Oakland A’s announce purchase of 49 acres of Las Vegas land
Apr 20, 2023, 7:27 AM
Two baseball fans watch the Oakland A's play the Texas Rangers in front of a small crowd at RingCentral Coliseum on May 26, 2022 in Oakland, California. Attendance at Oakland Athletics baseball games have dwindled to historic lows as the team has traded away fan favorite players and continues to explore moving the team to Las Vegas if they can't reach a deal to build a new stadium near the Port of Oakland. The Athletics have the lowest attendance of all 30 Major League Baseball (MLB) as well as the league's lowest single game attendance for a May 2nd game that only drew 2,488 fans. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Oakland A’s fans, the countdown has officially started.
On Wednesday night, the team announced it purchased 49 acres of land in Las Vegas. MLB.com reports the site of the stadium is located west of the infamous Las Vegas Strip, near T-Mobile Arena and Allegiant Stadium.
Team president Dave Kaval told the Las Vegas Review-Journal the team turned its attention to Las Vegas “to get a deal here for the A’s and find a long-term home.”
“Oakland has been a great home for us for over 50 years, but we really need this 20-year saga completed and we feel there’s a path here in Southern Nevada to do that.”
The $1.5 billion, 35,000-seat stadium will include a retractable roof, and house not just baseball, but other events, as well. The Las Vegas Review-Journal also notes if all goes well for the organization, crews could break ground on the new stadium in 2024. The team could be in their new home as early as 2027.
While the team may be excited about finally knowing where its long-term home will be, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said in a statement to Sarah Ravani of the San Francisco Chronicle she’s disappointed in the news.
I am deeply disappointed that the A’s have chosen not to negotiate with the City of Oakland as a true partner, in a way that respects the long relationship between the fans, the City and the team. The City has gone above and beyond in our attempts to arrive at mutually beneficial terms to keep the A’s in Oakland. In the last three months, we’ve made significant strides to close the deal. Yet, it is clear to me that the A’s have no intention of staying in Oakland and have simply been using this process to try to extract a better deal out of Las Vegas. I am not interested in continuing to play that game – the fans and our residents deserve better.
The team’s current lease with the Oakland Coliseum expires after the 2024 season.
Statement from @MayorShengThao on Oakland A's Las Vegas ballpark news: "I am deeply disappointed that the A’s have chosen not to negotiate with the City of Oakland as a true partner, in a way that respects the long relationship between the fans, the City and the team." (pt 1)
— Sarah Ravani (@SarRavani) April 20, 2023
How long have the A’s been in Oakland?
The A’s first arrived in Oakland in 1968. The team had several homes before settling in the Bay Area, originating in Philadelphia in 1901, then moving briefly to Kansas City in 1955.
Since their arrival, the team won four World Series titles: 1972, 1973, 1974 and last in 1989.
