The Athletics announced Friday that team president Dave Kaval, a major architect behind the team’s departure from Oakland, is resigning so that he can “pursue new business opportunities in California,” according to a news release.
Kaval, who served in his role for eight years, will officially step down from his position at the end of the year.
“He guided our organization through a period of significant transition, and we sincerely thank him for his unwavering commitment to the team,” team owner John Fisher wrote in a statement.
The executive rose to national prominence as the A’s attempted to squeeze Oakland for a new baseball stadium at Howard Terminal. During the negotiation process for this proposal, Kaval clashed with local politicians over their hesitancy to immediately roll over to his boss’s demands, and with local media over what he said was unfair coverage.
While that was happening, the ballclub’s on-field product only got worse, leading to a decline in attendance and outcries from the fan base, who saw favorite players depart for greener pastures seemingly on an annual basis. With the combined circumstances, Kaval dangled the threat of relocation over the city and A’s fans as negotiations dragged on.
Eventually, that threat became a reality as the A’s abruptly announced a land deal in April 2023 to build a stadium in Las Vegas, the beginning of the end of the A’s 56-year tenure in Oakland. Kaval began the Vegas era going on a media tour saying that the A’s would be more competitive once they made it to Sin City, inexplicably comparing the move to the Dodgers’ relocating from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and proclaiming that not every A’s home game would necessarily be in Vegas. But since then, he’s been noticeably quiet about how things have gone for the team that is slated to spend at least three seasons in West Sacramento.
The team says Sandy Dean, “a longtime business partner with the Fisher family,” will serve as interim team president as the A’s attempt to actually build a ballpark in Las Vegas. Speaking with the Athletic, Dean said that Kaval’s reason for leaving had to do with his success in Vegas mirroring his success in building Howard Terminal.
To fans, Kaval became a reviled mascot for the final years of Fisher’s cruel reign in Oakland. During the big fan demonstrations, his name drew nearly as much vitriol as the billionaire he served. His departure won’t mean anywhere near as much now as it would have years ago, but regardless, the collective response has surely been “Good riddance.”
This breaking news story has been updated.
