Since the Golden Knights of the National Hockey League began playing on the Las Vegas Strip, nestled between multiple MGM Resorts International †MGM† Receive MGM Resorts International Report properties, Sin City has become a bargaining chip for any team in the other major sports looking for a better stadium/arena deal.
That’s especially true for teams in California, as Las Vegas is an easy flight and not too bad a ride, depending on where you live. The former Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) used Las Vegas’ interest in building a stadium for the team as a way to get a better deal from Oakland.
Since that city did not want/could not compete financially with what Las Vegas had to offer, the team had to “reluctantly” take the step. Realistically, Raiders owner Marc Davis, one of the least prosperous owners in the NFL, probably never intended to stay in Oakland because Las Vegas’ deep pockets and the presence of casinos with money to scatter around are simply moving. made too attractive.
Now Sin City is always mentioned whenever a National Basketball Association (NBA) team needs a new arena (although it has also been talked about as the potential home of an expansion team). It has also been a target destination for another team that calls Oakland home, the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball.
The A’s need a new stadium and Oakland has not been willing to put the money aside to build one. As a result, the team not only flirts with Las Vegas, but also develops a relationship with the city. Oakland’s last remaining major professional sports franchise has looked at multiple sites both on and off the Strip and seemed close to making a deal.
Now MLB has cleared a hurdle in closing one of those deals that could have prompted the team to at least consider Oakland’s offer (should an actual offer be made).
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Major League Baseball Waives Major Fee for the A’s
By the end of May, the A’s had limited their search to two locations roughly on the Las Vegas Strip. In one scenario, the team would build a stadium itself. In the other it would partner with a casino operator (probably Gaming and Leisure Properties) †GLPIA† Download the Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. report.but probably not MGM or Caesars Entertainment †CZR† Get Caesars Entertainment Inc. Reportthe two biggest players on the Strip, the Las Vegas Sun reported†
When a team changes city, Major League Baseball generally charges a relocation fee. In this case, the league has decided it won’t charge the A’s if they decide to move, according to a Las Vegas Journal Review story.
“The fee varies from case to case, but it is estimated that the compensation will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The Raiders moving costs charged by the NFL were $378 million when they moved to Las Vegas in 2020 “Golden Knights owner Bill Foley paid a $500 million expansion fee to the NHL to land the team in Las Vegas. Expansion costs are usually higher than moving costs,” the paper reported.
MLB probably wants a team in Las Vegas
Not having to pay a moving fee suggests the league either wants the team to move to Las Vegas or believes Oakland hasn’t given it a good reason to consider staying. Oakland is also considered a small market, while Las Vegas is both larger in terms of potential local television audience and a global city.
Having a team in Las Vegas puts MLB in front of visitors from all over the world. It also brings the competition to a place full of high rollers, overflowing with sponsorship money, as all the major casino operators want to both bring tourists to their properties and bring in users for the sports betting apps.
Major League Baseball dropping moving costs is essentially the league’s way of welcoming Las Vegas into the league. It may take a while just a few more months before a real deal is madebut betting that Las Vegas athletics is a thing soon enough is pretty safe money.