The Oakland A's announced Thursday that the club has reached an agreement to build a stadium on land near the Las Vegas Strip. As a result, the team stated that they are hoping to be playing games in their new stadium by 2027.
However, a move to Las Vegas could come sooner than that. A's president Dave Kaval told The New York Times that the A's could play their home games at Las Vegas Ballpark, which is currently the home of the Las Vegas Aviators. The Aviators are currently the Triple A affiliate of the A's.
"That is an option," Kaval said regarding the possibility of playing at Las Vegas Ballpark.
The A's played an exhibition game at Las Vegas Ballpark back in 2020,.
In addition, the A's also could play home games at Oracle Park in San Francisco when the Giants are on the road. The team's lease at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum expires following the 2024 season. A shorter-term renewal at the Coliseum could also be a possibility.
The franchise had previously explored the possibility of moving to cities like Fremont and San Jose in California and have a waterfront stadium. However, those ideas never came to fruition.
During the first month of the 2023 season, the A's rank last in Major League Baseball with an average of just 11,580 fans per contest. Despite the low attendance, a fan group of A's fans announced plans for a reverse boycott to show the team's front office that fans were still supporting Oakland. The group was planning to fill the Coliseum for the the team's game against the Tampa Bay Rays on June 13.
If the move to Las Vegas becomes official, it'll mark the fourth home for the A's in franchise history. The team moved from their original home in Philadelphia in 1955 in favor of Kansas City, Mo. The A's then moved to Oakland prior to the 1968 season.
