Las Vegas mayor says A’s should stay in Oakland

BY KTVU STAFF

LAS VEGAS (FOX-35)- The Las Vegas mayor said it doesn’t make sense for the A’s to move to Sin City and they should remain playing ball in The Town. 

"They … want to get closer to the Strip with all the congestion and everything," Mayor Carolyn Goodman said Tuesday on the Front Sports Office Today podcast. "And I thought, ‘this does not make sense.’"

Goodman said that Oakland A's owner John Fisher "needs to listen to the people that are up there (in Oakland). It’s their team."

She was speaking about Major League Baseball's effort to build a new $1.5 billion ballpark along the Las Vegas Strip.

Fisher is trying to move the A’s onto nine acres on the Strip, currently the site of the Tropicana hotel casino.

But so far, Fisher hasn't delivered the architectural renderings, a funding plan and the site where the team will play after the Oakland Coliseum lease expires following the 2024 season, Front Office Sports reported.

The Las Vegas stadium isn’t supposed to open until 2028, at the earliest.

If she had to, Goodman would rather see a ballpark built on a larger site in north Las Vegas.

But if she had her ultimate way, Goodman said on the podcast that she does not believe the A’s would be a strong fit in Las Vegas.

Goodman said that she's "lived in this town 60 years, and so I know the town like the back of my hand. I personally think they’ve got to figure out a way to stay in Oakland and make their dream come true."

In a statement after the podcast, which she sent to KTVU, Goodman wanted to clarify some of her points.

"I want to be clear that I am excited about the prospect of Major League Baseball in Las Vegas, and it very well may be that the Las Vegas A’s will become a reality that we will welcome to our city," she wrote.

She also noted how many devoted Oakland A's fans currently visit Vegas to cheer on the Raiders, who also used to play in Oakland.

"It is my belief that in their perfect world, the ownership of the A’s would like to have a new ballpark on the water in Oakland and that the ownership and government there should listen to their great fans and try to make that dream come true," Goodman reiterated.

"Should that fail," she continued, "Las Vegas has shown that it is a spectacular market for major league sports franchises."