Earlier today it was reported that the Oakland Athletics, frustrated that they haven’t yet been able to convince the city of Oakland to agree to their proposal for a new stadium, have now resorted to blackmail through the time-old tradition of threatening to move the team. Possible new homes have included Las Vegas, Montreal, Portland, Charlotte, and Vancouver. The news of the Athletics exploring a possible move now has the local sports media in a tizzy and every baseball fan in the Lower Mainland asking themselves, “is it possible? Could it happen? Will the Oakland Athletics move to Vancouver?”

No.

Even if the Athletics move, Vancouver is in no shape to receive them. Without even judging the level of interest in baseball this market has (which is a fair debate for either side) and the interest Major League Baseball would have in moving the team here over other cities (like, say, Montreal), we have the same problem as Oakland: no proper baseball venue.

BC Place, which was originally built with the intention of potentially attracting a Major League baseball team, now has an oversized jumbotron hanging from its roof, ready to get smacked by approximately twenty-three flyballs each game. There’s a reason the Mariners and Blue Jays haven’t played a preseason game up here yet.

I don’t mean to be a downer, but without a ready-to-go option to house the Athletics (or any other Major League team), I simply don’t see how a team in the Athletics’ situation would choose to come up here right now. I can’t imagine the city having the appetite to spend big bucks on a new stadium just to bring in a team no one is sure will succeed in this market. Don’t get me wrong. I’d love to see Major League Baseball in Vancouver, but it just seems incredibly implausible to me.

Besides, this is likely just an empty threat by the team to try to force Oakland’s hand. The A’s are a storied team in Oakland, having played there since 1968, and their latest proposal for a new stadium puts most of the cost on the team’s shoulders. With the Raiders and Warriors leaving Oakland over the past couple years, the Athletics remain the city’s only team left, so it is likely that both sides will eventually come to a compromise to keep the team where they are.

As for Vancouver baseball fans, we still have the Canadians (when they come back from their COVID-19 exile, that is). And as for Major League games, someday we’ll be able to hop the border again and take over T-Mobile Park for the annual Mariners/Jays series. Seattle fans love it when we show up!