Talk of Oakland Athletics' Move to Las Vegas Heats Up

The chatter about the Oakland Athletics relocating to Las Vegas is heating up.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal is reporting that, for at least the seventh time, officials from the Major League Baseball franchise were in Sin City this week to talk to city and county officials about relocation as well as touring potential sites.

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This time, team brass met with executives of The Howard Hughes Corp., which owns the Las Vegas Aviators – Oakland’s Triple A minor league team – and Las Vegas Ballpark in suburban Summerlin, Nev.

More importantly, according to the Review-Journal, the Hughes Corp. actually designed the master-planned community of Summerlin and still owns land there for a potential new stadium that could be attractive to Oakland officials.

After years of being shunned by the major professional sports leagues because of the potential association with gambling at Las Vegas’ legal sportsbooks, the city has become the hot destination for teams.

Las Vegas initially lured a popular NASCAR race in 1998 that remains to this day. In 2017, the city was granted an expansion National Hockey League team, the Vegas Golden Knights, and in 2020 the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League relocated to Sin City at brand new Allegiant Stadium.

And while the locals have been supportive, Las Vegas tourism officials have done an outstanding job of packaging these new pro teams – as well as its storied history with boxing and, of course, its myriad entertainment options – with packages built around opposing teams for visitors from all over the country.

Come for the game, stay for the food and the nightlife and the gambling!

Also leading to the speculation about the Athletics relocating was a survey the team sent last week to registered users on its own mailing list, as well to fans of the minor league Las Vegas Aviators, seeking input about relocating.

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