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The Largest Selection of Wholesale Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Products in Oakland

When it comes to trying new, exciting cuisine, few foods hit the spot like a deliciously fresh Mediterranean meal. However, we know that it can be very difficult to find authentic Mediterranean grocery wholesalers in Oakland, CA. Having lived in metro Atlanta for years, we realized that our customers needed an easy way to find quality wholesale Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food in bulk. That is why we created Nazareth Grocery Mediterranean Market - to give everyone a chance to enjoy tasty, healthy food, desserts, and authentic Mediterranean gifts at wholesale prices.

Founded in 2009, Nazareth Grocery has become one of Oakland's leading international wholesale grocery stores. We are very proud to serve our customers and do everything in our power to give them the largest selection of high-quality wholesale goods available.

If you're looking for the freshest, most delicious Middle Eastern wholesale products and ingredients, you will find them here at the best prices in the state. We encourage you to swing by our store in Marietta to see our selection for yourself. We think that you will be impressed!

The Nazareth Difference

At Nazareth Grocery Mediterranean Market, our mission is simple: bring you and your family the largest selection of wholesale Mediterranean products in Oakland. When coupled with our helpful, friendly staff and authentic Middle Eastern atmosphere, it's easy to see why we are the top Middle Eastern grocery wholesaler in Oakland, CA. We're proud to carry just about every kind of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern product that you can think of, from prepared meals and hookahs to fine seasonings and sweets. We're here for our customers and want each one of them to have a unique, one-of-a-kind experience when they shop with us.

Our loyal customers love our selection of the following wholesale foods and gifts:

  • Fresh Breads
  • OlivesOlives
  • HummusHummus
  • CheesesCheeses
  • SaucesSauces
  • Savory-FoodsSavory Foods
  • DessertsDesserts
  • DrinksDrinks
  • HookahsHookahs
  • TobaccoTobacco
  • SaucesGifts
  • Much More!Much More!

Our Service Areas

Most Popular Wholesale Mediterranean Foods

There is so much more to Mediterranean food than pizza and pasta. The perfect climate combined with delicious foods and amazing wine makes the Mediterranean incredibly irresistible. That's why our customers absolutely love to buy this kind of cuisine in bulk. Every country in this region has its own set of specialties and delicacies, each with its own flavors and styles of preparation.

Mediterranean countries include:

  • France
  • Greece
  • Italy
  • Turkey
  • Syria
  • Egypt
  • Israel
  • Libya
  • Morocco
  • Tunisia
  • Spain
Mediterranean Grocery Oakland, CA

So, when it comes to the most popular wholesale Mediterranean products in Oakland,
what are we talking about?

 Mediterranean Supermarkets Oakland, CA

Feta Cheese

Feta cheese is a classic Mediterranean dairy product that is often enjoyed on its own, in Greek salads, on bread, or mixed with zucchini. Depending on where the feta is sourced and produced, the cheese can be made from cow, sheep, or goat milk, or even a combination of the three. Regardless of the animal it comes from, this delicious cheese is a crowd favorite.

 Mediterranean Grocery Store Oakland, CA

Baba Ganoush

This Levantine dish is one of the most well-known Mediterranean dishes to eat in the United States. It typically comes in the form of a dip, served with pita or another kind of dipping bread. Commonly served before dinner as an appetizer of sorts, it usually features tahini, eggplant, garlic, spices, and sometimes yogurt. This tasty cuisine works great as a spread on a sandwich, or you can even eat it with a spoon, all on its own.

 Middle Eastern Grocery Oakland, CA

Baklava

If you have never tried authentic baklava before, get ready to have your mind blown. This dessert is a traditional Mediterranean food that will have your taste buds craving more and more. Once you open a box of baklava from our Mediterranean grocery wholesaler in Oakland, CA, you won't want to stop eating! Baklava is made with layers of thin filo dough, which is layered together, filled with chopped nuts (think pistachios), and sealed with honey or syrup. Baklava is so good that its origins are debated, leaving many wondering which country invented the dessert. Everyone from the Turks to the Greeks and even Middle Easterners hold unique takes on baklava. Try each one to discover your favorite!

Most Popular Wholesale Middle Eastern Foods

Fresh, healthy, aromatic, rich: it's no wonder that the popularity of Middle Eastern cuisine and products has skyrocketed in the United States. This genre of cuisine features a large variety of foods, from Halvah to Labneh. If there were one common theme throughout all Middle Eastern food, it would be the bright, vibrant herbs and spices that are used. These flavorings help create rich, complex flavors that foodies fawn over. Typically, Middle Eastern food is piled high for all to eat, with enough food for an entire republic to put down.

