The Oakland Athletics’ move to Las Vegas was unanimously approved Thursday by Major League Baseball team owners, cementing the sport’s first relocation since 2005.

A 75% vote of the 30 teams was necessary for approval of A’s owner John Fisher’s plan, which was endorsed by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred.

“There was an effort over more than a decade to find a stadium solution in Oakland. It was John Fisher’s preference. It was my preference," Manfred said at a news conference following the vote. “This is a terrible day for fans in Oakland. I understand that and that’s why we’ve always had a policy of doing everything humanly possible to avoid a relocation and truly believe we did that in this case. I think it’s beyond debate that the status quo in Oakland was untenable.”

After years of complaints about the Oakland Coliseum and an inability to negotiate government assistance for a new ballpark in the Bay area, the A’s plan to move to a stadium to be built on the Las Vegas Strip with $380 million in public financing approved by the Nevada government. The team plans for the ballpark to open in 2028. MLB approved Clark County as its operating territory following the move and Nevada as its television territory.

“I understand that this is an incredibly difficult day for Oakland fans, and I just want to say we gave every effort and did everything we could to try and find a solution there.” Fisher said. “I’m very excited about the opportunity in Vegas. The fans there are terrific."

Players’ association head Tony Clark declined comment on the decision.

The Athletics’ lease at the Coliseum runs through 2024, and they will remain next season at the outdated and run-down stadium where they have played since moving to California in 1968. It remains unclear where the team will play after that until a new ballpark opens.

Manfred said the a variety of alternatives are being explored, including possibly of the A’s staying at the Coliseum in the interim period. He said the preference will be to “find an 81-game home” for the team, unlike the unique situation with the Blue Jays in 2021, when pandemic travel restrictions caused MLB to shift home games at the team's spring training facility in Dunedin, Florida, and then its Triple-A ballpark in Buffalo, New York, before going back to Toronto at midseason.

Las Vegas will become the fourth city for a franchise that played in Philadelphia from 1901-54, moved to Kansas City for 13 seasons and arrived in Oakland for 1968. The new stadium will be the team’s fifth after Columbia Park (1901-08), Shibe Park (1909-54), Memorial Stadium (1955-67) and the Coliseum.

Since the Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers for 1972, the only other team to relocate was the Montreal Expos, who became the Washington Nationals in 2005.

The A’s in 2006 proposed a ballpark in Fremont, about 25 miles south in the East Bay, but abandoned the plan three years later. San Jose, 40 miles south of Oakland, was proposed in 2012, but the San Francisco Giants blocked the site because it was part of that team’s territory. The A’s chose a site in the Oakland area near Laney College only to have it rejected by the college and neighbors, then focused on the Howard Terminal area of Oakland. While some approvals were gained, a financing plan was never reached.

The team announced April 19 it had purchased land in Las Vegas, then a month later replaced that location with a deal with Bally’s and Gaming & Leisure Properties to build a stadium on the Tropicana hotel site along the Las Vegas Strip.

“This relocation will bring thousands of new jobs to our state, while also generating historic economic development and providing a return on public investment for the direct benefit of Nevada taxpayers,” “Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo said in a statement.

Nevada’s Legislature and governor approved public financing for a $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat ballpark with a retractable roof that will be close to Allegiant Stadium, where the NFL’s Oakland Raiders moved to in 2020, and T-Mobile Arena, where the current Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights started play in 2017 as an expansion team.

In a statement, Governor Lombardo said: 

“Following today’s unanimous MLB relocation vote, Nevada is more excited than ever to welcome the A’s home to Las Vegas. As more and more Americans are finding out — and as MLB owners recognized today — Nevada is a great state to do business. This relocation will bring thousands of new jobs to our state, while also generating historic economic development and providing a return on public investment for the direct benefit of Nevada taxpayers. Las Vegas has proven itself as a sports town, and we’re ready to play ball.”

“The success of the Raiders and the Golden Knights has shown — as well as our own Triple-A team, the Aviators — has shown just how successful professional sports can be in that market,” Fisher said.

