substantial debt service payments for both governments. As of spring of 2018, the City of Oakland still owed $135 million for the expansion.

In December 2019, Alameda County officials announced the sale of the county's interest in the stadium to the Oakland A's baseball club, saying the $85 million deal would allow the county to pay off its share of the debt. In a joint statement, Supervisor Scott Haggerty and Supervisor Nate Miley noted that the two Supervisors "have led the negotiations and played instrumental roles in moving the sale of the county's share forward in the hope that, once finalized, the $85 million valuation will relieve the county of debt which has weighed on taxpayers for decades."

The Oakland City Council is expected to vote on the multi-billionaire John Fisher’s proposed ballpark scheme for Howard Terminal on July 20, 2021.

A protest is expected to occur on July 20, 2021, in an effort to stop the privatization of Howard Terminal, and more about the protest activities may be found by clicking here.

-Lynda Carson may be reached at newzland2 [at] gmail.com

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