Athletics

The Oakland Athletics may end up moving to Las Vegas, but the mayor of their potential new home believes they should try to stay put.

"I personally—I'm not talking about anybody else or anywhere else in this community—I personally think they've got to figure out a way to stay in Oakland to make their dream come true," Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman told Front Office Sports:

Goodman released a statement after her comments were publicized and further explained her position:

In November, Major League Baseball announced its club owners approved the franchise's relocation from Oakland to Las Vegas. The announcement explained the plan was to open a new stadium on the site of the Tropicana hotel in Las Vegas by the 2028 season.

It also explained the Athletics would work with the league to decide the next steps after playing the 2024 campaign at the Oakland Coliseum.

Last month, Rio Yamat of the Associated Press reported the Tropicana is set to close on April 2 to prepare for its demolition.

Yet there has been pushback to the overall Las Vegas plan.

Evan Drellich of The Athletic reported Monday a political action committee representing a teachers union in Nevada filed a lawsuit against the state, Gov. Joe Lombardo and state treasurer Zach Conine that challenged the grounds of the $380 million in public money that was allocated to the stadium in a bill.

It is the second such effort, although the first was a ballot initiative that attempted to bring the funding bill to a public vote that was defeated in court in November. There is a pending appeal.

The latest lawsuit argues the SB1 bill violates the Nevada state constitution because it didn't set the threshold for approval at two-thirds of the Nevada Assembly and Senate majorities.

Goodman's comments are the latest development as the back-and-forth continues regarding the home of the Athletics.

The franchise started as the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 through 1954 and then became the Kansas City Athletics from 1955 through 1967. It has been located in Oakland since the 1968 season but could be headed to its fourth different city with this potential move.

The drama surrounding the Oakland Athletics' new stadium in Las Vegas is far from over.

The Athletic's Evan Drellich reported Monday a political action committee representing a teachers union in Nevada has filed suit challenging the legislation that paved the way for the venue's funding.

Last June, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed a bill that earmarked $380 million in public funds toward the A's stadium, which has a total price tag of $1.5 billion. While that didn't represent a final step in securing the Athletics' future in Las Vegas, it was seemingly one of the biggest steps remaining. Then came the approval of the franchise's relocation by MLB owners in mid-November.

But the plan has faced opposition from Nevada teachers since the fall. Drellich reported the Nevada State Education Association is now arguing the legislation, SB1, violates the state constitution because it didn't set the threshold for approval at two-thirds of the Nevada Assembly and Senate majorities.

Chris Daly, deputy executive director for government relations for the NSEA, said the group is "doing everything we can to make the road harder" for the A's and principal owner John Fisher.

"Because our ultimate goal is to fund Nevada schools, and we think SB1 and the stadium deal goes in the wrong direction," he said.

Schools over Stadiums, another political action committee working on behalf of Nevada teachers, has attempted to propose a ballot initiative that would leave the issue up to voters. A judge ruled against the proposal in November, though the initiative remains a possibility if the group can gain the requisite signatures.

Under the current plans, the A's are hopeful of having a new stadium built ahead of the 2028 season. It will be built on the site of the Tropicana Las Vegas, which will close its doors in April ahead of being demolished.

The Oakland Athletics reportedly visited Sutter Health Park as the team searches for a temporary home ahead of its move to Las Vegas, according to Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The park is currently the home of the Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. It would serve as a temporary site once the Athletics' lease expires with the Oakland Coliseum after the 2024 MLB season.

On Nov. 16, the league's owners voted unanimously to move the team to Las Vegas.

"I absolutely am convinced that there was not a viable path forward in Oakland," MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said, via Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. "We look forward to being in Las Vegas; there's tremendous support locally for having the A's there. We do believe over the long haul that Las Vegas will be a great asset to Major League Baseball."

The team will officially move to Las Vegas prior to the 2028 season. Per Akers, Athletics owner John Fisher and president Dave Kaval were both a part of the executive team that took a tour of Sutter Health Park.

This also presents an opportunity for Sacramento to showcase the city as a potential destination for a future professional sports team.

"This community is a major league community and this city is a major league city," Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg said, per Jeremiah Martinez of Fox40.com. "If we have the opportunity to show Major League Baseball and the country how much this community loves baseball, that would be an easy sell."

