The MLB owners unanimously approved for the Oakland Athletics to move to Las Vegas. The move is devastating for the city of Oakland and their sports fans, as every major sports team has now left the city. The Athletics will now join the former Oakland Raiders in Las Vegas. The Golden State Warriors are still close by, but their stadium is now in San Francisco.
Following the announcement, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred responded to the news.
“I know, I know this is a terrible day for fans in Oakland. I understand that,” Manfred said. “That’s why we always had a policy of doing everything humanly possible to avoid a relocation, and I truly believe we did that in this case,” via The Athletic's Evan Drellich.
“I think it’s beyond debate that the status quo in Oakland was untenable,” Manfred added. “I am absolutely convinced there was not a viable path forward.”
Athletics' owner John Fisher spoke on the move, saying, “Today is an incredibly difficult day for Oakland A’s fans. It’s a great day for Las Vegas,” via ESPN's Jeff Passan.
The move comes because the team was unable to get help from the city of Oakland to build a new stadium to replace an aging Oakland Coliseum that was built in 1966. Still, the relocation is another betrayal for Oakland fans who have been among the most loyal followers of their teams.
After the news initially emerged that the John Fisher was considering a move to Vegas, fans showed up to games with “sell the team” signs and chants. Unfortunately, the protests did not work. The Athletics won't be able to play in their new Vegas stadium until 2028, but are planning on using multiple home fields in the meantime.
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