Major League Baseball Owners Approve Athletics’ Move to Las Vegas

The Athletics’ planned move from Oakland to Las Vegas was approved by Major League Baseball owners on Thursday. The owners met this week in Arlington, Texas, and at least 75% of them were required to sign the report presented to them by MLB’s relocation committee. No owner opposed the move. Given that Commissioner Rob Manfred has already expressed support for the A’s move, such support always seemed very likely.

The A’s will be the first MLB team to relocate since 2005, when the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals. The A’s lease at their current home, the Oakland Coliseum, expires after the 2024 season. The A’s could play in multiple locations before moving into their new stadium in Las Vegas in 2028.

“I know this is a terrible day for fans in Oakland,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said told reporters on Thursday. “I understand that. That is why our policy has always been to do everything humanly possible to avoid resettlement and I firmly believe that we have done that in this case.”

Getting approval from John Fisher’s co-owners is one of the final hurdles to his attempt to move the franchise to Nevada, but it may not be the most important remaining checkpoint. Fisher has yet to secure private financing for his share of the stadium’s construction costs, and given the dubious nature of some aspects of the project, nothing is likely to happen in this regard.

In fact, the A’s are proposing to move from a shared spot in one of the league’s largest markets, the Bay Area, to the league’s smallest market. Additionally, the A’s’ projections are heavily based on tourism, and in Las Vegas there is intense and intense competition for visitors’ available dollars.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed a $380 million public funding bill in mid-June to attract athletics to the city. The actual cost of the bill will likely exceed $380 million, Neil deMause explained. The entire ballpark project is expected to cost more than $1 billion, meaning Fisher still has a lot of work to do to reach profitability.

Private financiers will probably be much less inclined to brush aside these core market concerns than Fisher’s co-owners appear to be. That’s the necessary context even as relocation efforts take the next step.

“Today is a significant moment for our franchise and it left us with mixed emotions – sadness about this change and excitement for our future. I know this is a tough day for our fans in Oakland,” Fisher said in a statement. “We made serious efforts to keep our team in Oakland, but unfortunately it didn’t work out. I am grateful for the fans who have supported our team over the years and for the home that Oakland has provided us. Our franchise’s storied history spans three cities over the last century: Oakland, along with Kansas City and Philadelphia, will always be part of this franchise’s DNA.

The A’s could become the fourth major professional sports team in Las Vegas, joining the NFL’s Raiders, the NHL’s Golden Knights and the WNBA’s Aces. All of these franchises began playing in Vegas in 2017 or later.

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2023-11-16 20:29:07
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