There is a growing possibility that the Oakland Athletics of the US Major League (MLB) will make a new nest in Las Vegas. Following an agreement on the construction of a new stadium between the club and the city of Las Vegas, the head of MLB also expressed his welcome. If even the Athletics leaves, all three of the top four American professional sports teams that once had connections in Oakland will withdraw.
According to foreign media such as the New York Times, Rob Manfred, the 10th MLB Commissioner, positively evaluated the Athletics’ attempt to transfer the ointment at a press conference held in New York, USA on the 25th (Korean time). “The Athletics executives want to do well, and Las Vegas will provide opportunities to improve (club) revenue,” he said. “I look forward to good results.”
The Oakland club previously bought land in Las Vegas and agreed with the city on the 20th to build a new openable dome before the 2027 season. They discussed building a new stadium with the city of Auckland, saying that their current home stadium, Coliseum, was too old.
Then the city of Auckland openly expressed its dissatisfaction with the club’s leadership. The purpose is that they pretended to discuss the construction of a new stadium with themselves in order to be offered better conditions in negotiations, even though they had already decided to move to Las Vegas internally.
Commissioner Manfred also pointed out that the Auckland city’s argument is not convincing. This is because the Athletics have already been conducting ‘exclusive’ negotiations since 2014, asking the city of Oakland to resolve the stadium problem for over seven years. Therefore, it is difficult to dismiss it as a simple leverage to be used in negotiations with the city of Las Vegas.
The truth behind the decision-making process has not been revealed, but it cannot be denied that professional sports teams are moving away from Auckland. Until 2019, Oakland had teams in three of the four major American professional sports leagues. In addition to the Athletics, the Golden State Warriors in basketball and the Oakland Raiders in American football were teams related to Oakland. But in 2019, two other teams switched homes to the Chase Center in San Francisco and Las Vegas, respectively, and now the Athletics are on the verge of moving as well.토토사이트
Auckland, which grew as a result of the gold rush in the 19th century, established its position based on the transportation advantage of having a transcontinental railroad terminus and a port. It enjoyed its heyday through industrial development until the mid-1900s, but experienced ups and downs afterwards, declining population and deteriorating public order. The decline of the city combined with the sluggish performance, the Athletics’ ability to mobilize crowds plummeted. Last year, the Athletics went 60-102 in the regular season, finishing last in the American League.