The Oakland Athletics appeared to be relocating to Las Vegas in the coming years after purchasing a 49-acre plot in Southern Nevada. The site is west of the Las Vegas strip and is owned by Red Rock Resorts on Dean Martin Drive and Tropicana Avenue.
A’s team president Dave Kaval made the announcement on the night of April 19th on the franchise’s acquisition of the land in Vegas. The team is targeting 2027 for its first season in Sin City.
This ends a 20-year period of the A’s attempting to get a new ballpark. The franchise had tried to come to an agreement with the City of Oakland numerous times over the years but was never able to have a deal come to fruition. The A’s previously had proposed plans to move to Fremont and San Jose, but those plans also fell through in past years.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao announced that Oakland would no longer engage with the A’s in regard to a new ballpark with the news coming out on the A’s impending move to Las Vegas. Thao expressed that she believed the A’s used Oakland to get a better deal out of Las Vegas, and therefore out of respect for the fans and residents of Oakland, they will no longer try to keep the team in the Bay.
The A’s have been in Oakland for more than 50 years. They previously resided in Philadelphia (1901-1954) and Kansas City (1955-1967) before moving to Oakland in 1968.
The A’s are the third professional sports team to leave the Oakland area in recent years. The NBA’s Golden State Warriors left Oakland in 2019 for San Francisco, building the Chase Center across the Bay. The NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders left Oakland for the A’s future home of Las Vegas, starting play in Allegiant Stadium back in 2020.
There are still a few steps the A’s have to take before making things official in Las Vegas. The state legislature in Nevada has to agree on a solution to come up with the remaining half billion dollars needed to build the stadium, and the A’s need the relocation plan to be officially approved by Major League Baseball. Still, once all is said and done, the Oakland A’s will finally become the Las Vegas A’s.
Photo: SF Chronicle
