(Scypre.com) – After years of failed attempts to find locations in Oakland, the A’s announced Wednesday night that they have signed a contract in Las Vegas.
There are a lot of questions to answer, but the agreement signals that the franchise intends to relocate to Vegas in the near future. Ahead of a move, what still needs to be figured out? There could be obstacles in the way. When would the Oakland A’s officially become the Las Vegas A’s, and would they keep their nickname?
Are the A’s moving to Las Vegas?
It’s not a done deal. It will be soon. The team’s purchase agreement on a 49-acre parcel of land off the Strip made clear what people around the sport had long speculated: After more than two decades of failures to build a stadium in Oakland and the surrounding area, the A’s are close to becoming the latest major professional.
The shovels are not ready yet. There are some details that involve politics. “This is a massive deal for our franchise and for the whole league,” said Dave Kaval, president of the A’s.
How Much Money Do They Have?
$500 million is all they have. The A’s spent the past two years engaging with Las Vegas and Oakland on parallel paths. They’ve pledged $1 billion, as well as cost overages, on a new stadium on the land they bought this week. Half a billion dollars in public funding is expected to be used for the project.
Kaval said the A’s have worked with a number of people. They’re using Allegiant Stadium, the home of the Raiders that received $750 million in public dollars, as a proxy.
How Long Will it Take for this Move to Happen?
The session of the Nevada Legislature ends in July. If the A’s and the government can strike a public-private partnership, the next step will be for the A’s to file for relocation with MLB. The A’s will need a vote by owners to codify the move if the commissioner’s office approves. The team can break ground on the new stadium next year if all of this is done before January.
Even if all goes according to plan, the A’s lease in Oakland will not be renewed after 2024. Kaval said the A’s have negotiated a deal with the Las Vegas Aviators, their Triple-A affiliate, to potentially use Las Vegas Ballpark for home games. It is possible that the Coliseum and the A’s will come to an agreement to end the lease early. The lease agreement in Oakland could be extended by the team.
The MLB will have a significant say in it, as the league will help shape the interim plan. “We support the A’s turning their focus on Las Vegas and look forward to them bringing finality to this process by the end of the year,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Wednesday.
But Las Vegas?
It’s not the size of the TV market or the population, it’s the size of the metro area where the A’s are moving. With moves from Philadelphia to Kansas City to Oakland in the past, the A’s have long sought the shiny new city as a panacea. Vegas is the most shiny city.
“A strong local fan base is what makes a successful market. It’s easy to get to for locals, that’s one of the reasons we picked the site. The stadium and parking will only take up a small portion of the site. The rest of the area can serve as a mixed-use development that encourages locals and tourists to spend time in bars, restaurants and other attractions.”
The Raiders were estimated to bring hundreds of thousands of tourists to the city each year. He thought the A’s would bring 400,000. Tourists can spend a lot of money in Las Vegas.
Name Change?
According to Kaval, the A’s name is here to stay. “The Athletics are a member of the American League.
We’ve been to three markets. The A’s are a powerful brand and we are going to continue with the Las Vegas A’s.”
“After the league set the deadline of January 2024 to have a binding deal, it really made it an inevitability,” Kaval said.
Kaval said that the team spent $100 million trying to stay in Oakland. The Coliseum is 10 years past its useful life and it’s impossible to move forward with it.
“Oakland has worked incredibly hard to come to an agreement with the A’s, ” she said in a statement.
It’s true that public money was harder to come by in Oakland than in other locations, but the idea that public funding is necessary to build a stadium is not true. The San Francisco Giants built Oracle Park on their own.
The idea of a privately built stadium in Oakland was never entertained by A’s owner John Fisher. Despite years of on-field success, the A’s fans lost faith. The city of Oakland has lost its last major professional sports team. Kaval said that they felt for their fans in Oakland. “We have been here for more than 50 years.”
The Oakland A’s have signed a binding agreement to purchase land in Las Vegas to build a new ballpark, signaling a move away from Oakland after more than five decades in the city.
The team announced this week that they had finalized the purchase of a 49-acre site just west of the Las Vegas Strip and hope to play there in 2027.
Dave Kaval told The Associated Press that the A’s hope to break ground next year on a new stadium with a seating capacity of 30,000 to 35,000.
The A’s will become the second Major League Baseball franchise to move cities in more than 50 years if the move proceeds as planned.
The team made an effort to stay in Oakland, where they’ve played since 1968.
The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum has been the home of the team for their entire tenure in the city. The Coliseum is one of the oldest stadiums in the majors, and the A’s have been looking for a new park for a long time. Even with support from fans, leaders at the city, county, and state level, and throughout the broader community, the process to build a new ballpark in Oakland has made little forward progress for some time.
“We were unable to achieve our vision of a waterfront ballpark.”
Near downtown Oakland, negotiations had centered on a waterfront site. Thao said that she was “deeply disappointed” with the team’s decision to not negotiate with the city. She said that the A’s have no intention of staying in Oakland.
“I don’t want to play that game anymore, the fans and residents deserve better.”
The A’s won four World Series titles in Oakland, including three in a row from 1972 to 1974 and a fourth in 1989.
John Fisher became the team’s full owner in 2016 after acquiring a majority share of the team in 2005. The A’s have traded away stars and slashed payroll. Only once has the team advanced past the divisional round in the playoffs.
The team’s entire payroll is just $58 million, the lowest in the league, and the A’s have the worst record at 3-16.
The team’s move would be the third major professional sports team to leave Oakland in recent years. The Golden State Warriors moved from Oakland Arena to a new arena in San Francisco. The Raiders left for Las Vegas the next year.
Las Vegas is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas. Since 1990 its population has tripled. The A’s would be its third major professional sports team, joining the Raiders and the NHL’s Golden Knights.