 Mediterranean Food Stores Oakland, CA

Tabbouleh

This refreshing, healthy dish is chock-full of greens, herbs, tomatoes, and bulgur (or cracked wheat), creating a memorable, bold flavor. This dish may be eaten on its own or paired with a shawarma sandwich or helping of falafel. It's best to buy your ingredients in bulk to make this dish because it tastes best freshly made with family around to enjoy. Just be sure to bring a toothpick to the tabbouleh party - you're almost certain to have some leafy greens stuck in your teeth after eating.

 Middle Eastern Market Oakland, CA

Shawarma

We mentioned shawarma above, and for good reason - this dish is enjoyed by men and women around the world, and of course, right here in the U.S. Except for falafel, this might be the most popular Middle Eastern food item in history. Shawarma is kind of like a Greek gyro, with slow-roasted meat stuffed in laffa with veggies and sauce. The blend of spices and the smoky meat mix together to create a tangy, meaty flavor that you will want to keep eating for hours. For western-style shawarma, try using beef or chicken. For a more traditional meal, try using lamb from our Middle Eastern grocery distributor in Oakland, CA.

 Greek Grocery Store Oakland, CA

Hummus

Traditionally used as a dip meant for fresh pita, hummus is a combo of chickpeas, garlic, and tahini, blended together until silky, smooth, and creamy. You can find hummus in just about any appetizer section of a Middle Eastern restaurant menu. That's because it's considered a staple of Middle Eastern food that can be enjoyed by itself, as a spread, or with fresh-baked pita bread. Hummus is also very healthy, making it a no-brainer purchase from our grocery store.

Benefits of Eating a Mediterranean Diet

If there's one diet that is most well-known for its health benefits, it has got to be the Mediterranean diet. In 2019, U.S. News & World Report listed the Mediterranean diet as No. 1 on its best over diet list. This incredible diet has been cited to help with weight loss, brain health, heart health, diabetes prevention, and cancer prevention.

Whether you already love Mediterranean food or you're looking to make some positive changes in your life, this "diet" is for you. Eating cuisine like Greek food, Persian food, Turkish food, and Italian food is healthy and tastes great. Even better than that? At Nazareth Wholesale Grocery, we have many staples of the Mediterranean diet for sale in bulk so that you can stock up on your favorites at the best prices around.

So, what exactly is the Mediterranean diet?

It is a way of eating that incorporates traditional Greek, Italian, and other Mediterranean cultures' foods. These foods are often plant-based and make up the foundation of the diet, along with olive oil. Fish, seafood, dairy, and poultry are also included in moderation. Red meat and sweets are only eaten in moderation, not in abundance. Mediterranean food includes many forms of nuts, fruits, vegetables, fish, seeds, and more. Of course, you can find at them all at our wholesale Mediterranean grocery store!

Here are just a few of the many benefits of eating a healthy Mediterranean diet:

Reduced Risk of Heart Disease

Reduced Risk
of Heart Disease

Many studies have been conducted on this diet, many of which report that Mediterranean food is excellent for your heart. Some of the most promising evidence comes from a randomized clinical trial published in 2013. For about five years, researchers followed 7,000 men and women around the country of Spain. These people had type 2 diabetes or were at a high risk for cardiovascular disease. Participants in the study who ate an unrestricted Mediterranean diet with nuts and extra-virgin olive oil were shown to have a 30% lower risk of heart events.

Reduced Risk of Stroke for Women

Reduced Risk
of Stroke for Women

In addition to the heart-healthy benefits of a Mediterranean diet, studies have shown that eating healthy Mediterranean and Middle Eastern foods can reduce the chances of stroke in women. The study was conducted in the U.K., which included women between the ages of 40 and 77. Women who stuck to the Mediterranean diet showed a lower risk of having a stroke - especially women who were at high risk of having one.

Benefits of Eating a Mediterranean Diet

First and foremost, purchase your Mediterranean and Middle Eastern wholesale foods from Nazareth Grocery - we're always updating our inventory! Getting started on this healthy, delicious diet is easy.

Try these tips:

Try these tips

1.

Instead of unhealthy sweets like candy and ice cream, try eating fresh fruit instead. It's refreshing, tasty, and often packed with great vitamins and nutrients.

2.

Try eating fish twice a week, in lieu of red meat. Fish is much healthier and doesn't have the unfortunate side effects of red meat, like inflammation.

3.

