It's starting to look more and more likely that the Oakland Athletics will be relocating to Las Vegas — but there are still quite a few requirements that must be met before that can happen.
The relocation must be approved by three-quarters of major-league owners, and “some of the large-market clubs figure to at least ask hard questions before saying yes, if they say yes at all,” wrote The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal on Friday.
The next step in the process is for Athletic's owner John Fisher to file a detailed relocation application to the league. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters earlier this week that any team must meet “pretty rigorous requirements” to leave a city. Fisher will need to justify why he believes moving the team out of Oakland is the right move.
That will create additional scrutiny as Oakland is the nation's sixth-largest television market, whereas Las Vegas is the 40th largest, per Rosenthal.
“The application, according to sources briefed on the requirements but not authorized to speak publicly, must include revenue projections, payroll projections, the financing and construction plans for a new stadium, among other details,” wrote Rosenthal.
Manfred was adamant that he has no problem with the Athletics leaving California, but the financial plans are important to owners, especially those in large markets who will subsidize them in revenue sharing.
“You have to talk about the market you're leaving, the efforts you've made there, the markets you want to go to, and why it's better,” Manfred said on Thursday.
There truly are a ton of questions that still need to be answered, including the plans for a ball stadium in Las Vegas; the 30,000-seat park is proposed to be located on nine acres, which is a tight footprint.
The proposal will now move to a relocation committee headed by Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, as well as two others who have not yet been named, sources told Rosenthal this week.
That evaluation will then go to Rob Manfred and then to the Executive Council, which will make the final recommendation on the future of the Oakland Athletics.
Although it's certainly possible that the move will get the green light, there are still quite a few more boxes that must be checked before that can happen.
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