Report: MLB owners unanimously approve Athletics move to Las Vegas

Nov 16, 2023, 7:22 AM | Updated: 10:58 am

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 13: Oakland Athletics fans fill RingCentral Coliseum during a reverse boycott game against the Tampa Bay Rays on June 13, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Brandon Vallance/Getty Images)

(Photo by Brandon Vallance/Getty Images)

BY DIGIT AL

Sactown Sports

One more nail has been added to the Oakland Athletics coffin.

According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, MLB owners have unanimously approved John Fisher’s plan to relocate the A’s to Las Vegas. The team plans to build a $1.5 billion, nine-acre stadium where the Tropicana hotel currently stands. The ballpark, which was granted $380 in public funding for construction earlier this summer, would include a retractable roof and roughly 30,000 seats.

Official: The A’s are moving to Las Vegas. Unanimous vote

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) November 16, 2023

But, the earliest projections for when the stadium could open is not until 2028. Nightengale adds in his report the A’s are “expected to play in a variety of sites after their Oakland Coliseum lease expires after the 2024 season, including at the Giants’ ballpark in San Francisco and Summerlin, Nevada, the A’s Triple-A site.”

And if owner John Fisher tries to sell the team after the move for a huge profit, Nightengale says owners added a stipulation that Fisher would ” be heavily taxed on the sale.”

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao released a statement saying she is disappointed but does not “see this as the end of the road.”

“We all know there is a long way to go before shovels in the ground and that there are a number of unresolved issues surrounding this move. I have also made it clear to the Commissioner that the A’s branding and name should stay in Oakland and we will continue to work to pursue expansion opportunities,” Thao said in her statement. “Baseball has a home in Oakland even if the A’s ownership relocates.”

Las Vegas would be the fourth home for the franchise. The team originates from Philadelphia where they played from 1901-1954. The Athletics then moved to Kansas City until 1968, when they relocated to Oakland. The A’s have been looking to either update or move out of the Oakland Coliseum for years.

Relocation means the Oakland Athletics would be the first team to move since the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2005.

Major League Baseball owners today approved the relocation of the #Athletics to Las Vegas.https://t.co/PmUIx0ejJH pic.twitter.com/hgR2ZDVgWb

— Oakland A's (@Athletics) November 16, 2023