MLB team owners set to vote Thursday on proposed relocation of Athletics to Las Vegas
ARLINGTON, Texas — Major League Baseball team owners are set to vote today on the proposed relocation of the Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas at the end of their league-wide meeting.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred was presenting his recommendation to the 30 owners during the three-day meeting, which came about six months after the A’s reached a tentative agreement for a new stadium in Las Vegas after being unable to reach a deal for one in Oakland.
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Any recommendation for a move would require at least a three-quarters vote — at least 23 owners — for approval. The last team to relocate was the Montreal Expos, who became the Washington Nationals in 2005.
When some owners were arriving Tuesday, a plane pulling a banner that read “A’S BELONG IN OAKLAND —#VOTENO” flew above the hotel where they are meeting adjacent to Globe Life Field, home of the World Series champion Texas Rangers.
That is part of a last-ditch effort to stop any approval of the move.
At least half of the owners were sent special “Stay In Oakland” boxes from Bay Area fans packed with a green Athletics cap, a baseball card featuring his likeness and a note telling him all the reasons he should vote no on the team’s planned relocation.
If a move is approved, a new Las Vegas ballpark appears unlikely to open any earlier than 2027. It is uncertain where the A’s would play after 2024 during construction of a new stadium.
The team announced April 19 it had purchased land in Las Vegas, then a month later replaced that location with a deal with Bally’s and Gaming &Leisure Properties to build a stadium on the Tropicana hotel site along the Las Vegas Strip.
Nevada’s Legislature and governor approved public financing for a $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat ballpark with a retractable roof that will be close to Allegiant Stadium, where the NFL’s Oakland Raiders moved in 2020, and T-Mobile Arena, where the current Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights started play in 2017 as an expansion team.