Try planning out your meals using beans, whole grains, and veggies. Don't start with meats and sweets.

4.

They're tasty, but try to avoid processed foods completely.

5.

Instead of using butter to flavor your food, use extra virgin olive oil instead. Olive oil contains healthy fats and tastes great too.

6.

Try to get more exercise and get out of the house. The Mediterranean lifestyle is an active one, best enjoyed in the beautiful sunshine when possible.

Why Buy Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Products Wholesale?

Buying wholesale and retail are quite different. When you buy products from a wholesaler, you're essentially buying from the middleman between a retail establishment and the manufacturer. Wholesale purchases are almost always made in bulk. Because of that, buyers pay a discounted price. That's great for normal buyers and great for business owners, who can sell those products to profit. This higher price is called the retail price, and it is what traditional customers pay when they enter a retail store.

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 Middle Eastern Store Oakland, CA

Latest News in Oakland, CA

Manfred 'disappointed' if A's Vegas stadium not open by 2028

ReactionsLike9Laugh1LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- As uncertainty still hovers around the move of the Oakland A's to Las Vegas, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is confident the plan will come together in time, both in the short and longer term."I would be disappointed if we didn't open that stadium, Opening Day, 2028," Manfred said Thursday from the owners meetings. "In terms of an interi...

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- As uncertainty still hovers around the move of the Oakland A's to Las Vegas, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is confident the plan will come together in time, both in the short and longer term.

"I would be disappointed if we didn't open that stadium, Opening Day, 2028," Manfred said Thursday from the owners meetings. "In terms of an interim home [from 2025 to 2028] I'm comfortable with where they are in the process.

"It's not like we don't know where they'll be in 2024. They're doing a good job of exploring them and find the best possible opportunity."

The A's lease at the Oakland Coliseum expires after this season so the team and league have been exploring places to play until their stadium in Las Vegas is complete. Manfred wouldn't comment on potential cities, though Sacramento, Salt Lake City and staying in Oakland are all possible.

"They're looking at all their revenue streams and figuring out where they can max out those streams," Manfred said, adding that it will be 'in the west.'

Owner John Fisher declined an opportunity for an interview Thursday.

The commissioner waved off any controversy surrounding comments Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman made on a podcast this week when she intimated the A's should stay in Oakland. Not long after making those comments, Goodman softened her stance in a statement, saying she would 'welcome' the A's.

"The governor, the Clark County officials, have all been supportive of the A's moving to Las Vegas," Manfred said. "She said one thing then said another so it kind of canceled each other out in my mind."

Manfred also addressed the new stadium plan for the Rays in St. Petersburg, saying it's working its way through the approval process.

"I spoke with [owner] Stu Sternberg [at the meetings]," Manfred said. "He's positive about where the substance is. But we're at the point now where it needs to go. It takes a long time to get in the ground and get a stadium built. The sooner the better."

In other stadium news, Manfred is pleased the Chicago White Sox might be finding a new home in the city's south loop, a day after the team released renderings of a new riverfront park. Owner Jerry Reinsdorf met with the mayor of Nashville during the winter meetings, sparking speculation of a move after the team's current lease expires after the 2029 season.

"The White Sox are important to the city of Chicago," Manfred said. "I'm excited about the possibility of a new facility there. I think the location would be great for them. I'd love to see Jerry at this point in his career get something done."

While teams look to new stadiums, the Orioles are looking at a new owner after the Angelos family recently agreed to sell the team to billionaire investor David Rubenstein. The approval process is just beginning -- but could move quickly.

"Once it's public that there is going to be a sale, it leaves everyone in an awkward spot," Manfred said. "I want to see that done as soon as possible."

That could mean a vote before the next owners meetings or even before Opening Day, according to sources familiar with the situation. It takes 75% approval by existing owners for a sale to go through.

Other items on the week's agenda at the Four Seasons included the owners sitting for a presentation by agent Casey Wasserman in relation to MLB players participating in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. If it was up to Manfred, MLB players would have consistent participation now that the sport has returned to the Olympics.

"I think the pros are the potential for an association between two great brands," Manfred stated. "I love that combination of nationalism and sport.

"The con is the logistics. If you look at the calendar, its complicated by the proximity to the All-Star Game."

The bigger question, according to some owners, is what happens after 2028. The Olympic Games are being held in Australia in 2032, doubling down on the logistical issues that come with pausing the major league season. It might lead to a 'one-and-done' event for major league players, something Wasserman helped push.

"I have always been of the view, we had multiple-year commitment," Manfred said. "Casey softened me a little bit."

