MLB Team Purchaes Land in Las Vegas for New Stadium
It looks like Las Vegas could have an MLB team shortly. According to Mick Ackers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Oakland Athletics have signed a binding agreement to purchase 49 acres near the Las Vegas strip. The A's are looking to build a stadium that seats at least 30,000 and has a partially retractable roof, according to team president Dave Kaval. Oakland plans to relocate before the 2027 season.
"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," Kaval told the Review-Journal (per CBS Sports). "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."
The Oakland Athletics tentatively plan to break ground next year on a $1 billion Las Vegas ballpark with a partially retractable roof, per @reviewjournal.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 20, 2023
It would be set to open in time for the 2027 season. pic.twitter.com/EN6H4YW2YT
The proposed stadium would be located near the homes of the NFL's Raiders and NHL's Golden Knights. According to the Nevada Independent, the A's relocation plan includes passing a bill through the legislature to create a funding mechanism, including a special taxation district covering the stadium site, which would allow for sales tax proceeds to be reinvested in the area, along with an allocation of transferable tax credits estimated to be worth around $500 million."
The A's have been in Oakland since moving from Kansas City in 1968. The team has been playing in the Oakland Coliseum all these years and was also the longtime home of the Oakland Raiders before they moved to Las Vegas in 2020. The A's have been seeking a new stadium since 2009, and MLB set a January 2024 deadline for a stadium deal. If and when the A's do relocate, they will be the second MLB team since the 1970s to make that jump. In 2004, the Montreal Expos moved to the Washington D.C. area and renamed themselves the Washington Nationals.
The A's have had their share of success in Oakland. During their 50-plus years in the city, the A's have won 17 division titles, six American League titles and four World Series Championships. However, the last time the A's won the World Series was in 1989, and the last time they played in the Fall Classic was in 1990.