Earlier this week, the Golden Knights became the first professional Las Vegas franchise to win a championship. The Golden Knights were founded in 2017 as an expansion team.
After calling Oakland home for more than two decades, the Raiders franchise relocated to Las Vegas in 2020. Now another Oakland-based team is ready to move to Las Vegas: the A’s.
Earlier this week, the franchise cleared a major hurdle to its planned relocation after Nevada lawmakers gave final approval to public funding for a portion of a proposed $1.5 billion stadium.
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Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals hits against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum on June 4, 2017. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
In a few years, two-time NL MVP Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies could travel to Las Vegas instead of Oakland for a three-game series.
But Harper doesn’t seem particularly excited about the prospects of the A’s calling a different city home.
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«I feel for the fans in Oakland,» Harper told USA Today Sports. «It’s just not right. They have so much history in Oakland. You’re taking a team out of a city. I’m pretty sad about all the history and all the greatness they’ve seen there.»
Bryce Harper doesn’t seem particularly excited about the prospects of the A’s calling a different city home. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
On Thursday, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed into law Senate Bill 1, bringing the A’s new ballpark one step closer to reality.
«I’m excited to officially sign SB1 this afternoon,» Lombardo said. «This is an incredible opportunity to bring the Athletics to Nevada, and this legislation reflects months of negotiations between the team, state, county and the league. Las Vegas’ position as a global sports destination continues to grow, and Major League Baseball He’s another great asset to the city.»
MLB owners have yet to vote on the relocation proposal.
Harper’s teammate, shortstop Bryson Scott, expressed his desire to have an expansion team rather than see the A’s leave Las Vegas.
«We’d rather see an expansion team than a relocated team,» Scott said. «That’s why the fans are so crazy about the Knights. It’s the first team in Las Vegas. It’s ours. It was easy for people to gravitate to that. Vegas wasn’t a big hockey city. It is now.»
Stadium issues aside, the A’s are tied with the Kansas City Royals for the worst record in baseball. Ownership has also been reluctant to invest in the team, which has the smallest payroll in the majors. (Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
Stadium issues aside, the A’s are tied with the Kansas City Royals for the worst record in baseball. Ownership has also been reluctant to invest in the team, which has the smallest payroll in the majors.
«That’s why it should have been an expansion franchise, not the A’s,» Harper said. «Look at the Knights, they won the [Stanley] Cup, but they were an expansion franchise. They were born in Las Vegas, as people would say. It is the first team that came to Las Vegas. I don’t think you can really match that.»
«It’s just going to be tough for those guys. It was tough for the Raiders last year. People thought the Raiders would succeed. Maybe they will, but you’ve got to build a fan base. Those 5- and 6-year-olds They’re going to grow up as Raiders fans or A’s fans, so when they’re 16 or 17, they’re going to have fans.»
The Phillies are scheduled to play a three-game series against the A’s at the Oakland Coliseum this weekend.
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Due to the terms of the team’s lease, it’s unclear where the A’s will play after 2024 as they wait for a stadium to possibly be built in Las Vegas.
«Those fans are so passionate they bleed green,» Harper said. «I’m not sure what they’ll be like or what they’ll be like in Vegas, but it won’t be the same — pretty small market. The 30,000-seat stadium helps a little bit, but at the same time, I’m going to be really sad that they’re moving because of all that history and all the greatness they have seen there.