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Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher has confirmed the franchise has submitted its Las Vegas relocation application to Major League Baseball (MLB).
Confirmed:
- Fisher told the Las Vegas Review-Journal the team had “recently” filed their application but that he did not want to put a timeline on the vote by MLB owners
- Selling the franchise has not been a consideration for the 62 year-old, he confirmed
- Fisher states the team would lose US$40 million this year and denies claims they deliberately tanked to further justify their upcoming relocation
- Owner said he expects team revenues to be “considerably higher” in their new ballpark, allowing the A’s to have a higher payroll for their playing roster
Context:
The Athletics were first announced to be moving to Las Vegas in April, with their new ballpark to be constructed on the Tropicana Hotel site. The 30,000-seater stadium is expected to cost about US$1.5 billion, with the Nevada legislature approving a bill to contribute US$380 million in public funding for the project.
Comment:
Fisher said he hopes the Athletics can emulate the success of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Vegas Golden Knights, saying: “The whole reason that we’re building a new stadium is so we can have not just a competitive team, but, we hope, a team that can have the kind of success, for example, that the Golden Knights have had, winning the Stanley Cup in six years.
“That is why we are building a new stadium, so that we can have a team on the field that can win the World Series. The A’s have had a more challenging time signing free agents because we haven’t had the revenues to support a payroll to do that. We expect that being in a new stadium, being in Las Vegas is going to change all of that.
“Our goal is to win and win with a team people love to watch.”
Coming next:
Fisher confirmed their lease at the Oakland Coliseum expires at the end of next season, but didn’t give many details on where the A’s would play after the 2024 season while their new venue is constructed.
