Source: If A’s don’t find a home, they could disband until Las Vegas
Jan 30, 2024, 3:04 PM
The Oakland A’s are in the midst of finding a temporary home until they move to Las Vegas. But what happens if they can’t find a home?
When MLB owners unanimously approved the team’s move from Oakland to Las Vegas last fall, they did so without announcing where the team would play until the ballpark opens, which isn’t expected to be ready until at least 2028.
The A’s lease with the Oakland Coliseum expires after the 2024 season and MLB typically releases the following season’s schedule after its All-Star Game in July. So the A’s need to figure out where they’re playing sooner than later.
Multiple reports have indicated that the A’s have no intention of playing at the Coliseum beyond 2024, meaning they will have three seasons (2025-2027) to play in a new home, or potentially, multiple home stadiums. And earlier this year, representatives for the Athletics were seen visiting Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento and Smith’s Ballpark in Salt Lake City.
But what if neither of those locations or the others discussed, work out? A Bay Area source told Sactown Sports’ Allen Stiles that the idea of ceasing operations between 2025 through 2028 has been floated.
“So basically, between 2025 and 2028, Major League Baseball would run with 29 teams. And when 2028 comes around, they would basically do an expansion draft,” Stiles said. “Those players would be able to sign with other teams… and then we refresh everything in 2028 in Vegas.”
Sactown Sports has reached out to the A’s organization about this information but has not yet heard back from the team.
The Tropicana in Las Vegas — where the Athletics plan to build a ballpark $1.5 billion, nine-acre stadium with around 33,000 seats — recently announced it will cease operations on April 2, 2024. A demolition date was not announced. Owner John Fisher and the A’s organization were granted $380 in public funding for construction in 2023.
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