The league is monitoring the Diamond Sports bankruptcy situation. Depending on its outcome, Manfred is hopeful to have at least a bundle of 14 teams to attract a streaming service to distribute in-market games as soon as 2025. Many teams are scrambling to fill revenue streams lost.

"This is a difficult time," Manfred said. "Not only have we been unfamiliar with revenue declines -- local media has been a fixed number for them. We have made clear we are exploring every opportunity to get them revenue in the short term. We're trying to assure them with a vision as to what it's going to look like longer term so we can rebuild that source of revenue."

Manfred views the alliance between ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery, which will produce a streaming service for sports fans, a win for MLB.

"I see that development as a positive," Manfred said. "It's another place that's going to need to buy rights to make the platform go and be compelling. I think it's good to have another buyer. It's particularly good for us. It's our three biggest partners."

With all that's on the table, the league won't be expanding anytime in the near future but it's on Manfred's mind. Stadium deals for existing teams will need finalizing along with the long term for local broadcasting.

"We're going to have to get our footing on local media a little bit better," Manfred said. "In times of uncertainty, it's hard to talk about additional change. Having said that, I have five years left [on his contract]. Those teams won't be playing by the time I'm done but I would like the process along and [cities] selected."

What to know ahead of Cards Spring Training

This story was excerpted from John Denton's Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.During a scene late in the movie “Moneyball,” when former innovative A’s GM Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt) is discussing a prosp...

This story was excerpted from John Denton's Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

During a scene late in the movie “Moneyball,” when former innovative A’s GM Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt) is discussing a prospective job interview with the Red Sox with assistant GM/data analyst Paul DePodesta (played by Jonah Hill), Beane asks wistfully, “How can you not be romantic about baseball?”

How about this for romance for fans who love the Cardinals? Pitchers and catchers will conduct their first official drills at the club’s complex in Jupiter Fla., on Wednesday … Valentine’s Day! That must be sweet music for fans who love the game and can’t wait for it to return following a long, cold offseason.

With those thoughts in mind, here is a primer for the Cardinals’ upcoming Spring Training, including some “Frequently Asked Questions” about workout availabilities for fans, game schedules and new players to watch:

When is the first workout for pitchers and catchers? They report to the team’s headquarters in Jupiter, Fla., on Feb. 13 and their first official workout is on Feb. 14. For a club with 10 new pitchers, it will be the first chance for many of them to get to know one another and start building chemistry.

What is the date of the first full-squad workout? While many of the club’s players have been in Jupiter for informal drills for weeks, the first official full-squad workout isn’t until Feb. 19. That gives the team five days of workouts before the first Spring Training games on Feb. 24.

Where is the team’s facility? The Cardinals are beginning their 26th season at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. They share the facility with the Marlins. Plans to renovate the stadium and the Cards’ and Marlins’ clubhouses beyond the stadium fences have been pushed back by a year because of permit delays. Roger Dean Stadium is located at 4751 Main Street, Jupiter, FL 33458. For more stadium information, check out rogerdeanstadium.com.

Can fans attend workouts? Fans will have access to watch Cardinals players work out and potentially get autographs at the fields behind Roger Dean Stadium beginning on Wednesday at 9 a.m. ET. Admittance is free, and the gates will remain open as long as the workouts are ongoing. Fan parking is in the grassy areas beyond the outfield fences, and it is also complimentary.

Who are some new faces fans should know? Most of the offseason work to remake the roster was done to the pitching staff where there are 10 new faces. Sonny Gray, the American League runner-up in Cy Young voting last season, was the team’s biggest offseason addition. Starter Kyle Gibson and relievers Andrew Kittredge and Keynan Middleton are additions who figure to be difference-makers.

Longtime Cardinals fans will recognize some of the other additions. Starting pitcher Lance Lynn, lefty slugger Matt Carpenter and bench coach Daniel Descalso -- all members of the 2011 Cards squad that won the World Series title -- are back.

Who are some of the top prospects invited to Major League camp? Jordan Walker was not only the talk of the 2023 Spring Training camp, but he played his way onto the Opening Day roster with some spectacular hitting. This year, Masyn Winn, Victor Scott II, Thomas Saggese and Tekoah Roby are all hoping to repeat the feat and make the MLB club. Winn, who had a 37-game audition last season, will be the everyday shortstop if he proves he can handle big league pitching. Scott stole 94 bases and won a Gold Glove in the Minor Leagues last season, and he is definitely a player to watch.

