MLB owners approve Athletics' planned move to Las Vegas, sources say - ESPN

ARLINGTON, Texas — Major League Baseball owners voted Thursday to allow the Oakland Athletics to move to Las Vegas, paving the way for the second relocation of a baseball team in the past half-century, sources told ESPN.

The potential move, which comes after more than two decades of failed efforts to secure a new stadium in the city to replace the aging Oakland Coliseum, needed backing from three-quarters of teams at the quarterly owners meetings. It received unanimous support despite unanswered questions about the team's near-term future and stadium plans.

Legal challenges from a teachers union in Nevada regarding the $380 million the state has committed to the construction of a $1.5 billion stadium on the Las Vegas Strip still could scuttle the move, but winning approval from owners marks a significant step toward Oakland losing its last major men's professional sports team.

Prior to the Montreal Expos moving to Washington in 2005, the last MLB team to relocate was the Washington Senators, who became the Texas Rangers in 1972. The A's moved to Oakland from Kansas City in 1968 and have won four World Series in their 55 years in the city.

After announcing in 2021 plans to pursue a «parallel path» in which it would weigh stadium deals in Oakland and Las Vegas, the team chose Vegas in April 2023, with commissioner Rob Manfred saying MLB would waive its relocation fee, estimated to be around $300 million.

The backlash from A's fans was immediate and consistent. Chants of «sell the team» directed at owner John Fisher — a Gap heir who bought the franchise in 2005 — served as background noise at most home games for the A's, who went an MLB-worst 50-112 in 2023 and carried the league's lowest payroll. More than 27,000 fans