FSM Breaking News: MLB Approves the Oakland A’s Relocation to Las Vegas
On Thursday morning, Major League Baseball unanimously approved the Oakland A’s relocation to Las Vegas.
MLB Approves the Oakland A’s Relocation to Las Vegas
As expected, Major League Baseball unanimously approved the Oakland A’s relocation to Las Vegas. If the move happens, this will be MLB’s first relocation since 2005, when the Montreal Expos moved to Washington D.C. and became the Nationals.
But this isn’t the last hurdle that the team must clear. The Teacher’s union in Nevada are opposing the public funding of $380 million for the team’s new stadium and are hoping to require a referendum next November.
The A’s new stadium in Las Vegas isn’t expected to be ready to play until 2028. The A’s plan to build a $1.5 billion stadium with a capacity of 33,000 on the Las Vegas strip at the current site of the Tropicana Casino.
The team’s lease in Oakland runs out at the end of the 2024 season. That leads to the question of where the team will play in 2025, 2026 and 2027. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported Thursday that the A’s plan to play in a revolving series of sites, including their Triple-A team’s park in Summerlin, Oracle Park in San Francisco, and perhaps still at the Oakland Coliseum.
Nightengale also reports that the owners included a provision with their vote that should the A’s owner, John Fisher, sell the team after the move, Fisher would be taxed “heavily” on any sale if his goal is to sell the club for an immediate profit. The amount of the tax isn’t publicly known, nor is the length of time he’ll need to retain ownership of the team before he is exempt from the taxation. If he does sell the team, the amount he’s taxed would be divided among the other 29 franchises.
The A’s will be moving to Las Vegas to play in 2028
With MLB’s A’s relocation approval, the team is one step closer to moving to Las Vegas, but there are still hurdles, and we can’t forget John Fisher’s history as an owner.
The A’s will be moving to Las Vegas in 2028
The ongoing drama surrounding the A’s stadium situation and potential relocation bid has been a source of contention for over a decade in the Bay Area. The A’s have been trying to leave from their run-down surroundings at the Coliseum. Previous attempts to relocate to San Jose faced opposition from the San Francisco Giants, who argued that it encroached upon their territory.
The A’s also explored alternative locations within the city, such as a new stadium at their current site and, most recently, a fresh waterfront development in Oakland’s Howard Terminal neighborhood.
The sincerity of these efforts is subject to debate.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has openly challenged claims from both Fisher and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred that the Howard Terminal option was fully pursued. Thao insists that Fisher never had a genuine interest in staying in Oakland and that A’s relocation to Vegas was always his intention.
The likelihood of the A’s relocation from Oakland is overwhelming at this point.
This marks the third significant loss of a sports franchise for the city, following the NBA’s Golden State Warriors relocating to San Francisco and the NFL’s Raiders moving to Las Vegas.
In contrast, Las Vegas has seen a surge in professional sports teams, including the Raiders, and the probable relocation of the A’s, along with the NHL’s Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights, the league’s expansion franchise in 2017.
As the 2024 season approaches, A’s fans find themselves in an unusual position. They know the A’s relocation they feared is imminent, with limited chances to support the team they’ve followed for over five decades. Many fans are reluctant to spend their hard-earned money to support an ownership group they feel betrayed by. The team has made minimal efforts to assemble a competitive roster in recent years, dismantling a core that achieved a 316-230 record from 2018-21 and secured playoff berths in three consecutive seasons, including back-to-back 97-win campaigns in 2018-19.
Last year’s A’s were on pace for the worst record in MLB history during the first part of the season, and there is no indication that ownership will allocate additional resources to the baseball operations staff for this upcoming season to address the situation. It is truly a sad day for the loyal Oakland fans, as yet another chapter in their Bay Area sports history is now on the verge of sliding out of town, leaving them nothing but memories and hard feelings.
On the other hand, with the A’s relocation, Las Vegas will now have two-thirds of the big 3 North American sports leagues and another attraction on the strip. Vegas is truly becoming the Sports and Entertainment Capital of the World.
The A’s will open their new stadium in 2028 and are expected to play their first game in Las Vegas that season.
The A’s are set to begin play in Las Vegas in 2028 when their new stadium opens up at the corner of Las Vegas Blvd and Tropicana.
– Joe Arrigo – Franchise Sports Media
Follow Joe on all social media: @JoeArrigoFSM
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