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When is the team’s first Grapefruit League game? The Cardinals open Grapefruit League play on Feb. 24 with a couple of split-squad games. They host the Marlins in Jupiter and will also send a team to Port St. Lucie, Fla., to face the Mets.

What are a few other notable spring games? The Cardinals host the Red Sox and two-time Gold Glove winner Tyler O’Neill on Feb. 27. O’Neill opened the 2023 season as the Cards' center fielder, but he struggled through a second straight injury-marred season and was traded to Boston in December. If O’Neill doesn’t make the trip, the Cards play the Red Sox again on March 12 -- this time in Fort Myers. The Cardinals will face the Twins on March 13, also in Fort Myers.

What is Spring Breakout and when are the games? MLB is introducing the inaugural Spring Breakout in March. The four-day event from March 14-17 will be used to showcase each team’s top prospects and Minor League talent. Those squads will face top up-and-coming talent from other teams.

The Cardinals’ top prospects will host the Marlins’ top young talent on March 15 before the big league clubs square off later that night. On March 17, the Cards’ prospects will host the Astros’ top prospects prior to the MLB Grapefruit League game.

Will the Cardinals Spring Training games be televised? Even though the television schedule has yet to be announced, a Bally Sports Midwest spokesman said earlier this week that the network intends to broadcast 15 Spring Training games. The Cardinals’ Grapefruit League opener against the Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium will be televised by Bally Sports on Feb. 24.

When is the club’s last game in Florida? This is something of a trick question because of the club’s odd scheduling this year near the end of Spring Training. The Cardinals will play their final game in Florida on March 24 in West Palm Beach against the Astros. However, because they are opening the regular season on the West Coast, the Cards will make a pit stop in Mesa, Ariz., to face the rival Cubs in Cactus League play on March 25-26. It is believed to be the first Cactus League games played in franchise history, per Cards PR. The Redbirds open the regular season in Los Angeles against Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers on March 28.

What are the details for Opening Day? Following a difficult seven-game West Coast trip against the Dodgers and Padres, the retooled Cards will debut at Busch Stadium on April 4. They will take on 2023 National League Manager of the Year Skip Schumaker and the Marlins on April 4 at 3:15 p.m. CT. Schumaker, of course, was a member of the Cards’ 2006 and ‘11 World Series title teams, and he served as bench coach in ‘22. Thirteen of the Cardinals' first 16 games are against teams (Dodgers, Marlins, Phillies and D-backs) that made the playoffs in 2023.

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John Denton covers the Cardinals for MLB.com.

Kawakami: The A’s wobbly Las Vegas future and the signs of another John Fisher failure

The A’s would be just about ready to open up a brand-new stadium near Laney College in Oakland these days if even a few of the things they planned and promised back in 2017 had come true. But none did.This might sound familiar: Even after the A’s had to admit defeat in the Laney debacle, they would still likely be in the concluding stages of constructing a new stadium on the Howard Terminal site right at this moment if everything owner John Fisher and his lieutenants had trumpeted and declared had actually happened. Then t...

The A’s would be just about ready to open up a brand-new stadium near Laney College in Oakland these days if even a few of the things they planned and promised back in 2017 had come true. But none did.

This might sound familiar: Even after the A’s had to admit defeat in the Laney debacle, they would still likely be in the concluding stages of constructing a new stadium on the Howard Terminal site right at this moment if everything owner John Fisher and his lieutenants had trumpeted and declared had actually happened. Then they delayed that one and delayed again, negotiated with the City of Oakland, and still kept promising.

But … nope.

All Fisher did in all that time (and for three or four other failed stadium efforts before that, dating back decades), really, was waste time. Very precious time. His own time, his staff’s time, the politicians’ time and, most importantly, the A’s fans’ time and emotions. Wasted. Just absolutely squandered. He literally could’ve had a stadium by now, a few times over, if he just was willing to commit more of his vast resources than he wanted to.

You can blame whoever you want, but the common denominator in this is John Fisher. And failure.

And now to the new situation in Las Vegas, which is beginning to feel and sound like all of the old Fisher situations in all the other delayed, frustrating and eventually doomed stadium efforts.

That’s what I took away from the very interesting comments from Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman on a Front Office Sports podcast casting some amount of doubt on the A’s planned move to the site of the soon-to-be-imploded Tropicana Las Vegas hotel, which, it’s important to note, is located in unincorporated Clark County and not in Goodman’s jurisdiction. Plus, Goodman mildly walked back her comments a little bit later.

