Oakland, California –
The Oakland Athletics have signed a binding agreement to purchase land for a new retractable roof ballpark in Las Vegas after being unable to build new venues in the Bay Area.
Team president Dave Kaval said Wednesday night that the team signed a deal last week to purchase A’s planned 49-acre site to build a stadium with a capacity of 30,000 to 35,000 seats near the Las Vegas Strip. He said
The A’s is working with the State of Nevada and Clark County in a public-private partnership to fund the stadium. Kaval hopes A’s will break ground by next year and move into their new home by 2027.
“Obviously, this is a very big milestone for us,” Caval said. “We spent almost two years in Las Vegas trying to determine suitable locations for long-term housing. Identifying a location and signing a purchase agreement is a big step.”
The A’s had been looking for a new home for years to replace the antiquated and dilapidated Oakland Coliseum where the team had played since arriving from Kansas City in the 1968 season. They sought to build stadiums in Fremont and San Jose before shifting their attention to the Oakland waterfront.
Las Vegas will be the fourth home of the franchise that began as the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901-54.
“We’re totally committed to Las Vegas,” Caval said. “We used to take parallel paths, but we’re really focused on Las Vegas as the path to finding A’s future home.”
Commissioner Rob Manfred said in December that the A’s would not have to pay relocation costs if the team moved to Las Vegas.
“We are past a reasonable timeline for resolving the Auckland situation,” Manfred said at the time.
Auckland Mayor Sheng Thao said in a statement that he was disappointed that A had not negotiated with the city as a “true partner”.
“The City has gone far ahead in our attempts to reach mutually beneficial terms to maintain A in Auckland,” she said. has made great strides to close the deal, but it’s clear that A has no intention of staying in Oakland and is simply using this process to try and pull a better deal out of Las Vegas. has no interest in continuing that game. Fans and our residents deserve better.
“I am extremely proud of what we have achieved as a city, including securing a fully qualified site and over $375 million in new infrastructure investment that will benefit Auckland and its port for generations to come. I am proud.In times of budget shortfalls, I refuse to endanger the safety and well-being of our residents.In light of these realities, we are suspending negotiations and redeveloping the Howard Terminal. We are working on alternatives for
The A’s become the second MLB team to change cities in over half a century. The Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers in 1972, so the only team he moved to was the Montreal Expos, which became the Washington Nationals in 2005.
A’s lease at the Coliseum expires after the 2024 season. The A’s have struggled to attract fans to the Coliseum in recent years, as owner John Fisher cut salaries and many of the team’s most famous stars were traded.
Oakland’s first day of baseball was the lowest of $58 million, less than the $43.3 million combined annual salary of Mets pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.
The team has a winning streak of 3-16 this season and is above 86 points. This is his worst record in 19 games since 1899. The league average is around 27,800. The A’s hasn’t amassed his two million fans at his home since 2014. It’s the only year since 2005.
The A’s leaving Oakland leaves a city with a rich sports heritage without a major professional sports team, with the NFL’s Raiders moving to Las Vegas in 2020 and the NBA’s Warriors moving across the Bay to San Francisco in 2019. Move.
“I know it’s a difficult message for the people of Auckland,” Kaval said. “Obviously, we appreciate all the hard work that’s been done on the waterfront, but we haven’t been able to achieve success or make enough progress.”
After years of being considered a pariah due to its ties to the gambling industry, Las Vegas has quickly become a mecca for sports. Baseball teams can now join the NHL’s Golden Knights and Raiders, which began as expansion teams.
