Oakland A's Reach Agreement To Buy Land In Las Vegas
The Oakland A's appear to be a lock to move to Las Vegas.
The MLB franchise has reached a deal to purchase land on the west side of the southern part of the Vegas Strip, according to the Las Vegas Journal-Review.
"For a while we were on parallel paths (with Oakland), but we have turned our attention to Las Vegas to get a deal here for the A’s and find a long-term home. Oakland has been a great home for us for over 50 years, but we really need this 20-year saga completed and we feel there’s a path here in Southern Nevada to do that," A's president Dave Kaval told the outlet when discussing the plan to build in Vegas.
The team also won't skimp on a new stadium. The A's plan to build a 30,000 seat stadium with a retractable roof that will cost $1.5 billion.
Las Vegas is ready to welcome the Oakland A's.
Vegas is quickly becoming a sports powerhouse. The Raiders moved from Oakland to Sin City, the A's are now locked in for the same move, the NHL put the Golden Knights in the city with great success and there's been whispers of an NBA team coming for years.
Vegas is a city of nearly 650,000 people and welcomes around 40 million annually visitors. Not only is there enough of a local population to support a team, but people will plan vacations around coming to see their team play on the road.
That's already what happens with the Raiders.
The A's averaged fewer than 10,000 fans per game last season, according to Bleacher Report. Many games looked like they were being played in front of a crowd that would have fit in a high school stadium.
Clearly, fans just don't care. It's time to smash the reset button and putting a stadium on the south side of the Strip is a genius idea.
T-Mobile and Allegiant Stadium are already a little more than 1.5 miles apart. Now, a third stadium will be in the same neighborhood. It's a dream scenario for sports fans.
Sports are already booming in Las Vegas, and the city is about to get another boost with the Oakland A's. A very exciting time for sports fans in Sin City.