Again, Goodman was not speaking with any real authority on this matter. But just take her skepticism — she literally said the A’s should figure out how to build in Oakland — as a representation of the Las Vegas demographic that never seemed too excited about the A’s relocating to Nevada.

Just like with every other demographic, business or fan: The more you get to know Fisher’s operation, the less faith you have in anything good happening.

To me, the most telling point wasn’t Goodman’s comments. It was that her clear ambivalence about the A’s in Las Vegas was met with nearly total silence among powerbrokers in that region. Ambivalence on top of ambivalence. Where was the rallying cry from all those businesses and fans supposedly lining up to welcome the A’s? Where was the energy? Why didn’t anybody with clout step up to bellow that the mayor was wrong and the A’s will take this town by storm in 2028, which is the new theoretical finishing date?

If there was a huge Vegas vote of confidence for Fisher this week, I sure didn’t see it.

GO DEEPER

Rosenthal: Why I remain skeptical about the A's grandiose Vegas plans

And I’m wondering if Fisher himself is feeling it, too. Because, if he is ever honest with himself, he might come to the same conclusions I just did, sitting here more than six years after his Laney College plans blew up and almost a year after he pulled out of the Howard Terminal talks to concentrate solely on Las Vegas.

Starting with the big conclusion:

Fisher is practically no further along with this Las Vegas stadium than he was with the Howard Terminal project early last year.

Stop and go over that sentence again. I am not exaggerating for effect. Factoring in the mood of the local population, he’s probably a step or two behind that pace, which ought to be fairly scary for Fisher and everybody involved in the Las Vegas situation. That is, if anybody wants to be honest with themselves.

Of course, Fisher could get this stadium done if he buckles down, gets a real construction plan, lines up financing and commits to paying out several hundred million dollars of his own money. He might still do that.

But folks, that was also true at Howard Terminal, Laney College and the Coliseum. It’s always been true, especially at Howard Terminal, when the city was offering a deal that was more expansive than many insiders ever expected. He’s always refused to make that kind of commitment. He just rushes from one project to the next and then the plans blow up. He’s always found a way to fail. He’s doing it again in Las Vegas.

Yes, Fisher has MLB approval to move to Las Vegas. Unanimous, even! But he also had MLB approval to build anywhere he wanted in the Bay Area. And those sites were far more realistic than the tiny, nine-acre plot the A’s have in Las Vegas.

This is why the MLB relocation vote in November was not the final step. It wasn’t even the first step of the final stage of it. There’s just too much else left to figure out. There’s too much up in the air.

Yes, Fisher will receive $380 million from the state of Nevada. But that’s only if the A’s build on the Tropicana site. Which is very likely too small to fit a retractable roof — there goes that dramatic backdrop of the Vegas night — and generally seems too small for indoor Major League Baseball.

There would be no grandeur inside that theoretical stadium. There will be no sunshine. It’d feel small and cramped. And it’d be just another large, air-conditioned attraction competing for attention with lounge acts, mob museums, animal habitats and, oh yeah, every kind of casino imaginable.

At Howard Terminal, the stadium would’ve been next to the Bay, and it would’ve been outdoors. It would’ve had, eventually, a mixed-use neighborhood surrounding the stadium. It would’ve been far, far better than anything that can be squeezed onto the Tropicana site. It’s not mean to say that, and the mayor of Las Vegas just did.

Oakland A’s fans offer some advice to Las Vegas during a June game at the Coliseum. (Jane Tyska / Digital First Media / East Bay Times via Getty Images)

Even if the A’s get the stadium underway in Las Vegas, the 2028 estimated opening date is very optimistic given all the delays so far —2029 or 2030 seem far more realistic.

So where are the A’s playing after this season, when their Coliseum lease runs out? Gee, Fisher has no announced plans. He doesn’t know, other than it seems likely that the A’s will become an itinerant team, maybe playing some in Sacramento, some in Salt Lake City and some in a couple of minor-league parks in Nevada.

Yeah, looking and acting like a barnstorming 4A team might not be the perfect way to market this franchise to a new city.

Of course, to help the marketing, the A’s lost a total of 214 games the last two seasons. And they’re about to get their TV payment drastically reduced because they’ll likely play most of their games outside of NBC Sports Bay Area’s broadcast region. So you know Fisher will keep the payroll as low as possible.

I can’t imagine how the A’s will be any better than they’ve been the last two seasons, and they might be worse. Until 2029 or 2030.

Buy your Las Vegas season tickets now!

When I’ve expressed my extreme cynicism about Fisher to high-ranking people in baseball throughout Fisher’s stadium odyssey, they’ve usually nodded in agreement but tried to emphasize the positive. This time, they’ve said, he should get it right. This time, he has to.

