Wow. A statement has been released by the Oakland A’s on the Vegas move. This is happening.
The Oakland Athletics could relocate to Las Vegas
Photo credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Apr 20, 2023, 07:10 EDT
It appears that a Major League Baseball team could be on the move for the first time since the Montreal Expos left for Washington.
On Wednesday night, The Nevada Independent released an article stating that the Oakland Athletics ownership is planning to purchase land in Las Vegas, Nevada to build a brand new $1.5 billion stadium. It’s not quite a done deal, but Fox Sports’ Ben Verlander tweeted this photo early on Thursday morning.
Obviously, building a stadium takes time, so the team in Oakland may not be moving for awhile However, after 20+ years of attempting to move out of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, it appears the team is just going to move to Las Vegas.
On top of having one of the worst teams in 2023, Oakland has an average attendance of 11,025 in their 12 home games according to ESPN.com. Looking at the year by year numbers, they haven’t ranked above 20th since the 2005 season. That’s partially due to the stadium being awful, and also in part due to not making the American League Championship Series since 2006.
The Oakland Coliseum has gotten so bad that there’s apparently a possum living inside the walls in the visiting broadcast booth.
MLB teams visiting the Oakland A's have been unable to use the visiting broadcast booth. A possum is "living inside its walls", and has been since last season.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas is the new hottest destination for Big Four American Sport Leagues. In fact, this is not the first time a Big Four sports team made the move from Oakland to Las Vegas. The National Football League’s “Raiders” franchise had two stints in Oakland, the first being from 1960-1981 before moving to Los Angeles, before returning in 1995 and staying until the start of the 2020 season.
Moreover, the National Hockey League expanded into Las Vegas starting in 2017, so you can bet MLB was looking to put a team in Las Vegas, either by moving a team, or by expanding.
With that being said, hopefully the Tampa Bay Rays move to Montreal as soon as possible.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Brennan_L_D.
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