The Oakland Athletics are one step closer to leaving the city and ending an era. Major League Baseball owners are expected to approve the franchise's move to the city of Las Vegas this week, per The Athletic. This is despite an uncertain future outlook for the franchise.
The Athletics franchise and the city of Oakland have battled for years on whether to build a new stadium for the team. The back and forth seemed to be never ending, but the situation eventually deteriorated and franchise ownership began the exploratory process to bring the A's to another city. Sin City to be exact, as Las Vegas became the desired destination for the team. However, it seems there is an effort to keep the franchise in Oakland, California, over uncertainty if Las Vegas can support a professional baseball franchise. One person described the A’s potential for success in Las Vegas as “iffy” but added there was no perceived better alternative, despite Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s contention that the necessary funding can be found in Oakland, per The Athletic.
It is going to be hard to see the Athletics leave Oakland. The A's have been in the city since 1968. Before that, the Athletics played in Kansas City and Philadelphia. The A's won World Series championships in Oakland in 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1989. Several outstanding players came through the city, including Rickey Henderson, Mark McGwire and Reggie Jackson.
A 75 percent vote of the owners is needed for the team to relocate to another city. 8 “no” votes would block the move, but that's not expected to be an issue, per The Athletic.
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