Oakland sports fans want their baseball franchise to stay in the city, but the more days pass, the clearer it becomes that the Oakland Athletics are on their way to Las Vegas. In a move that puts the relocation ever so closer to becoming a reality, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo put ink on paper in signing a bill that pledges the money needed to build a new stadium in Las Vegas, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.

“Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo on Thursday signed the bill pledging $380 million in taxpayer money toward a $1.5 billion stadium for the Oakland Athletics to move to Las Vegas, leaving only the approval of Major League Baseball to finalize the first relocation of a franchise in nearly two decades.”

The Athletics will have to get the support of other MLB franchises to finalize the relocation which is already viewed as something that's virtually in the bag.

“The A's need the support of the other teams, who are expected to rubber-stamp the move in the coming months without the team needing to pay the standard $1 billion relocation fee after commissioner Rob Manfred said he would waive it as long as the organization received public funding to support its stadium efforts.”

The expectation for the Athletics is that they will be playing in Las Vegas on or before 2025. Their lease on the Oakland Coliseum is set to expire in 2024. Between that and Lombardo's approval of the budget to construct a stadium in Las Vegas, all signs really point to the inevitable relocation of the Athletics.