MLB commissioner Rob Manfred discusses possible stadium locations for Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said the Oakland Athletics need to quickly reach a binding agreement for a new ballpark and that relocation could be considered if a deal isn't struck for a facility in the Bay Area.

Meanwhile, in regard to the Tampa Bay Rays' stadium situation, Manfred said the preferred location would be on the Tampa side of the bay rather than in St. Petersburg — but site alone won't be a determining factor.

The A's have played at the Coliseum since 1968 and their lease expires after the 2024 season.

«I was at the Coliseum myself recently,'' Manfred told the Baseball Writers' Association of America on Tuesday in Los Angeles. „The condition of the Coliseum is a really serious problem for us. I've said it, this is not news. It is not a major league-quality facility at this point.''

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf is pushing for approval of a waterfront ballpark at Howard Terminal that would cost more than $1 billion. The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission voted last month to reclassify a 56-acre terminal at the Port of Oakland as a mixed-use area where a new ballpark could be built.

The team, under controlling owner John Fisher, also has explored a possible new ballpark in Las Vegas.

An Oakland City Council vote on a ballpark is possible later this year.

“Mayor Schaaf continues to work hard to try to get an arrangement, an agreement to develop the Howard Terminal site,» Manfred said. «I'm hopeful that that can still happen. And I said this recently and I'll repeat, it needs to happen now. It needs to be done.»

«Mr. Fisher has to make a decision as to whether he wants to make an agreement or can make an agreement that is approved by the City Council that would keep the A's