The owners of teams from two previous cities of the Oakland Athletics, namely the Philadelphia Phillies and the Kansas City Royals, have been appointed to evaluate the possibility of the franchise moving to Las Vegas. The appointment was made by Major League Baseball’s relocation committee, with the Philadelphia Phillies’ chief executive officer John Middleton and the Kansas City Royals’ CEO John Sherman joining the committee. The chair of the relocation committee is Mark Attanasio, the chairman of the Milwaukee Brewers, who was selected by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred last month.
The primary task of the relocation committee is to assess the Oakland Athletics’ application for relocation, determine the new operating and television territories, and then provide a recommendation to Commissioner Manfred and the eight-member executive council. The executive council will then formulate a recommendation to all 30 MLB clubs, who must approve the move with at least a three-quarters vote.
As of now, no specific timetable has been announced for Major League Baseball to consider the potential relocation.
The lease of the Oakland Athletics at the Coliseum is set to expire after the 2024 season. The Athletics, who currently have the worst record, lowest attendance, and smallest payroll in the major leagues, have expressed their desire to move to a new ballpark in Las Vegas.
If the relocation is approved, Las Vegas would become the fourth home for the franchise. The team originated in Philadelphia from 1901-1954, then moved to Kansas City for 13 seasons before settling in Oakland in 1968.
In support of the proposed move, the Nevada Legislature has approved $380 million in public financing for a proposed $1.5 billion ballpark in Las Vegas. The new ballpark would have a seating capacity of 30,000 and a retractable roof. It would be situated on the Tropicana hotel site of the Las Vegas Strip, close to Allegiant Stadium (home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders since 2020) and T-Mobile Arena (home of the Vegas Golden Knights, the current Stanley Cup champions, since their establishment as an expansion team in 2017).
Since the Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers in 1972, the only team to relocate in Major League Baseball has been the Montreal Expos, who became the Washington Nationals in 2005.
