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The Oakland A’s relocation efforts continue to gather steam — but with a pressing issue looming.
Nevada legislators approved funds for a new ballpark in Las Vegas, and MLB recently appointed Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton and Kansas City Royals owner John Sherman to a new league relocation committee.
Now comes the thornier question of where the A’s will play between the 2024 expiration of their lease at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum and the projected 2028 opening of their new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip. The club has not yet answered that MLB-required question in its relocation submission.
Among the leading options are three minor-league ballparks:
- Las Vegas Ballpark, the open-air home of the A’s Triple-A affiliate Las Vegas Aviators, features major league amenities but is subject to extreme temperatures in the summer.
- The city of Reno is open to the possibility of using the Triple-A Reno Aces’ Greater Nevada Stadium, but hasn’t spoken to the A’s.
- Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park houses the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.
A more unlikely option is Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants — the team the A’s battled with for years over Bay Area territorial rights. In addition to creating numerous headaches in baseball operations, this option would also cut heavily into revenue opportunities for Giants Enterprises, which books ancillary events at Oracle.
The A’s interim dilemma — which somewhat resembles that of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars — will also have to address an MLB Players Association that is demanding answers.
Meanwhile, reports continue to surface that the A’s could still revive substantive stadium talks with Oakland.
