Joe Lacob is a popular man in the Bay Area due to his stewardship of the Golden State Warriors. If it were up to him, that would not be the only pro sports franchise in the region in his portfolio.
In an interview with John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, Lacob said he made an offer to purchase the Oakland Athletics in 2005. Lacob said he maintains a standing offer to buy the team.
“I had the A’s done,” Lacob said. “It was just taken away from me. You know what, everyone’s confident in their own abilities, obviously. I think we would’ve had a stadium a long time ago if I had bought it. That’s just me.”
Lacob claimed he had a verbal agreement to buy the team for $180 million, but the team instead went to Lew Wolff, who was acquaintances with then-commissioner Bud Selig. Lacob also added that his interest in buying the A’s has not diminished, and he has a “standing offer” on the table if current owner John Fisher is interested in selling.
“I’ve had a standing offer to buy the A’s from John Fisher for I don’t even know how long. Over a decade,” Lacob said. “It’s up to him; it’s his business. It would have been smarter to sell to me a long time ago because we would have been partners, and he would have been able to own a part of the Warriors as well. I tried to tell him that. I would have done a ratio deal.”
Lacob ultimately bought the Warriors in 2010, and has overseen four titles and the construction of a new arena. The A’s, on the other hand, are threatening to leave Oakland without a new stadium. The team has slashed costs on the field. Their 29-57 record entering Sunday is the worst in the league.
From the Warriors’ perspective, Lacob has been a great hands-on owner and has even stirred some things up with rivals. One has to wonder what he could have done with the A’s if given the chance.
