OAKLAND, CA - AUGUST 08: Mike Fiers #50 of the Oakland Athletics pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at the Oakland Coliseum on August 8, 2018 in Oakland, California.
The Oakland Athletics are currently poised to move from the Bay Area to the desert. One surprising voice is coming out against the proposition.
Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman voiced her opposition to the Athletics’ current plan to relocate to her city, in a Front Office Sports interview released this week.
Goodman criticized the logistics of the specific move to the area of the now-defunct Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel, which would transform into a new baseball park for the Athletics. She also showed support for longtime fans of the Athletics, suggesting that the team’s ownership should “listen to the people that are up there [in Oakland]. It’s their team.”
After the interview was published, Goodman clarified her opinions on the Athletics’ impending move to Las Vegas in a post to X on Tuesday afternoon.
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In the opening sentence of the statement, the mayor wrote, “I want to be clear that I am excited about the prospect of Major League Baseball in Las Vegas, and it very well may be that the Las Vegas A’s will become a reality that we will welcome to our city.”
Goodman emphasized that while she supported the local fan base in Oakland, if the Athletics were to ultimately relocate, she would be welcoming to that, describing Las Vegas as a “spectacular market for major league sports franchises.”
The Athletics are coming off a dismal season in 2023, finishing 50-112 and with the worst record in the MLB. The team was supposed to finalize its plans of where the team will play in 2025 and beyond due to the Oakland Coliseum’s expiring lease with the team approaching. However, an ESPN report released on January 30 detailed that the A’s failed to reach an agreement on the team’s stadium future, and the situation remains in limbo. There is still a chance the Athletics remain in Oakland until the projected relocation to Las Vegas in 2028.
A’s fans have promised to boycott ticket sales until a new owner is found for the team. The team has responded by offering a BOGO (Buy One, Get One) ticket deal.
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