Major League Commissioner Rob Manfred addresses the news media on Thu Jun 15, 2023 at MLB Headquarters in New York. The owners will be taking a vote on the relocation of the Oakland A’s that date has not yet been determined (AP News photo)
Why are the Major League Baseball owners yet to approve the A’s relocation from Oakland, California to Las Vegas, Nevada? Very simple, the A’s are late in this endeavor, and they (A’s) just begun the process to apply for relocation. Almost a month already had passed since Nevada’s Governor Joe Lombardo signed the Senate Bill into law. The owners are waiting for the A’s relocation plan, which would explain why the A’s are leaving one city to move to another. The other 29 owners need to know why they are leaving Oakland to Las Vegas. Have they tried and exhausted all their options in Oakland? Is Las Vegas a brand new untapped market that would benefit Major League Baseball?
It was on June 15, Rob Manfred, Commissioner of Baseball said the following:
“It has always been baseball’s policy and preference to stay put,” “I think that always colors any conversation about relocation. Having said that, I think the owners as a whole understand that there has been a multiyear, pushing-a-decade effort where for the vast majority of the time, the sole focus was Oakland.
-After the owners get the A’s relocation plan, owners have to review, and then send it to another owners committee for approval. Seventy-five percent of owners have to approve the relocation petition by the A’s. Nobody knows how the owners will vote. Most are probably are anxious to end this long running issue of the A’s new park, others (probably the big markets) might not be very happy with shelling money to A’s and other small market teams via revenue sharing. Ironically the A’s in Las Vegas would be in the smallest baseball media market in the US. For years I have refused to accept that the A’s in Oakland were a “small market” team, in my opinion, just ridiculous, we have almost 7 million people living in the 9-county Bay Area, around San José, San Francisco and Oakland. However, it is believed, that if the A’s present a coherent petition at least 22 owners would vote Yes to the relocation.
The owners want to get the Oakland A’s situation resolved, as well as the Tampa Bay Rays, so they can move together under the Commissioner on expansion of two more teams. There will be no expansion until Oakland and Tampa are settled. And who knows, Oakland might even get an expansion team after losing the A’s or even a larger bay area city, like San José who already threw their hat in the ring and asked the Commissioner to “free them” from the Giants owning their territory, the same territory the A’s gave the Giants in 1990, as San Francisco was in danger or losing the team to Florida. By the way, I believe San José has an excellent chance to get an expansion team. They presented their request to the Commissioner who did not say No, but, said that MLB is working on the Athletics relocation. Again, there will be no expansion until Oakland and Tampa Bay resolve their stadiums situations.
To be resolved:
-The over $1 Billion to build the proposed new ballpark. The A’s most prove they can come up with the remaining $1.1 billion in private financing to fund the rest of the $1.5 billion ballpark project. They already got $380 million from the State of Nevada and the city of Las Vegas and then signed by the Nevada governor, at the time, which was believed to be the biggest hurdle.
-There is also another issue at the Nevada Legislation, which was previously on the table.. The A’s agreed in principle to sign a 30-year no-relocation agreement with Las Vegas to another city. This is mostly a “done deal”, since both sides agreed during the Nevada Legislation special sessions, regarding the A’s Bill, but now the A’s owner would have to sign it to make it official.
-The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and the Athletics new planned baseball park in Las Vegas. A’s will have to abide by the laws of federal aviation. That seems also to be a done deal. This is more diplomatic than anything else.
There could be more curve balls thrown at this, but this is the ‘bread and butter’ of the relocation of the Oakland A’s, as we approach the 2023 All Star Break. The Oakland A’s already announced they will play the 2024 season at the Oakland Coliseum. After that, nobody seems to know, and if they do know, they have not said a word. The A’s AAA affiliate Las Vegas Aviators to date have 11 sellouts and lead the Pacific Coast League in attendance, even with temperatures consistently over 100 degrees (no dome), as reported by the Independent in Las Vegas. This park could be the leading contender to host the A’s for a few years (after 2024) until they inaugurate their new MLB park in 2028. The players union will have a say on this also; of course, there is no hidden agenda here. Like they say in Vegas “all cards are on the table”.
Is the relocation to Las Vegas a sure thing? On the words of the great Benjamin Franklin after signing the US Constitution (quote) “Nothing can be said is certain, except Death and Taxes.
Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Oakland A’s lead play by play announcer heard on the A’s Spanish radio network on 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 1010 KATD Pittsburg and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
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