As Las Vegas prepares for its first Formula 1 Gran Prix in four decades, another major sport closes in on calling Sin City home.
Major League Baseball owners approved the move of the Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas on Nov. 16, according to a report by ESPN. Three quarters of the owners needed to approve the vote for it to pass, but it received a unanimous approval.
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The move nearly assures that the Athletics are going to move to Las Vegas, but it's not yet fully approved as there are still legal issues with regard to building the stadium the team will call home. The team plans to build a $1.5 billion stadium on at least 9-acres of the Tropicana lot that can hold about 30,000 fans — which would be the smallest among all MLB stadiums — and will feature a retractable roof.
The state has committed to funding $380 million of the $1.5 billion to build the stadium, but a teachers union is planning to file a lawsuit to stop the public funding.
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Should the stadium push through, the team aims to begin construction in April 2025 and aims for a completion date of January 2028.
The team currently plays in the Oakland Coliseum, and its lease expires there by the end of the 2024 season. That means the owners approved its move to Vegas despite the fact that the team still has no definitive home until the new stadium opens in 2028.
Evan Drellich of The Athletic posted on X (formerly Twitter) saying that the options of the Athletics from 2025 to 2027 include staying in the Oakland Coliseum or going to Sacramento's Triple-A stadium.
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