A’s to play in Oakland through the 2024 season
The Oakland Athletics are set to play out their lease at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in 2024, meaning the earliest the team could play in Las Vegas would be the 2025 season, the Las Vegas Review-Journal has learned.
The team’s $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat ballpark envisioned for the Strip won’t be ready until 2028, which had fueled speculation the A’s might play next season at Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin, sharing it with their Triple-A farm club, the Aviators.
But there have been no discussions regarding the A’s not playing in Oakland for the 2024 MLB season, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Review-Journal on Friday.
That means the A’s, who have seen fan support dwindle over recent years as their Las Vegas relocation efforts played out publicly, will finish this season and play next season in the Bay Area.
With the 2024 MLB schedule already set and ready to be released later this summer, the A’s playing elsewhere next season wouldn’t be logistically possible, the source indicated.
The A’s moving to Las Vegas needs 75 percent of league owners to approve it.
The Oakland Coliseum lease ends on Dec. 31, 2024. The A’s are looking at locations where they could play until their new ballpark, proposed for land on the Strip where the Tropicana Las Vegas stands, is ready.
The team will work with MLB officials to determine the best site for a temporary home stadium, the source said.
Potential markets in play include Las Vegas and Reno, Sacramento and other Bay Area options.
Las Vegas Ballpark has been touted as a potential temporary home for the A’s for the better part of the team’s two-year Southern Nevada relocation search.
The A’s and Howard Hughes Corp., which own the Triple-A team and stadium, already have an agreement in place for the team to play at the 10,000-seat ballpark, if they choose to activate it.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in April that he plans to visit the Downtown Summerlin stadium.
“Yeah, I do plan to visit it. I’ve had some of my people there,” Manfred said in April. “They are very positive about that ballpark. … I think scheduling-wise, it could be done.”
Aviators President Don Logan told the Review-Journal in April that preliminary work was already underway to determine what would be needed to make Las Vegas Ballpark an option for both the A’s and the Aviators to use on a shared basis. Estimates were made on the cost of converting the current natural grass field to artificial turf, which would be needed if both teams were to play there.
Reno was first mentioned as a possible temporary site by Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Steve Hill during this week’s special legislative session in Carson City.
“Where major league teams can play is subject to collective bargaining,” Hill said. “The players association has to agree to play wherever they’re going to play. … The A’s have committed to have that conversation and work to have some of their games not only at the (Las Vegas) ballpark, but potentially at the ballpark in Reno as well.”
The A’s haven’t committed to such a plan yet, pending an agreement with the players association.
“They would like to play some games in Nevada, prior to moving into the stadium, but they can’t make that commitment right now because of that,” Hill said.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg noted last month in a radio interview that the A’s could end up playing in California’s capital temporarily and share the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats’ Sutter Health Park.
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.