May 15, 2023; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics fans sit behind a sign during the third inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
MLB: Arizona Diamondbacks at Oakland Athletics
The Oakland A’s have received unanimous approval from MLB owners to relocate to Las Vegas.
However, before officially becoming Las Vegas’ fourth major professional sports club, the team needs to secure funding for a stadium.
The A’s lease with the Oakland Coliseum runs through next season, and it is uncertain where they will play before their Las Vegas stadium is expected to open in 2028.
“There was an effort over more than a decade to find a stadium solution in Oakland,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday. “It was John Fisher’s preference. It was my preference. … It didn’t happen.”
If the move goes through, the A’s would be the first MLB team to relocate since the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2005.
This would also be the third relocation in the Athletics’ history; they moved from Philadelphia to Kansas City in 1955 and then relocated to Oakland in 1968. It would also mean Oakland no longer has any major sports teams – as the NBA’s Golden State Warriors moved to San Francisco in 2019.
