John Fisher/Getty Images
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Multiple attempts to build a new ballpark to replace the out-of-date Oakland Coliseum were made, but they were thwarted each time.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.
>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Bleacher Report – https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10097261-mlb-rumors-athletics-proposed-las-vegas-move-expected-to-be-approved-this-week
