The Oakland A’s may become the Las Vegas A’s a lot sooner than 2027.
In a late Wednesday night news dump, the franchise announced it agreed to purchase 49 acres of land in Las Vegas for a $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat stadium that is expected to be complete for the 2027 season.
The franchise’s lease with Oakland Coliseum doesn’t end until 2025, but according to Michael Nowels of the East Bay Times, it’s possible the A’s relocate before then, using the home of their Triple-A affiliate — the Las Vegas Aviators — in the interim.
Per Nowels, “Team president Dave Kaval said the A’s have a deal in place with the Aviators to use Las Vegas Ballpark if needed — possibly as soon as next season if the sides agree to terminate the lease early.”
Nowels pointed to the pros and cons of such a move. Bay Area A’s fans are rightfully upset with the team’s decision to leave Oakland. The relationship won’t get any better the longer the A’s stay, which could awkwardly extend for three more seasons if the organization decides to remain in Oakland until the Vegas stadium is complete.
But an exodus won’t exactly be easy.
MLB has to sign off on the move since Las Vegas Ballpark is “not a big league facility,” writes Nowels. It has 10,000 seats, less than half of the 25,000-seat capacity of Tampa Bay’s Tropicana Field, the lowest in MLB.
Plus, as arguably the worst team in baseball, the A’s playing their games on a Triple-A field might be too on-the-nose.
With the lowest payroll in baseball and a league-worst minus-85 run differential through 20 games, the A’s look more like a Triple-A team than one operating on a major league level.
If they do end up moving, at least the shoe will fit.
