The Oakland Athletics hope that Major League Baseball and the other MLB owners approve their planned move to Las Vegas, but their peers are worried about a developing petition that can derail the proverbial train.
On Monday, Eric Fisher of Front Office Sports reported that the 29 other franchise stewards still plan to vote on the A’s relocation plans despite concerns about an ongoing lawsuit that could tie up potential public financing for a baseball-specific stadium in Las Vegas.
In September, an education advocacy organization called Schools over Stadiums filed a referendum petition to put the matter of a financing package previously approved by Nevada’s state government to a public vote in November 2024. Should the petition get the more than 124,000 signatures required to put the issue on the ballot, there’s a decent chance that the A’s could lose that $380 million that’s earmarked for the ballpark as public sentiment for financing another stadium may not be on their side.
T-Mobile Arena, home to the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, was opened in 2016, but it could have been built sooner if not for the recession from 2009 through 2011. During that time, the arena’s development would have been financed through a special taxing district in Clark County, but massive opposition killed those plans. AEG, the company that built the venue, pivoted to a different plan that didn’t involve public money.
Allegiant Stadium appears to be fresh on the minds of Schools over Stadiums and Nevada voters. The $1.97 billion stadium for the newly relocated Raiders opened in 2020, but its construction twice went over the initial budget. Reportedly, $750 million of public money — municipal bonds and hotel room taxes — went into its construction, and local government does not make any revenue from the stadium.
If the other team owners in MLB do approve the A’s relocation plans, the team would be the first to move since the Montreal Expos moved to Washington, D.C. in 2005. The Nationals, as the team was rebranded to, played at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium for three seasons before opening Nationals Park in 2008. The A’s have a similar plan, though a temporary home has yet to be determined. Provided that Schools over Stadiums doesn’t get all of the necessary signatures for its petition, the proposed ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip is expected to open for the 2028 season.