Oakland A’s President eyes new challenge

Article posted by Coliseum, January 24^th, 2025

Image: Dave Kaval

Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics are on the hunt for a new President after Dave Kaval resigned from his position to pursue new business opportunities in California.

MLB.com said his last day with the team, which is in the process of building a new ballpark in Las Vegas, was at the end of December.

The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the ‘A’s’) are an American professional baseball team based in West Sacramento, California (US). The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division.

The team will play its home games at the 14,014-capacity Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento for the 2025-2027 seasons before its permanent move to Las Vegas.

The 33,000-capacity New Las Vegas Stadium is a future fixed roof ballpark to be built on the site of the former Tropicana Las Vegas (a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It operated from 1957 to 2024) on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada (US). Once the A’s start playing in the Vegas ballpark they will be known as the Las Vegas Athletics.

A’s Owner John Fisher said, “We are grateful for Dave’s contributions and leadership over the past eight years. He guided our organization through a period of significant transition, and we sincerely thank him for his unwavering commitment to the team.

“As we look ahead to the next chapter of our franchise, the team will continue to grow under new leadership, driving the organization toward success during our interim years in West Sacramento and at our new home in Las Vegas.”

Sandy Dean, a long-time business partner with the Fisher family, will serve as Interim President.

Dean has worked with the A’s since Fisher and his family became owners in 2005. The club has already started the search for a new leader.

Kaval said that his decision was made on the back of the substantial progress that has been made toward the team’s move to a new, state-of-the-art ballpark in Las Vegas.

He said, “I will be staying in California to explore new opportunities at the crossroads of business and government. I am grateful to A’s ownership for the opportunities they have given me.”

Kaval, 49, served as the seventh president of the Athletics in the franchise’s 123-year history. The franchise was founded in Philadelphia in 1901.

Prior to his role with the A’s, Kaval served as president of the MLS team San Jose Earthquakes, where he played a pivotal role in the development of PayPal Park, home of the Earthquakes and Bay FC.

Kaval has also served as vice chairman of the San Jose Sports Commission, board member of the San Jose Chamber of Commerce, member of the San Mateo County Workforce Investment Board, and Executive Committee member of the Bay Area Council.

He has also taught Sports Management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business for the past decade.

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