The seemingly endless saga of the A’s moving from Oakland to Las Vegas is finally moving towards a conclusion.
Indeed, the $380 million public funding bill for a new stadium on the Vegas Strip was approved by the Nevada Senate in a special session on Tuesday. The next day, the Nevada Assembly voted in favor of the deal.
The Senate must now confirm the amendments to the bill and Governor Joe Lombardo must sign it. Then the other 29 MLB owners will have to approve the proposed move, but that’s not an issue.
It should be noted that the bill does not only apply to the Athletics. If the owners fail to secure the necessary financing for the rest of the project and ultimately do not move the club to Las Vegas, the pact could be used for another MLB franchise that wants to move, or an expansion team. Interesting.
The owners of the A’s have indicated that they hope to move into a new stadium in Las Vegas by 2027. They will therefore have to find a home for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Sin City native Bryce Harper believes the A’s will face a major challenge relocating their roster.
According to him, Nevada fans won’t switch allegiances and may not initially support their home team.
Do you think people are going to drop the Cubs or the White Sox to be fans of the A’s? I do not believe. No chance. You’re not going to take a Yankees fan and turn them into an A’s fan overnight. But a 5 or 6 year old kid, in the next 10 years, could grow up as A’s fans. In 10 years, we could see a lot of fans.
It is true that it will take several years before a culture is established in Vegas. But it can’t be worse than the current situation in Oakland.
And this new culture goes through a name change, again according to Harper.
I don’t think they should use the A’s name. I don’t think that’s fair to anyone in Oakland. I really don’t think so. I think they should rename them. This is my personal opinion. Maybe the people of Vegas might think differently, though.
Be that as it may, this case leaves no one indifferent.