The Athletics' executives are also scheduled to visit Smith's Ballpark in Salt Lake City, which has become another potential option. It is currently the home of the Salt Lake Bees, the Los Angeles Angels' Triple-A affiliate, and has 14,511 seats.

Akers noted that both MLB as well as the MLB Players Association must approve the Athletics' interim home before the location can be finalized.

The Oakland Athletics rejected the Oakland Ballers request to play a Pioneer League Game at the Oakland Coliseum on June 29, 2024, despite the Ballers having an agreement in place with ASM Global, the organization that manages the stadium.

Athletics' vice president of stadium operations David Rinetti sent the following email to ASM Global on Dec. 29, per Melissa Lockard of The Athletic:

We support the JPA (Joint Powers Authority)'s efforts to bring new events to the Coliseum. However, under our license agreement with the JPA, we have the exclusive right to play professional baseball at the Coliseum, and we therefore do not consent to your request. We are happy to work with the JPA on other ways to celebrate and promote professional baseball in Oakland.

Paul Freedman, one of the founders of the Ballers, told Lockard the entire organization was "surprised and disappointed" by the response from the Athletics.

"We think that Oakland is the best baseball market in the world, the best city in the world for baseball, and we think that the Coliseum, despite its flaws, is the best place for baseball to be played," he added. "We really thought that this could be a milestone celebration that we're going to continue to have baseball in Oakland, and we think that the community would have been really excited about it."

The Athletics haven't exactly wrapped themselves in good press in the past few years as the organization moves closer to its Las Vegas relocation. The team is entering the final year of its lease at the Oakland Coliseum, leaving questions as to where the team will play in 2025, with a new Vegas stadium not expected to be completed until 2028.

Oakland owner John Fisher isn't particularly popular in Oakland these days, and even his team's former roommates at the Coliseum, the now-Las Vegas Raiders, didn't have much nice to say about the organization.

"I won't forget what they did to us in Oakland. They squatted on a lease for 10 years and made it impossible for us to build on that stadium," Raiders' owner Mark Davis told John Katsilometes of the Las Vegas Review-Journal in April. "They were looking for a stadium. We were looking for a stadium. They didn't want to build a stadium, and then went ahead and signed a 10-year lease with the city of Oakland and said, 'We're the base team.'"

"For them to leave Oakland without anything is pretty (screwed) up," he added. "Because that site that the stadium was on was a good site."

Clearly, the Athletics aren't the biggest fans of sharing.

Professional baseball will live on in Oakland, California, after the Oakland Athletics relocate from their current home.

The Oakland Ballers announced themselves Tuesday.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the B's are looking to begin play in the Pioneer League in the summer of 2024. Don Wakamatsu, who managed the Seattle Mariners for two seasons, will be the executive vice president of baseball operations, and former former MLB outfielder Micah Franklin will manage the squad.

B's co-founder Bryan Carmel told Passan the Athletics' impending relocation spurred him and fellow co-founder Paul Freedman to act.

We just felt like our hearts had been ripped from our chests, like all East Bay sports fans," he said. "Oakland is a city that has seen the Raiders leave town, the Warriors move across town. There was a lot of chatter that maybe Oakland isn't a pro sports town. We reject that completely."

On Nov. 16, MLB owners approved the Athletics' move to Las Vegas, effectively serving as the final nail in the coffin for those hoping to see a reversal at the 11th hour. The franchise's new stadium in Sin City won't be completed until 2028, though, raising questions about where it will call home beyond 2024.

Given the general sentiment, staying in Oakland any longer than planned is probably out of the question.

There isn't a better time to launch a baseball alternative in the city. The Oakland Ballers obviously won't completely fill the void the Athletics leave behind, but plenty of fans will be eager to send whatever message they can to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and A's principal owner John Fisher.

Fans of the Oakland Athletics are planning a boycott on Opening Day of the 2024 MLB season to protest the franchise's relocation to Las Vegas.

Last Dive Bar was among those calling for collective action upon news that MLB owners approved the Athletics' move to Sin City.

"I tell people, like, if you think this was a crazy year, wait until next year," said Jorge Leon, the president of another fan group, the Oakland 68s, to The Athletic's Melissa Lockard. "We're gonna go even harder."

Gaining the approval of owners was one of the biggest remaining hurdles for the A's in the relocation process.

