Sad day for Oakland fans
It was inevitable, but the day that Oakland baseball fans dreaded has finally come, as MLB owners voted unanimously to approve the Athletics’ move to Las Vegas.
Though all 30 team owners voting in favor of the relocation, it is not yet a sure thing. The A’s must still finalize deals with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority in order to receive as much as $380m in public funding for a new stadium. The organization then needs to nail down the rest of the $1.5bn construction cost.
The planned 33,000-seat stadium – it would be the smallest capacity in the league, 1,830 fewer seats than Cleveland’s Progressive Field – will be built on nine acres of land on the site where the Tropicana sits on the Las Vegas Strip. Provided all goes to schedule, the stadium should be ready by the start of the 2028 season. The A’s will play their final season in Oakland in 2024; it is unknown where their home in the Las Vegas area will be in 2025-2027.
Ownership has never been satisfied
This will be the franchise’s third move in its more than 120 years of existence. It started in Philadelphia in 1901 and moved to Kansas City in 1955, keeping the same name the entire time. The A’s moved to Oakland in 1968 and won four of the franchises nine World Series titles in the city.
Despite multiple stretches of success – highlighted by three consecutive World Series titles in the mid-1970’s – ownership has considered or threatened to move the team almost since the moment they arrived in Oakland, sometimes to another city in the metropolitan area (San Jose) and sometimes out of the state completely (Toronto, Denver, Chicago). The team was even a candidate for contraction at the turn of the century.
the team’s payroll is routinely at the bottom of the league
The Athletics’ exit revolves around the inability for team ownership and the city to come to an agreement on a stadium deal; the team’s current Oakland Coliseum is run down and considered the worst in MLB by a wide margin. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao told MLB owners that the city had nearly $1bn in funds ready for a new stadium and surrounding development. Fans have decried owner John Fisher, whose net worth is estimated at $2.4bn, for being a cheapskate – the team’s payroll is routinely at the bottom of the league – only moving to Las Vegas out of greed.
Great day for Las Vegas
As awful as the A’s relocation is for Oakland fans, it is yet another boon for Las Vegas. The city was always seen as a no-go for major professional sports franchises primarily because of the fear that gambling would pose a risk to the integrity of the players and games. Las Vegas also ranks among the smallest television markets in pro sports.
But within just the last few years, Sin City has attracted three major professional teams, with the A’s on the way. The NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights were founded as an expansion team in 2017, the WNBA’s San Antonio Stars moved to the city in 2018 and became the Las Vegas Aces, and the Oakland Raiders (poor Oakland, seriously) moved to Las Vegas in 2020, keeping their name.
the teams have experienced success very quickly
And not only does Las Vegas have a bevy of major sports for local fans, but the teams have experienced success very quickly. The Golden Knights made the playoffs in their first four seasons and made the Stanley Cup Finals in their very first year of existence. In 2023, they won the Stanley Cup, becoming the fastest NHL expansion franchise to do so.
The Aces had a losing record in their first season in Las Vegas, but have been fantastic ever since, winning the last two WNBA championships.