Las Vegas’ sphere welcomes the Athletics but why are they moving from Oakland to ‘Sin City’?
As if anticipation for the first Formula 1 event in four decades wasn’t enough, sports fans in Las Vegas have been given another reason to celebrate.
Following a vote among the owners of all of MLB’s franchises, the Oakland Athletics will cease to be as the team will officially be relocating to Las Vegas. The move marks a historic change for both the franchise and ‘Sin City.’
MLB’s Athletics to move from Oakland to Las Vegas, but why?
According to reports on Thursday, all 30 of Major League Baseball’s owners unanimously voted to approve the Athletics’ relocation from Oakland to Las Vegas. With that, the A’s will become only the second Major League Baseball team in more than 50 years to move to another city. The question of course is, why? For the answer, we’ve got to go back almost a decade to when MLB commissioner Rob Manfred had just been elected to office. One of the immediate problems that he faced was the struggle that A’s owner, John Fisher, was facing in his attempts to keep the team in the Bay Area. Indeed, it was an issue rooted in Fisher’s inability to negotiate for government assistance, to build a new ballpark in the area, in order to leave a notoriously outdated one behind. To that end, the Athletics are heading to ‘Sin City.’
“I understand that this is an incredibly difficult day for Oakland fans, and I just want to say we gave every effort and did everything we could to try and find a solution there,” said Fisher, who didn’t take questions. “I’m very excited about the opportunity in Vegas. The fans there are terrific.” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred who endorsed the relocation plan, acknowledged the blow to the city but spoke to the necessity of the move. “There was an effort over more than a decade to find a stadium solution in Oakland. It was John Fisher’s preference. It was my preference,” Manfred said at a news conference. “This is a terrible day for fans in Oakland. I understand that and that’s why we’ve always had a policy of doing everything humanly possible to avoid a relocation and truly believe we did that in this case. I think it’s beyond debate that the status quo in Oakland was untenable.”
OK, but the A’s in Las Vegas is big news, right?
Yes, it is. With Nevada’s state government approving $380 million in public financing for a Las Vegas Strip stadium, the team is planning for a 2028 opening of a new ballpark. MLB has approved Clark County as its operating territory following the move and Nevada as its television territory. Of course, that’s all just facts and figures. What Las Vegas really represents is a new start for a one of MLB’s most storied clubs and one that’s been hindered by its environs for far too long. Yet, it’s also a sad moment for A’s fans as well as they’ve got to - in a way - say goodbye to their team. On the other hand, as you can see below, the city is ready and waiting. Which leads us to think it’s a perfect time to use that old cliche: ‘What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.’