Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced today that the Oakland Athletics will relocate to Las Vegas.
The decision to relocate the franchise is subject to owner approval. The 30 owners unanimously approved the move. A 75% vote is required to move a franchise.
Commissioner Manfred said, “I know this is a terrible day for Oakland fans. There are always policies we can put in place to avoid franchise relocation. I don’t think there’s any debate that we can’t stop Oakland from moving, but we’re confident that there’s no path forward in Oakland. We look forward to being in Las Vegas and believe we will be a great asset to Major League Baseball.”굿모닝토토
Oakland recently ranked last in attendance. For the third year in a row, the A’s drew fewer than 1 million fans. The A’s had plans for a new stadium in neighboring San Jose, but that fell through after residents balked at the idea of paying higher taxes, prompting the move to Las Vegas.
Known as a city of casinos and entertainment, Las Vegas is one of the busiest tourist destinations in the United States. Even the NFL’s Oakland Raiders, who are bigger and more popular than the MLB, relocated to Las Vegas in 2020.
The first thing a professional franchise needs is a stadium. Even before the Raiders, Las Vegas built the 65,000-capacity Allegiant’s Stadium in downtown. It cost $1.9 billion to build.
The MLB Athletics’ move also hinged on the availability of a stadium. In May, a deal was reached on a stadium in Las Vegas, paving the way for a relocation application. The Nevada state legislature and governor authorized up to $380 million in public financing for the $1.5 billion stadium before the franchise moved. The stadium will have a capacity of 30,000.
The Athletics’ lease with the Oakland Coliseum ends after the 2024 season. However, construction of the Las Vegas stadium is scheduled to be completed in 2028.
The Athletics were originally founded in Philadelphia in 1901. The team was based in Philadelphia until 1954, then moved to Kansas City in 1955 as the Kansas City Athletics. They called Kansas City home until 1967, then moved to Oakland in 1968. The Athletics have been to the World Series nine times. Five times in Philadelphia and four times in Oakland. Their last championship came in 1989.
Oakland Athletics fans protest against the team’s move to Las Vegas in June. AP
Booming Las Vegas is an emerging sports mecca. The NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights were founded in 2017 and won the Stanley Cup last season. The city now has franchises in three major sports: the NFL Raiders, MLB Athletics, and NHL Golden Knights.
In women’s basketball, the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, founded in 1997, are the reigning champions. Current KB Stars superstar center Park Ji-soo used to play for the Aces.