The mayor of Las Vegas put out a statement Tuesday saying she’d welcome the Oakland Athletics to the city, but didn’t back down from earlier comments that the franchise should try to build a new ballpark in the Bay Area.
Carolyn Goodman said on a Front Office Sports podcast the A’s “should figure out a way to stay in Oakland.”
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, Goodman seemed to clarify her comments, saying “I want to be clear that I am excited about the prospect of Major League Baseball in Las Vegas, and it very well may be that the Las Vegas A’s will become a reality that we will welcome to our city.”
But she reiterated that her points in the interview “included that is is my belief that in their perfect world, the ownership of the A’s would like to have a new ballpark on the water in Oakland and that the ownership and government there should listen to their great fans there and try to make that dream come true.”
Last spring, the A’s and Bally’s Corp. agreed on a deal to build a stadium on the Tropicana Las Vegas Resort site.
MLB owners unanimously approved the move in November. The team is in the final year of its lease at aging Oakland Coliseum and has not announced where it will play in 2025.
Construction on a Vegas stadium isn’t expected to be done until at least 2028.
With the team among the worst in baseball and a potential move on the horizon, the A’s attracted tiny crowds to many home games last season.
The NFL’s Oakland Raiders moved to Las Vegas in 2020 and the latter city is hosting the Super Bowl this week.
The NHL expanded to Vegas in 2017, giving the city its first team in one of North America’s biggest four pro leagues. The Golden Knights have been a huge success story, winning the Stanley Cup last season.
The NBA also reportedly is eyeing Las Vegas as a potential expansion market. The league already has deep ties to the city, hosting Summer League in the entertainment mecca.