Earlier this week, the Golden Knights became the first Las Vegas professional franchise to win a championship. The Golden Knights were founded in 2017 as an expansion team.
After calling Oakland home for more than two decades, the Raiders franchise moved to Las Vegas in 2020. Now, another Oakland based team is poised to relocate to Las Vegas: the Athletics.
Earlier this week, the franchise cleared a major hurdle for its planned relocation after Nevada lawmakers gave final approval to public funding for a portion of a proposed $1.5 billion stadium.
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In a few years, two-time National League MVP Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies could be traveling to Las Vegas instead of Oakland for a three-game series.
But Harper does not seem to be particularly excited about the prospects of the A’s potentially calling a different city their home.
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“I feel sorry for the fans in Oakland,’’ Harper told USA Today Sports. “It’s just not right. They have so much history in Oakland. You’re taking a team out of a city. I’m pretty sad because of all of the history and all of the greatness they’ve seen there.”
On Thursday, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed Senate Bill 1, which brought a new A’s baseball stadium one step closer to becoming reality.
“I’m excited to officially sign SB1 this afternoon,” Lombardo said. “This is an incredible opportunity to bring the A’s to Nevada, and this legislation reflects months of negotiations between the team, the state, the county and the league. Las Vegas’ position as a global sports destination is only growing, and Major League Baseball is another tremendous asset for the city.”
MLB owners still need to vote on the relocation proposal.
Harper’s teammate, shortstop Bryson Scott, expressed his desire for an expansion team rather than seeing the A’s leave Las Vegas.
“We would rather see an expansion team than a relocated team,” Scott said. “That’s why fans are so crazy about the Knights. It’s Vegas’ first team. It’s ours. It was kind of easy for people to gravitate towards that. Vegas wasn’t a big hockey town. It is now.”
Aside from their stadium issues, the A’s are tied with the Kansas City Royals for the worst record in baseball. Ownership has also been reluctant to invest in the team, which has the smallest payroll in the majors.
“That’s why it should have been an expansion franchise, not the A’s,’’ Harper said. “Look at the Knights, they won the [Stanley] Cup, but they were an expansion franchise. They were Vegas-born, as people would say. It’s the first team that came to Vegas. I don’t think you can really match that.”
“It’s just going to be tough for those guys. It was tough for the Raiders last year. People thought the Raiders would be successful. Maybe they will be, but you have to build a fan base. Those 5- and 6-year-olds are going to grow up as Raiders fans or A’s fans, so by the time they are 16-, 17-years-old, they’re going to have fans.”
The Phillies are scheduled to play a three-game series against the A’s at the Oakland Coliseum this weekend.
Due to the terms of the team’s lease, it is unclear where the A’s will play after 2024 as they wait for a stadium to possibly be built in Las Vegas.
“Those fans are so passionate, they bleed green,” Harper said. “I’m not sure what they’re going to be or how they’re going to be in Vegas, but it won’t be the same – pretty small market. The 30,000-seat stadium helps out a little bit, but at the same time, I’m going to be pretty sad they’re moving because of all of that history and all of the greatness they’ve seen there.”
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