The Oakland Athletics were approved unanimously by all the owners of Major League Baseball to relocate to Las Vegas on Nov. 16.
The move to Sin City would be the Athletics’ fourth relocation as a team. The team’s previous cities before Oakland were Philadelphia and Kansas City.
Shortly after the owners voted to relocate the team, the Athletics released a statement regarding relocating to Las Vegas.
“The Club is set to open its new ballpark for the 2028 season on the Tropicana site on the Las Vegas Strip,” the team said in the statement. “The A’s will play their 2024 season at the Oakland Coliseum and are working with MLB to evaluate multiple options for interim play following the 2024 season.”
With the contract at Oakland ending after the 2024 season, the A’s will need to find a place for three seasons when the stadium in Las Vegas is under construction.
The two realistic options for stadiums for the A’s to play in during the construction will be to either extend its lease at the Oakland Coliseum or to play at Las Vegas Ballpark, the current home of the Las Vegas Aviators.
“We’re exploring a variety of alternatives (for 2025 to 2027), including staying at the Coliseum for the remaining years in the interim,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a news conference on Nov. 16.
With questions still surrounding the A’s move to Las Vegas from which stadium they will play in the construction period and how they will pay for the new one on Tropicana, one thing is for certain: the A’s have their intentions set on moving to Las Vegas.
“We are excited to begin this next chapter in Las Vegas. I want to thank the Las Vegas and Nevada community for welcoming us,” the team said on Nov. 16. “We will continue to work hard to bring home more championships for our fans and for our new home in Vegas.”
