The Oakland A's have announced plans to move to Las Vegas.
The president of the MLB team, Dave Kaval, confirmed with Scripps News Las Vegas that they are moving forward on becoming the Las Vegas A's.
The Oakland A's have stopped negotiations with the City of Oakland and have shifted their focus to the entertainment capital of the world.
According to Kaval, the A's and Red Rock Resorts are close to agreeing on a $1 billion deal for a stadium north of Allegiant Stadium, home of the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders. Kaval said they hope to get everything finalized shortly and put a shovel in the ground next year, and open the stadium by 2027.
The relocation will still need approval from MLB owners.
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Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo released a statement reading in part, "Welcoming the A's to Las Vegas would be great news for southern Nevada as well as our entire state. The prospect of bringing new jobs, more economic development, and an exceptional MLB team to Las Vegas is exciting on many levels."
The announcement comes following years of negotiations between MLB and Oakland officials to build a new stadium there. Attendance at A's games has been among the lowest in MLB in recent years. Oakland was the only team in MLB averaging below 10,000 fans per game in 2022.
A potential A's departure from Oakland would mean the city would have lost all three of its major sports franchises in about a decade. The NBA's Golden State Warriors moved to San Francisco in 2019. The Raiders moved out of Oakland before the 2020 season.
This article was written by Bryan Horwath for Scripps News Las Vegas.
