By Anthony Palacios
Las Vegas is the hottest sports town in the country. Since 2017, Sin City has gone from having no major professional sports teams to having a team in the NHL, NFL and WNBA and hosting the Stanley Cup Final (twice), Super Bowl and WNBA Finals (twice). Over the next five years, they are expected to add an MLB, NBA and MLS team, making it one of the only cities with a team in all six major professional sports leagues in America.
This week The Sporting Tribune will look at where Las Vegas stands with all six leagues. Today we look at the MLB.
WHAT IS THE LATEST ON THE MLB IN LAS VEGAS?
After announcing in 2023 that the Oakland Athletics would be moving to Las Vegas in 2028, the team held its groundbreaking ceremony last month to make things official that the new sports frontier is on its way. The A’s are the first MLB team to make their first big step to Nevada after spending 57 years in Oakland.
Primarily, the team was looking to negotiate with Oakland officials to stay in the city. However, the A’s and Oakland could not agree. Nevada approved $380 million in public funding towards the new stadium on the Las Vegas strip, along with other private funding to cover the rest of the costs.
This puts the A’s as the latest league team to move to a fast-growing sports city that already contains the Las Vegas Raiders (NFL), Vegas Golden Knights (NHL) and Las Vegas Aces (WNBA). The A’s are expected to keep their name, but only rebrand from Oakland to Las Vegas.
The A’s have been doing the work behind the scenes, as the Las Vegas Review Journal reports that the team donated $200,000 to cover the needs of over 70 youth baseball and softball leagues across Nevada.
The team has been involved in outreach events such as the Rio Hotel & Casino, where local business representatives and community members expressed their excitement about the inclusion the project brings.
WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THE MLB IN LAS VEGAS?
Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo promises that the relocation could add thousands of jobs, historic economic development and return on investments. This might include economic opportunities across hospitality, retail, construction and operations. Nevada sees Baseball as a business opportunity, but is leaning towards positioning the A’s as an entertainment hub.
Meanwhile, the A’s will be packing their bags to play in a new stadium for the next two seasons, where the Sacramento Ballpark serves as their home temporarily. This move comes as a result of ongoing issues at the Oakland Coliseum, including aging infrastructure, declining fan attendance and unresolved financial challenges.
The goal is to have a ballpark open and ready for opening day in 2028, but there has been ongoing skepticism centering around funding gaps, rising costs and delayed contractor agreements. In May 2021, the league granted the A’s permission to seek a relocation until they finally came to a handshake agreement two years later.
The recent owners' meeting said the construction would have to start on time, which would have been four months ago, in April. Otherwise, if there are potential financing delays or permitting issues, opening day may be postponed until 2029. However, the team is reportedly facing major doubts about getting the $1.75 billion done overall despite the decision to relocate.
WHAT ARE THEY SAYING ABOUT THE MLB IN LAS VEGAS?
There are several league commissioners, politicians and others having mixed feelings about the relocation of MLB to Las Vegas. It was met with harsh criticism from Oakland Mayor Sheng Tao. He believes that any deal that the A’s and the city of Oakland discussed was used as leverage for the team to move to Las Vegas since they were in the middle of negotiations of keeping the A’s in the city.
However, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred did not hold back from dismissing the notion.
In a report, he said, “I feel sorry for the fans of Oakland. I really do. But for the city of Oakland, by exhausting every possible opportunity to try to get something done in Oakland.”
Manfred felt like Oakland never had the will to get a deal done in time. He has confidence that the A’s can perform well in this new move. However, the Nevada Governor shared some excitement and praised Las Vegas as business-friendly.
Lombardo said in a KTNV report, “Following today’s unanimous MLB relocation vote, Nevada is more excited than ever to welcome the A’s to Las Vegas.”
It’s a tale of two from both sides about the move, but it will be up to the A’s to prove positively otherwise.
WHAT ARE THE ODDS THE MLB THRIVES IN LAS VEGAS?
While the move did face plenty of criticism from fans, commissioners and players around the league, they must figure out how to maintain a legitimate fan base at the heart of the strip. According to KTNV News Station, Las Vegas has the smallest media market of any major league team, which could hamper the potential revenue of television deals.
With that, they are better off finding solutions to make the market viable to keep not only tourists but locals engaged. Perhaps, they could think of the ballpark as an all-day entertainment hub filled with activities such as pool decks, rooftop lounges and post-game concerts. This may win the casual viewers of anyone who is trying to just “vibe.”
Fireworks and light shows beyond your typical Fourth of July celebration could be another gateway to earn consumers. However, celebrity appearances have a proven track record of boosting attendance.
An example of that is the Ice Cube Bobblehead Night event that took place in June that drew a record-breaking crowd of 54,154, marking the highest single-game attendance for the Dodgers in the 2025 campaign.
Overall, the A’s chances of succeeding in Vegas will increase as long as they not only donate to youth leagues, but also build an emotional bond with the new community. For now, it should be one to watch to see how the MLB (one of the slowest sports) can truly work.