It appears that the Oakland Athletics will meet the same fate as the Golden State Warriors and Las Vegas Raiders. The A’s are poised to join the latter two teams in leaving the city of Oakland and will join the Raiders in Las Vegas, Nevada. But, when can baseball fans expect to see the Athletics debut in Las Vegas? Here’s what we know so far.
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The Athletics in Las Vegas
The Athletics’ new stadium in Las Vegas is tentatively set to be opened in 2028. Until then, the soon-to-be Las Vegas Athletics may very well not have a permanent home.
The A’s lease with its current home, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, ends after the 2024 season. Given the fact that the A’s won’t stay in Oakland, a temporary extension would be highly unlikely.
Per ESPN, the team will need to solidify plans for where the A’s will play prior to 2028. USA Today reported that the A’s could play at multiple locations until then.
A’s president Dave Kaval did, however, state earlier in the year that the team does have an agreement to relocate before 2027 and play at Las Vegas Ballpark. The venue currently hosts the Las Vegas Aviators, the AAA affiliate of the A’s. Both teams would share the facility while construction of the new stadium takes place.
In April 2023, news originally broke that the A’s bought land in the city of Las Vegas to build a new stadium for the organization.
MLB owners unanimously approved the move to Las Vegas in November 2023.
The move marks the fourth home that the A’s have had in its history. The Athletics franchise began in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but moved after the 1954 season to Kansas City, Missouri. After 13 seasons in Kansas City, the A’s moved to Oakland and played its first season in the Bay Area in 1968.