In an effort to secure a temporary home for the Oakland Athletics before their Las Vegas stadium is ready, the City of Oakland is reportedly offering the team a lease extension. According to ESPN, the lease extension would cover the time between the expiration of the A's current lease and the anticipated opening of their new stadium in Las Vegas, which is expected in 2028.

The document obtained by ESPN and KGO-TV reveals that the City of Oakland has made significant amendments to the original draft of the lease extension, dropping many of their initial demands. Instead, the city is now presenting three options to Major League Baseball (MLB): facilitate the sale of the A's to a local ownership group, allow the team to retain their name, colors, and mascot in Oakland while adopting a new identity in Vegas, or grant Oakland a one-year exclusive right to solicit ownership of a future expansion team.

However, two specific details from the original offer have remained unchanged. Firstly, the lease extension would have a term of five years with an option for the A's to opt out after three years. Secondly, the team would be required to pay a $97 million extension fee, which would be nonrefundable even if they choose to terminate the lease after three years.

The significance of the $97 million figure lies in the fact that it represents the amount the City of Oakland claims the A's owner, John Fisher, walked away from in the multibillion-dollar Howard Terminal project. These funds, according to Oakland's chief of staff, Leigh Hanson, would help address the city's $170 million general fund deficit, particularly in covering public-safety expenses.

Currently paying a mere $1.5 million in rent to the City of Oakland, the A's have proposed a different financial arrangement. ESPN reports that the team offered a two-year contract with payments of $7 million and $10 million to the city.

With their lease set to expire at the end of the 2024 season, the Oakland Athletics have been exploring various options to find a temporary home. While talks with other locations like Sacramento and Salt Lake City, Utah have taken place, it is worth noting that those options would require the team to play in minor league stadiums. Choosing to stay in Oakland would offer the advantage of continuing to play in a MLB caliber stadium without uprooting the entire organization for a temporary two-year stay in another city before making the move to Vegas.

The A's and the City of Oakland are scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss the lease extension offer, as both sides work towards finding a suitable solution for the team's transitional period.