They’ve said so again about the Las Vegas situation, and I get it. Fisher has no other options. MLB has shamefully spurned Oakland and opened the Las Vegas market to him. There’s no way out. If Fisher’s ever going to get it done, it has to be now. It’d be too embarrassing not to. Any logical owner would get this done.

And I keep saying: I’ve watched Fisher do illogical things every step of the way. I’ve seen him waste so much time — the A’s are probably further away from a stadium now than they were a year ago, when they were further away than they were a year before that and further away 10 years before that. We know that the other MLB owners don’t want to force Fisher to sell the team. But if anything’s going to get them thinking about it, or at least to suggest quite strongly to Fisher that it’s well past time to pass this team to someone else, it’ll be if he blows this Las Vegas situation.

Which might not be inevitable, but it sure would be the betting choice right now.

(Photo of the potential future site of a Las Vegas ballpark for the A’s, currently mostly dirt: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

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As the A’s relocation plans remain hazy, even Rob Manfred presses for clarity

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Rob Manfred, the commissioner of Major League Baseball whose job it is to represent the best interests of team owners he must also carefully wrangle, does not often apply pressure to those owners in public view. He defends them and their causes, relentlessly and nearly unconditionally. So when he told reporters at the MLB owners quarterly meetings Thursday that he would be “very concerned” and “disappointed” if ...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Rob Manfred, the commissioner of Major League Baseball whose job it is to represent the best interests of team owners he must also carefully wrangle, does not often apply pressure to those owners in public view. He defends them and their causes, relentlessly and nearly unconditionally. So when he told reporters at the MLB owners quarterly meetings Thursday that he would be “very concerned” and “disappointed” if the Oakland Athletics were not opening their new Las Vegas stadium by Opening Day 2028, it might as well have been an ultimatum.

Seconds after he said it, Manfred seemed to realize he had been sterner than usual toward the Athletics ownership group he has defended through its oft-ridiculed, disorganized years-long relocation process. He broke into a quick smile and clarified.

“Disappointed just in the sense that I think it’s best for the A’s,” he said. “And best for the game.”

What is best for the A’s, and by extension the game, has been a subject of public debate throughout the ownership tenure of John Fisher and his years-long search for a new stadium. But it is clear that what is happening now, as the Athletics enter their last guaranteed season at Oakland Coliseum with no plan for where they might play in 2025 and no firm plans for a stadium in Las Vegas, is not good for the Athletics or the game.

For example, as Fisher and team president Dave Kaval joined other owners this week, news broke that a Nevada teachers’ union sued the state and its governor to stop a bill that provides the Athletics with the $380 million in public funding they need to help build a stadium. Not long after that, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman — who, as the A’s and MLB want made clear, does not have jurisdiction over the Clark County-governed Strip where they want the stadium — told a Front Office Sports podcast she thinks the A’s “have got to figure out a way to stay in Oakland,” expressed concerns that the team does not have the funding it needs for a stadium in her city, and wondered why it picked a small site with lots of congestion rather than one she and other locals suggested.

Shortly after that, Goodman issued a statement clarifying that she is, in fact, “excited about the prospect of Major League Baseball in Las Vegas, and it very well may be that the Las Vegas A’s will become a reality that we will welcome to our city.”

Fisher declined to comment. But minutes after the meetings opened Wednesday, Kaval found himself chatting with a few owners in a hotel lobby, answering questions about how things were going with cheerful updates about the state of a move. He told them about the lawsuit but explained that the Athletics are optimistic it would not slow them down. He joked about the mayor’s comments but explained that she has no jurisdiction. He admitted they do not know where they are going to play their home games after this year but that they had a call in a few hours with television rights holders that would probably help figure that out. No one, particularly the gregarious Kaval, seemed that worried about any of it at all.

Perhaps they know best. Perhaps they should be a little more concerned. None of the owners who approved the move, nor those making it, have ever owned a team entering its last Opening Day in one city not knowing where it will play its next. MLB has never navigated a year quite like this either, one in which their template for next year’s schedule includes sites that remain “TBD,” though league officials say it’s no big deal.

“It’ll be somewhere in the West,” Manfred said Thursday, before refusing to say which cities were still in contention. Multiple people familiar with the A’s thinking said Sacramento and Salt Lake City are among the contenders, and Manfred said Fisher’s group is trying to determine where the revenue streams will be largest.

