It appears that a move away from the Bay is imminent for the Oakland Athletics. After reports surfaced that the team has plans in place to build a new ballpark in Las Vegas, the Athletics all but confirmed the reports with a statement to their fans in Oakland.

The statement reads that the Athletics have tried to get a new stadium built in Oakland for over 20 years, but for one reason or another, it didn't work out. The franchise said it has “made a strong and sincere effort to stay [in Oakland].”

Since moving to Oakland from Kansas City in 1968, the Athletics have played their home games at the Oakland Coliseum. Currently, the Coliseum is the fourth oldest operating stadium in Major League Baseball.

The Athletics have the worst attendance of any team this season, averaging just over 11,000 fans a game. Oakland also ranked last in 2022, one of only two teams (Miami Marlins) to have less than one million total fans in attendance. The franchise hasn't been outside the bottom 10 in league attendance since 2005, despite seven playoff appearances since then.

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The Athletics said they share the disappointment of the fans.

We recognize that this is very hard to hear. We are disappointed that we've been unable to achieve our shared vision of a waterfront ballpark,” the franchise said. “As we shift our focus to Vegas, we will continue to share details about next steps.”

The Athletics are off to a league-worst 3-16 record. Those who run the franchise see better days ahead in Las Vegas.