The Oakland Athletics are ready to look at the possibility of relocation, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. This threat is being made in order to put pressure on local government officials to move forward with a new stadium project in Oakland that has failed to get off the ground in recent years.

The Athletics have played in Oakland since 1968. They have a desire to stay in the city and build a new stadium at the Howard Terminal site, but a failure to go forward with these plans has the franchise ready to look elsewhere.

Athletics owner John Fisher released this statement on the matter:

“The future success of the A's depends on a new ballpark. Oakland is a great baseball town, and we will continue to pursue our waterfront ballpark project. We will also follow MLB's direction to explore other markets.”

Here are some details of the proposed Howard Terminal project:

The Howard Terminal project — in which the A's have proposed privately funding a $1 billion stadium and spending more on a development that would include 3,000 units of affordable housing, office and retail space, and a hotel — is the latest and has been seen as the likeliest to succeed.

After the A's outlined proposal, which the organization said would include $450 million in community benefits, $955 million in general-fund revenues and an $855 million commitment from the city for infrastructure improvements, a spokesman in the mayor's office said in a late-April statement: “The City is willing to bear its resources to help make this vision a reality; however, today's proposal from the A's appears to request public investment at the high end of projects of this type nationwide.”

The Athletics currently play at 55-year-old RingCentral Coliseum, which is badly in need of an upgrade. The franchise's lease there ends in 2024, and MLB has zero desire to see a new stadium on that site.

If the Athletics were to actually move, Las Vegas is reportedly the likeliest destination. Las Vegas just got the Raiders, Golden Knights and Aces in recent years.