There's still the small matter of finding somewhere to play while the new stadium in Las Vegas is under construction. The public funding plan for that stadium is facing a lawsuit from a Nevada teachers union as well.

But it feels more inevitable than ever that the Athletics are leaving Oakland once and for all.

A's fans have tried in vain to stop this from happening. They've called on owner John Fisher to sell the team. They staged a "reverse boycott" in order to show Fisher and MLB that Oakland remains a baseball town. They even took their protests outside of Oakland; "sell the team" chants were audible during the 2023 MLB All-Star Game.

Now, there's little recourse but to stay away and stay away for good.

The cynical view is that a boycott is not only futile but will also register little impact when the A's already had the lowest average attendance in MLB (10,275).

However, there's a clear symbolism to A's fans en masse registering their dissatisfaction with Fisher and MLB writ large. They can blunt some of the momentum team ownership will attempt to generate before the move to Las Vegas. Nothing says excitement than the Athletics, who figure to be one of the worst teams in baseball, playing games in an even emptier Oakland Coliseum.

In addition, the fanbase can make it clear the A's aren't welcome in the Bay Area anymore beyond 2024.

With everything Fisher and Athletics officials did to poison the well in Oakland, it's only fair that fans would return the favor.

The Oakland Athletics are one step closer to leaving their hometown for the past 56 years and relocating to Las Vegas.

Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, MLB owners unanimously voted Thursday to approve the A's move amid season-long fan protests in Oakland and ongoing legal issues regarding the site of a new stadium in Vegas.

A's owner John Fisher spoke about the team's impending move to Las Vegas after the relocation vote went his way:

Per USA Today's Bob Nightengale, three protestors dressed in A's colors wearing T-shirts that said "Stay" were at the owners meetings in Texas leading up to Thursday's relocation vote.

Nightengale noted Fisher actually met with the protestors and passed blame for the situation on Oakland government officials for not providing a solution to the ongoing stadium situation.

"It's been a lot worse for me than you," Fisher told them. "Anyway, I just want to let you know I appreciate you guys being here, I appreciate the passion you have shown."

During the season, A's fans staged a reverse boycott to protest Fisher's ownership while offering their support for the team on the field. The June 13 contest against the Tampa Bay Rays was attended by 27,759 fans, the second-highest attendance for a home game in 2023 after an Aug. 5 game against the San Francisco Giants (37,553).

While the Athletics received approval from MLB to relocate, the move to Vegas is far from settled. A political action committee organized by the Nevada State Education Association said in a statement on Tuesday that it plans to file a lawsuit to block the $380 million in public funding for a new stadium on the Las Vegas strip.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo approved the public funding bill for the stadium on June 15. Construction on the stadium is expected to begin in April 2025 and be completed in January 2028.

The A's lease at the Oakland Coliseum runs through the end of the 2024 season. Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle noted Oakland mayor Sheng Thao informed the commissioner's office that the team could extend its lease with the city, but included a list of demands to do so.

Among the demands cited were giving up the Athletics nickname when they leave or a guarantee from MLB to be awarded a new franchise whenever it expands.

If the Athletics do leave Oakland when their stadium lease expires, team president Dave Kaval has said the team could play home games at Las Vegas Ballpark, which is the home of their Triple-A affiliate.

The A's have been in Oakland since 1968 after moving from Kansas City. The franchise is one of the charter members of the American League formed in 1901. They have won four World Series titles since arriving in Oakland, including three straight from 1972 to '74.

Oakland's 50-112 record this season was the fourth-worst mark by any MLB team since 2000.

Major League Baseball's owners are reportedly expected to approve the Athletics' relocation from Oakland to Las Vegas this week.

According to Evan Drellich of The Athletic, the owners will vote on the relocation proposal Thursday at a meeting in Arlington, Texas, and a 75 percent vote is needed in order to make the move a reality.

Eight "no" votes would be enough to throw a wrench into the relocation plans, but a source said they have not heard of any of the owners opposing the plan.

Per Drellich, the MLB owners have some concerns about Las Vegas' viability as an MLB market, but since there aren't believed to be any better alternatives, the uncertainty doesn't figure to derail the relocation attempt.

While Vegas will be MLB's smallest market if and when the move happens, tourism could help attendance. One person with knowledge of The Athletics' pitch told Drellich that tourism was a big part of it, while another said it wasn't that significant.

