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SALT LAKE CITY — The Oakland Athletics’ move to Las Vegas cleared its biggest hurdle Thursday, when Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed a $380 million financing package to help the team build a $1.5 billion stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.
“This is an incredible opportunity to bring AS to Nevada, and this legislation reflects months of negotiations between the team, the state, the county and (Major League Baseball),” he said in a statement after signing the bill. “Las Vegas’ position as a global sports destination is only growing and Major League Baseball is another great asset to the city.”
The Oakland A’s also released a statement calling the bill a “big step” in their plans to relocate the team. The team has now begun the formal league process to move the team through the deal.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday that the other MLB owners must approve the relocation plan before the move can be finalized, according to MLB.com. There is no time limit for this vote to happen; However, the owners are expected to approve the measure in the next few months, ESPN reported, and the team could move to Las Vegas in 2025 and play in the city’s Triple-A stadium until the new 30,000-seat stadium is built. Ready.
The A’s are formerly the parent organization of the Las Vegas Aviators in the Pacific Coast League.
This update has implications for Utah’s efforts to bring MLB to the Beehive State. The league has set a deadline of early 2024 for the A’s and Tampa Bay Rays, both of which have unclear futures at their current stadiums, before MLB considers two more teams on the way.
Big League Utah is one of a handful of startups seeking an MLB expansion team. Similar efforts are underway in Nashville, Tennessee. Orlando, Florida; and Portland, Oregon, among other potential cities.
“It means we’re one step closer to expansion,” Steve Stark, CEO of the Larry H. Miller Company and a founding member of Big League Utah, said last week when asked about the A’s relocation.
He told KSL.com that the A’s move was a difficult situation to watch from afar. On the one hand, it’s one of those dominoes that need to fall before the league expands. On the other hand, it’s hard to see a baseball town losing a team after 55 years.
MLB has not publicly and privately released any updates on its plans to expand to clubs like Big League Utah. There isn’t a “set time” yet for the league to choose new expansion markets, Stark said.
Expansion is not the only option on the table though. He added that if another club wants to move, Salt Lake City is also willing to join the team. This time, nothing happened on that front.
“I would say Salt Lake is as competitive as any market,” he said of expansion and relocation. “We want baseball to know that if a team is looking to relocate or sell, we’re going to be an attractive[option]not just an ownership group, but a market — and we’re ready to go.”
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