And none of those owners knows how the lawsuit to block the stadium funding will turn out, though an earlier lawsuit trying to block the funds has already failed. Fisher, who has consistently said he can’t afford to put a winning team on the field in Oakland, is supposed to put $1 billion of his own into the stadium project. The site on which he plans to build that stadium, the one Manfred hopes is ready to go roughly 50 months from now, currently has a hotel on it. No team has relocated since the Nationals moved to Washington in 2005. And no team in recent memory has cut the pursuit of a new stadium quite this close, nor received a reception quite this tepid in its new city, while fostering such fury in the home they are leaving behind.

Fisher has long insisted the city of Oakland, despite providing multiple viable sites and promises of support over the years, did not provide enough public funding or fan support to keep the A’s. Oakland’s fans and municipalities, which watched Fisher let every homegrown star his organization produced walk away amid claims he could not afford them, has long insisted he did not make a credible effort to earn their support — though, they believe, they gave it anyway.

But MLB owners knew about those red flags when they approved the move last year. And Manfred has regularly, dutifully, dismissed criticisms of Fisher as unfair and suggested the city just never provided what he needed to succeed.

So it was noteworthy Thursday when he deviated, even for a moment, from the no-worries, be-happy script. And even more noteworthy when he brought up, of his own accord, when asked about the far more functional process by which the Tampa Bay Rays are securing their new stadium in St. Petersburg.

“It kind of echoes the questions in Oakland. We’re at the point now where it needs to go,” Manfred said. “You know, it takes a long time to build a stadium.”

Oakland A’s need to figure out 2025 home ‘in the next few months,’ commissioner says

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday that the A’s need to figure out where they’re playing in 2025 no later than this summer, so that MLB can finalize a schedule for that season.While owner John Fisher plans to move the team to Las Vegas for the 2028 season, the A’s home for 2025-27 remains unknown. Their last year in Oakland is expected to be 2024.“We need to in the next few months kno...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday that the A’s need to figure out where they’re playing in 2025 no later than this summer, so that MLB can finalize a schedule for that season.

While owner John Fisher plans to move the team to Las Vegas for the 2028 season, the A’s home for 2025-27 remains unknown. Their last year in Oakland is expected to be 2024.

“We need to in the next few months know,” Manfred said after MLB’s owners meetings. “It’s hard, even scheduling — although it’s clearly going to be someplace in the West — you know, there’s a difference between some places in the West and other places in the West.”

Manfred declined to say how many or which locations remain in contention. Salt Lake City, Utah, and Sacramento, Calif., are leading candidates, people briefed on the process said.

“I’m comfortable with where they are in the process,” Manfred said. “They have options. I think they’re doing a good job of exploring them and making sure we find the best possible option.”

Where the A’s play will have an impact on the TV revenue they’re slated for, estimated to be around $70 million annually if they remain in Oakland. If they move away, that money could disappear, or be reduced.

“They’re looking at all their revenue streams and trying to figure out where they can maximize the revenue streams,” Manfred said. “There are differences between some of the options in terms of what the TV opportunity is. I don’t want to go beyond that.”

Fisher declined an interview request from reporters Thursday.

The mayor of Las Vegas, Carolyn Goodman, this week said on the podcast “Front Office Sports Today” that the A’s move to the city “doesn’t make sense.” When those comments led to something of a firestorm among fans and media, Goodman put out a statement that both seemed to walk back some of the sentiment and reinforce some of it.

“I want to be clear that I am excited about the prospect of Major League Baseball in Las Vegas, and it very well may be that the Las Vegas A’s will become a reality that we will welcome to our city,” Goodman said in the statement, adding later, “it is my belief that in their perfect world the ownership of the A’s would like to have a new ballpark on the water in Oakland and that the ownership and government there should listen to their great fans and try to make that dream come true.”

Goodman is not technically the mayor of the area the A’s are moving to, on the Las Vegas Strip.

“All I can say: the governor, the Clark County officials, have all been wildly supportive of the A’s moving to Las Vegas,” Manfred said. “I didn’t really have a reaction. I mean, frankly, I only caught up to it after she said one thing and then said another, so it kind of canceled each other out in my mind.”

Manfred didn’t indicate whether he thinks the A’s are in danger of missing their 2028 target to open a stadium in Las Vegas.

“I would be disappointed, let me say it that way, if we didn’t open that stadium Opening Day 2028,” Manfred said. “Disappointed, just in the sense I think it’s the best for the A’s and the best for the game.”

(Top photo of the Oakland Coliseum in 2020: Ben Margot, File / Associated Press)

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