The Oakland Athletics are currently the laughingstock of the MLB. The Athletics just finished 50-112 last season and had a tiny payroll that clearly couldn’t keep up with the rest of the league.
Now the franchise’s future remains in limbo. The Athletics won’t have a home following the expiration of their lease with the Oakland Coliseum after this season.
There have been rumors about the Athletics moving to Las Vegas. But that’s not official.
Let’s discuss the Oakland Athletics and their latest updates behind a move from Oakland as we prepare for baseball to return so we can place our MLB bets.
TV Money
The Athletics haven’t decided where they’ll play in 2025. That’s ultimately because the Athletics can’t agree on local TV money.
Right now, the Athletics have a contract with Comcast to broadcast their games on NBC Sports Bay Arena. Comcast will pay $70 million for the rights to its games.
However, if the Athletics move from Oakland, Comcast no longer wants to pay the rights fee. With a move, the Athletics would have to negotiate their contract with Comcast or find another regional sports network. Comcast holds leverage in this scenario.
Could The Athletics Move To Sacramento?
While Las Vegas sounds awesome for the Athletics, it might not be reasonable.
A reasonable option for the Athletics in 2025 could be going to Sacramento. Sacramento already has a Triple-A affiliate and would be in an intriguing spot to earn an expansion team in the future if things went well. Meanwhile, Salt Lake City is another spot that would love to have the Athletics.
Both of these areas already have professional teams that have done well in terms of attendance and loyal fanbases.
The ownership of the Jazz is currently building a new Triple-A stadium for 2025 that would seat up to 11,000 fans. Sacramento’s stadium holds a little more than 10,000 right now.
Sacramento hasn’t really tried to bring the Athletics to town. However, Salt Lake City, Utah, is already begging for the opportunity to have the Athletics.
There’s a shiny ballpark in downtown Salt Lake City for the Athletics to play in instead of having to play in Vegas. https://t.co/QgNQ8laEdQ
— Nick Talks Sports 💋 ETERNAL SUNSHINE 3/8 (@nickonsports2) February 6, 2024
Why Not Las Vegas?
The Athletics are looking for a temporary home until 2027. Moving to Las Vegas in 2025 wouldn’t make much sense. The Athletics would have to use the Triple-A park in Summerlin, which wouldn’t excite anyone.
It’s super unlikely that the Athletics move to a new city in a minor league park in Las Vegas with one of the worst teams in the MLB.
Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman isn’t a believer in the Athletics’ relocation plans pic.twitter.com/H6B4HEt5Y3
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) February 6, 2024
The Potential Of Staying In Oakland
The Athletics could still play in Oakland in 2025 despite the lease finishing. The Athletics own 50% of the Coliseum. However, the Athletics and the city haven’t talked in nearly a full year.
The reality is Athletics owner John Fisher, doesn’t want to negotiate with politicians. He would also have to listen to “Sell The Team” chants every time he walked into the Coliseum in Oakland. It would also probably happen in Sacramento, which isn’t too far from Oakland, but likely would start to die down in Salt Lake City.
Therefore, Fisher will leave the Coliseum and go find something else.
“Sell the team!” chants taking place at a D.C. sporting event not involving the Commanders.
— Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell) August 12, 2023
This time Oakland Athletics fans are making their voices heard in the nation’s capital.
Their owner John Fisher is working to move the A’s to Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/QF7hxDET9f
The Las Vegas Athletics in 2028
Eventually, the Athletics will get their wish of playing in Las Vegas. It’s just going to take time. The Athletics have acknowledged by the time they move to Las Vegas, they’ll have a payroll of $170 million, which was reported by the Athletic.
However, Oakland has never had a payroll that has exceeded $100 million at the start of any Opening Day. Better yet, the highest payroll with Oakland was $92.2 million in 2019. There’s skepticism that the Athletics would actually go through with that. The Athletics would have less television revenue and a smaller ballpark size. So it’s hard to imagine a high payroll that would be more than triple of what it is now.
Either way, this is the goal for the Athletics. They want to move to Las Vegas and become relevant again.
We’ll have to watch this Athletics team perform at a horrible level for the next few seasons. But eventually, they’ll be out of the gutter and hopefully competitive. The more competitive teams are in the MLB, the more fun it is to watch.
After the Dodgers spent over $1 billion this season alone, it’s a necessity for the Athletics to start to get back on track. Oakland fans won’t like it. The city will be devastated. But if this is what the Athletics feel is right, they should go through with it and rebuild the entire team and brand. It’s only right for the game of baseball.