Oakland traded veterans and finished an MLB-worst 50-112 this season and was again last in average attendance at 10,276 per game. Manfred defended Fisher, who has been harshly criticized by A’s supporters.

“I understand the fans’ reaction to what happened in 2022 in terms of the moves that were made," Manfred said. "I also understand that when you play in a substandard facility — fan support, it is not as strong as what we have in some other markets that it affects your economics and what you can afford to do. So my my answer is over the long haul, yes, I think he’s been a good owner.”

While San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose is the 10th-largest television market in the U.S., Las Vegas is the 40th. Baseball players’ association head Tony Clark last month questioned whether the shift to a smaller city would put the team on a path of needed perpetual assistance under MLB’s revenue-sharing plan.

MLB is able to control city changes because of the sport’s antitrust exemption, granted by a 1922 U.S. Supreme Court decision. In the last half-century, the NFL has seen moves by the Raiders (Oakland to Los Angeles, back to Oakland and then Las Vegas), the Colts (Baltimore to Indianapolis), the Cardinals (St. Louis to Phoenix), the Rams (Los Angeles to St. Louis and back to LA), the Oilers (Houston to Nashville) and the Chargers (San Diego to Los Angeles).

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

ORIGINAL STORY: 

Major League Baseball team owners are set to vote Thursday on the proposed relocation of the Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas at the end of their league-wide meeting.

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred was presenting his recommendation to the 30 owners during the three-day meeting, which came about six months after the A’s reached a tentative agreement for a new stadium in Las Vegas after being unable to reach a deal for one in Oakland.

Any recommendation for a move would require at least a three-quarters vote — at least 23 owners — for approval. The last team to relocate was the Montreal Expos, who became the Washington Nationals in 2005.

When some owners were arriving Tuesday, a plane pulling a banner that read “A’S BELONG IN OAKLAND –#VOTENO” flew above the hotel where they are meeting adjacent to Globe Life Field, home of the World Series champion Texas Rangers.

That is part of a last-ditch effort to stop any approval of the move. At least half of the owners were sent special “Stay In Oakland” boxes from Bay Area fans packed with a green Athletics cap, a baseball card featuring his likeness and a note telling him all the reasons he should vote no on the team’s planned relocation.

If a move is approved, a new Las Vegas ballpark appears unlikely to open any earlier than 2027. It is uncertain where the A’s would play after 2024 during construction of a new stadium.

The team announced April 19 it had purchased land in Las Vegas, then a month later replaced that location with a deal with Bally’s and Gaming & Leisure Properties to build a stadium on the Tropicana hotel site along the Las Vegas Strip.

Nevada’s Legislature and governor approved public financing for a $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat ballpark with a retractable roof that will be close to Allegiant Stadium, where the NFL’s Oakland Raiders moved in 2020, and T-Mobile Arena, where the current Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights started play in 2017 as an expansion team.

Oakland finished an MLB-worst 50-112 this season and was again last in the majors in average attendance at 10,276 per game. That was well below the league-wide average of 29,283, but up from the previous two years when the A's were below 10,000 fans per game.

The A's have played in the Oakland Coliseum since moving to California in 1968, and their lease to play in the outdated and run-down facility goes through next season. There were several proposals for new ballparks around Oakland since at least 2006 before owner John Fisher and the team turned their focus to Las Vegas.

Oakland is the franchise's third home. It started in Philadelphia from 1901-54, then moved to Kansas City for 13 seasons before arriving in California.

A Nevada judge last week threw out a proposed ballot referendum backed by a statewide teachers union that would give voters the final say on whether to provide the public funding for the proposed stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.

Schools over Stadiums spokesperson Alexander Marks said the organization’s leadership will likely both appeal the decision to the Nevada Supreme Court and refile the referendum petition.

“If there was an adverse development with respect to that referendum, that would be a significant development,” Manfred said when speaking before Game 1 of the World Series in Texas on Oct. 27.

Before the Expos moved to Washington in 2005, MLB hadn't had a team relocated since the Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers in 1972.

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