Potential site for Oakland A's relocation
Hey Baseball fans, it looks like there’s been another step taken towards having a relocated Major League Baseball (MLB) team move to Las Vegas.
The Oakland Athletics have been rumored for quit a while to come to the Sin City, and now, the latest news is that they are offering to buy a piece of land for their potential stadium. There’s one issue here, where is this “land” located?
The latest rumors speculate that the team is eyeing the Tropicana site, but a spokesperson for the A’s told Las Vegas 8 News, “The Oakland Athletics can’t confirm this report and do not have a comment at this time.”
Here are four reasons why Oakland A’s should make Vegas their new home.
Location, Location, Location
It’s unknown exactly where the land is in Nevada. There is no evidence or signs identifying where the professional baseball spot could be a reality in Las Vegas. When questions were brought up about the relocation of the Athletics stadium, even they struggled to find the answers.
The organization has said for months now that they have listed up to 24 possible areas where they prefer to have a new stadium in Southern Nevada, and then plan to narrow it down to three or four after the World Series. The Braves won it about a few weeks ago and there still has been no word from the A’s about their stadium landing spots.
Keeping the team in oakland?
While this news may seem that the Athletics days in Oakland are numbered. We are learning now that there is still a slight chance that the A’s may stay in the Bay Area. But how realistic does that look, especially considering that Las Vegas already stripped the NFL’s Raiders away from Oakland?
What if Oakland fans want to keep the team, even if it means building a new state-of-the-art ball park there? Or what if Vegas is a new beginning for a franchise in need of some major publicity noise?
There is good news for now, as (ABC-7) in San Francisco reports that the Oakland City Council will be casting a monumental vote that could be a revolutionary factor in terms of the Oakland A’s fate in Las Vegas.
Vegas doesn’t have an mLB Team (Yet!)
Oakland fans and the city council could argue that Las Vegas doesn’t have a baseball team because the city already has other professional sports teams. They want to use the age old argument to Vegas residents that Vegas can’t have the same fan support as Oakland always has had. Thirty years ago, this argument would have been legit since The Athletics had amazing teams in Oakland. Plus the fan attendance was selling out every night.
Nowadays, things have changed. The Raiders have a beautiful state-of-the art facility in Allegiant Stadium. It cost billions of dollars and has up to ten levels of walking distance. Celebrity musicians perform at halftime. Every performance feels like being at the Super-Bowl halftime show.
Also, T-Mobile Arena hosts the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights and the pregame shows are like being at a playoff game when the team is performing well.
Aging Ballpark (Coliseum)
In Oakland, there lies a ballpark known to many Oakland A’s fans as the Coliseum. From its original construction to its numerous renovations, the ballpark has seen everything. All of their endeavors aimed towards trying to stay profitable and relevant in today’s stadium values.
While fans still try to fill the ballpark, attendance has been very poor as of late. There are open seats available for fans that want to attend. Because of COVID-19 and the lack of enthusiasm for the club, most fans would prefer to watch the game from the comforts of their homes.
There has been an effort to save baseball in Oakland, but this last Hail-Mary attempt by the Oakland City Council might be too little too late. They have called to vote for a new, multi-billion dollar waterfront ballpark in Oakland that would seat up to 35,000 people and possibly have an opportunity to make more money by adding extra corporate suites.
That optimism remains high, but with the recent updates about the new land, it may be time to pump the brakes on this project.
