Since the Raiders moved back to Oakland in 1995, the city has been home to three teams in the four major U.S. professional sports leagues, with the A’s, Raiders, and Warriors all playing their home games there. But as of the fall of 2020, the A’s will be the only team left in Oakland after the Warriors move across the Bay to San Francisco this season and the Raiders leave for Las Vegas next season. According to A’s pitcher Liam Hendriks, the baseball team won’t miss their basketball and football counterparts at all.

The Warriors’ new arena

The Warriors had played at what is currently called Oracle Arena since 1966, except for a few years when they played in San Francisco and San Jose. But when they lost the NBA Finals to Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors last season, their tenure at that venue officially ended. 

When they start play this season, the Warriors will be at their new home, the billion-dollar Chase Center in San Francisco. The venue held its first event with a Metallica concert on September 6, and the Warriors host their first preseason game there on October 5 before playing their first regular-season home game at the arena on October 24.

Why Liam Hendriks won’t miss the Warriors

Quite simply, Hendriks won’t miss the Warriors because he says “they treated [the A’s] like (expletive),” which is why he doesn’t follow the team and why the A’s will be happy to see them move out of Oakland. He explained what he meant by that. 

According to Hendriks, when the A’s were good and the Warriors were bad, the baseball team would give basketball team tickets to its games. But when the roles reversed and “the Warriors became good they decided to cut all ties and become (expletive). So, no love lost for them leaving.”

Hendriks’ dislike of the Raiders

Hendriks is also happy to see the Raiders leave town. In this case, it’s because the A’s and Raiders share their current home, the Coliseum. According to Hendriks, once the Raiders, depart the A’s “can make some improvements.” At the top of his list appears to be better accommodations for him and his teammates. Hendriks says once the Raiders are in Vegas, the A’s “can take their clubhouse because their clubhouse is way nicer” than the one currently used by the A’s.

Vegas, baby, Vegas!

The Raiders are slated to move to Las Vegas next fall, in time for the 2020 NFL season. Allegiant Stadium, the Raiders’ future home, is still under construction in Paradise, Nev., and has an estimated cost of $1.8 billion. The domed stadium will also be home to the UNLV Rebels football team, the Las Vegas Bowl, and the Pac-12 Football Championship in at least 2020 and 2021. One end of the stadium will have a torch to honor late Raiders owner Al Davis. Its projected opening is July 31, 2020, in time for the Raiders to play their preseason games there next summer. Don’t expect Liam Hendriks to be in attendance.

The future of the Coliseum?

Of course, the future of the Coliseum is in flux. Having opened in 1966, it is one of the oldest stadiums in both MLB and the NFL — and one of the worst. The A’s have been talking for years about getting a new stadium, in Oakland or elsewhere. They just need to find a location and line up financing to make their desire for a new venue a reality. Until then, they will continue playing in the Coliseum, and be the only main tenant there as of the 2021 MLB season, after the Raiders are officially over the state line in Nevada.