The Oakland A’s Are Moving to Las Vegas

Mick Akers, reporting for The Las Vegas Review-Journal:

The Oakland Athletics have zeroed in on Southern Nevada, signing a binding purchase agreement for land just west of the Strip where a major-league ballpark could be constructed. The agreement is for 49 acres at Dean Martin Drive and Tropicana Avenue, owned by Red Rock Resorts, parent company of Station Casinos.

That’s close to T-Mobile Arena (home of the NHL Golden Knights), behind the New York New York casino complex.

“For a while we were on parallel paths (with Oakland), but we have turned our attention to Las Vegas to get a deal here for the A’s and find a long-term home,” A’s President Dave Kaval told the Review-Journal on Wednesday. “Oakland has been a great home for us for over 50 years, but we really need this 20-year saga completed and we feel there’s a path here in Southern Nevada to do that.”

With the announcement of the purchase agreement, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred concurs with Kaval and hopes the A’s shifting their efforts solely to Southern Nevada will lead to the end of the team’s yearslong quest to leave crumbling Oakland Coliseum.

Recent embarrassments for the A’s in Oakland include a game against the Cleveland Guardians that drew just 3,000 fans, and a possum that lives within the walls of the visiting press boxes, which stunk them up so badly that the Mets’ broadcast team had to move to another box.

★ Thursday, 20 April 2023