Are the Oakland Athletics still moving to Las Vegas? While the opportunity is still there, it looks like Oakland isn't going down without a fight.
https://twitter.com/Athletics/status/1504222287356039170
It's no secret that Las Vegas is quickly becoming one of the biggest sports towns in the country, and it's pretty exciting to watch. In fact, seeing the city go from being utterly devoid of professional sports to hosting the
Las Vegas Raiders,
Las Vegas Aces,
Las Vegas Golden Knights, and several other teams is pretty special. With that being said, Sin City is hoping to add an MLB team soon, and it might be the Oakland Athletics.
Why The A's Might Be Moving
For those who don't know, the Athletics have had a run-down stadium for years now and are adamant they need a new one to stay in Oakland. They claim they'll leave and go somewhere else if their demands aren't met. The team backed up their threat with trips to Seattle and Las Vegas to scout locations. Oakland Athletics President Dave Kaval was even pictured at a Golden Knights game rubbing elbows with Vegas city officials.
If the Athletics do move to Las Vegas, it would be the second team Oakland has lost to Sin City in the last few years. That's not a good look. Remember, Oakland used to be the home of the Raiders and is now struggling to hold on to a baseball team.
The Current Situation
Oakland passed the Stadium's Environmental Impact statement back in February. It was a big step forward, but there's still a lot of doubt about the situation.
According to Ballpark digest.com: "Oakland City Council approved a 3,500-page environmental impact report (EIR) for the downtown Howard Terminal waterfront development... including a billion dollars for a new 35,000-capacity ballpark to replace the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum as the team's home."
https://twitter.com/Athletics/status/1503528455404589059
Las Vegas Is Still in the Mix
Athletics President Dave Kaval isn't letting up the pressure, though, and has traveled to Las Vegas to scout locations multiple times since Oakland agreed to the stadium. He even narrowed it down to a few spots, including the Tropicana hotel on the Strip.
"Time is of the essence," Kaval said when asked about the progress being made on the new stadium. "We're already in a situation where we're probably past time where it needs to be decided... And that's why it's so important that we have established an effort in Southern Nevada and in Las Vegas to determine if we could actually have a real option there and a site and a partnership with the community to bring Major League Baseball there."
Unfortunately for Las Vegas sports fans, the Oakland Athletics, and anyone else hoping to see baseball in Sin City, the MLB lockout will leave things up in the air for a while. This could give the city of Oakland time to put a better deal together, which would mean no MLB team in Vegas... yet.
Professional baseball will come to Las Vegas one day, even if it's not The Athletics.