Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred announced that a relocation vote for the Oakland Athletic’s possible move to Las Vegas could take place as soon as early June.
MLB and the Athletics have been working to push forward the process. On Wednesday, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo announced an agreement with State Treasurer Zach Conine, and Clark County officials to forward a bill that would bring MLB to Las Vegas.
“This agreement follows months of negotiations between the state, the county, and the A’s, and I believe it gives us a tremendous opportunity to continue building on the professional sports infrastructure of southern Nevada,” said Governor Joe Lombardo. “Las Vegas is clearly a sports town, and Major League Baseball should be a part of it.”
Mandred hinted that MLB is preparing to vote on the matter, but is awaiting final word from both the Athletics and the state of Nevada, according to Steve Megargee of NBC Bay Area:
“It’s possible that a relocation vote could happen as early as June,” Manfred said Thursday at Milwaukee during his tour of major league stadiums to speak with players. “It’s very difficult to have a timeline for Oakland until there’s actually a deal to be considered. There is a relocation process internally they need to go through, and we haven’t even started that process.”
The tentative agreement includes the construction of a Sports and Entertainment Improvement District for a planned 30,000-seat, publicly owned stadium, featuring a retractable roof on Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue.
Estimates for the complex are pegged at $1.5 billion and is said to create more than 14,000 construction jobs.
“We’re very appreciative of the support from the State of Nevada and Clark County’s leadership,” said A’s President Dave Kaval. “We want to thank Governor Lombardo, the Legislative leadership, the Treasurer, and Clark County Commissioners and staff on the collaborative process. We look forward to advancing this legislation in a responsible way.”
The proposed legislation includes public financing of less than 25% of the cost, and the public-private partnership ranks as the third-lowest public share of cost of any MLB stadium built after 2000.
“This tentative agreement minimizes the risk to Nevada taxpayers in the most fiscally responsible manner,” said Treasurer Zach Conine. “I’m also pleased that this project will leverage the most private investment of any baseball stadium in the country.”
What an Oakland Athletics relocation means for MLB
The Athletics moving to Las Vegas won’t change much in terms of divisions, given the proximity Las Vegas is to Oakland.
Attendance for the A’s has been in the bottom five nearly every season since 2010. Couple the consistence lack of money being put into the roster, with underperformance, and they’ve failed the fans and a relocation is purely an ownership move to save the franchise’s overall value.
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