If the Athletics leave Oakland when their lease expires following the 2024 MLB season, East Bay fans would be devastated to watch a third team leave their backyard within a five-year span.
No one knows what that means quite like Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry, who called Oakland home for a decade.
The four-time NBA champion while at an event with his Eat. Learn. The Play Foundation discussed the importance of keeping the A’s in Oakland.
“Just keeping as many professional teams in this area as possible because it matters,” Curry told ABC7’s Casey Pratt. “I think it does so much for the community, it does so much for the community to have something to look forward to and be proud of and bring out that Oakland pride.
“Even when [the Warriors] left Oakland to San Francisco, I know it was a tough move but we’re still in the area and able to reach the fanbase that supported us so much. So you hope they stay, that’s the answer, because you know how much it means to the community to have something to look forward to.”
Curry played 10 seasons in Oakland before the team relocated to a new state-of-the-art arena in 2019 on the other side of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco.
Despite the move, Curry has maintained a strong relationship with the East Bay community — particularly Oakland — through his community work over the years.
The A’s and Nevada lawmakers have been in talks about a new Las Vegas ballpark, although a deal is far from done.
In Curry’s case, the Warriors’ move has not made it difficult for fans in Oakland to still catch a game 20 miles west. But for fans of the former Oakland-turned-Las Vegas Raiders, their favorite team isn’t across a bridge.
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The A’s potential move to Sin City would make it hard for diehard fans to cheer on their favorite team from a completely different state.
And to Curry’s point, it would be detrimental to the community.