Las Vegas has proved to be a quality professional sports market for the NHL's Golden Knights and NFL's Raiders thus far, which provides hope that it can support an MLB team as well.

The A's have been in Oakland since moving from Kansas City in 1968, and although they have enjoyed a great deal of success, they have been unable to secure their long-term future in the city.

Multiple attempts to build a new ballpark to replace the out-of-date Oakland Coliseum were made, but they were thwarted each time.

As a result, the A's announced their intention to relocate back in April, and all signs point toward it becoming a reality.

In addition to having a subpar facility, the Athletics had the lowest attendance in MLB in 2023 with just 10,275 fans per game, according to ESPN.

Although Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao sent a letter to 15 MLB owners this month, imploring them to reject the relocation, it doesn't seem likely to happen.

Thao said Oakland has secured over $900 million in funding for a new ballpark, which is significantly more than the reported $380 million the Athletics will receive toward a ballpark in Las Vegas.

Oakland's start-and-stop pursuits of a new ballpark seemingly pushed A's owner John Fisher beyond his breaking point, though, and it appears the opportunity to keep the Athletics in Oakland has come and gone.

Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Trevor May announced his retirement Monday and included a message for A's owner John Fisher.

The nine-year veteran announced his decision during a live stream and thanked the Oakland organization before signaling out one individual and asking that person to "sell the team." Given Fisher's position as principal owner of the franchise, it's safe to say that the message was directed at him.

"Now that it's official, to the A's organization and every single person a part of it, I love all of you," May said. "I love every single one of you, every single one of you except for one guy, and we all know who that guy is. Sell the team, dude."

May spent the final season of his career in Oakland in 2023 but had one of his best seasons, sporting a 3.28 ERA across 49 games. This came on an A's team that was an MLB-worst 50-112 and possessed the lowest payroll entering the season.

The situation between the Athletics and the city of Oakland has been rough and a future in Las Vegas looks more likely than a resolution in Oakland. Fans have been clear in their desire for Fisher to sell the team, with a reverse boycotts in June and August showing that the team's fans exist and the attendance problems are not necessarily due to lack of interest.

May was notably supportive of the reverse boycotts and his public stance against Fisher shows that the dissatisfaction with ownership may not be limited to just the fans of the team.

Fisher has been an owner of the team since 2005 and took over full ownership in 2016. He has been adamant about his desire to not sell the team.

The Athletics lease in Oakland is up after the 2024 season.

MLB owners are expected to vote on the Oakland Athletics' relocation to Las Vegas in November, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Mick Akers.

Per Akers, the vote is expected to take place during MLB owners meetings in "mid-November."

A three-fourths majority is required to approve the team's relocation.

A's owner John Fisher told the Review-Journal in an interview published August 23 that the team had "recently" submitted its application for relocation, per Akers.

That application is currently being reviewed by an MLB relocation committee before it is passed on to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and an executive council.

The council will provide a recommendation to the league's owners prior to the vote.

Although the Athletics have committed to their relocation plan by purchasing land to develop a $1.5 billion MLB stadium next to the Las Vegas strip, it is not currently clear which way the relocation vote will go.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal said in July on "The TK Show" podcast (h/t NBC Sports) that although some owners want the A's debate resolved and see Las Vegas as a better market, other clubs are "not happy with the way the team has been run with revenue-sharing dollars in the last year."

"So those owners, we'll see how vocal they are when the vote is taken, I suspect they'll all fall in line as they always do, but maybe not," Rosenthal said.

Manfred noted in June that baseball's general "policy and preference" is "to stay put."

"Having said that, I think the owners as a whole understand that there has been a multi-year, pushing-a-decade effort where for the vast majority of the time, the sole focus was Oakland," Manfred said.

Even if 75 percent of the league's owners vote in favor of the Athletics leaving, Oakland might still be an MLB city in the future.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale said earlier this week that an A's move would lead Oakland to join Nashville and Tennessee as the top options for upcoming MLB expansion sites. Manfred has indicated the league will expand to 32 teams in the near future.

The A's chance of landing an expansion team will also hinge on the city's stadium, or lack thereof. An ownership conflict regarding the Athletics' longtime stadium would likely need to be resolved in order for Oakland to win an expansion bid.