The Oakland Athletics have not paid their rent to use the RingCentral Coliseum, according to a stadium official.

Henry Gardner claims that the team informed the stadium authority it could not pay the $1.2 million annual rent that was due April 1, citing the coronavirus pandemic.

"They said because they haven't used it, they were not able to generate revenue and they have no ability to pay," Gardner said. "We recognize that we've all been upended in a number of ways. Maybe there are some things we are willing to negotiate and waive, but we can't just say no rent."

According to a letter from the A's sent March 31, the team cited force majeure in its contract with the stadium -- which covers extraordinary events, such as a pandemic -- as reason for not sending the rent payment.

Athletics general counsel D'Lorna Ellis wrote that the team would defer payment "until we have a better understanding of when the Coliseum will be available for our use."