Oakland A's begin formal MLB relocation application

The Oakland A’s have started the next step in the franchise’s move to Las Vegas. That’s the formal MLB relocation application.

This is a process done through the league offices that ends with a vote by the league’s owners on whether or not to approve the move. It’s that vote that will either allow the A’s to move to Las Vegas or force them to remain in Oakland.

The vote is possible because Gov. Joe Lombardo signed Senate Bill 1 last week. That approved public funding for up to $380 million to pay for the new stadium in Las Vegas. That stadium is planned to be a 30,000-seat retractable roof stadium and will be located at the Tropicana site.

The application process will force the A’s to talk about Oakland. It was, in particular, force them to explain what avenues the team explored within the city, ways the team tried to stay in the city, and why they are choosing to leave the market. It will also need to explain what makes Las Vegas a better fit for the franchise.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred recently criticized the city of Oakland, saying there was no offer from the city in place. However, the Oakland Mayor’s office released a statement pushing back on that notion.

“This is just totally false,” the statement read. “There was a very concrete proposal under discussion and Oakland had gone above and beyond to clear hurdles, including securing funding for infrastructure, providing an environmental review and working with other agencies to finalize proposals. The reality is the A’s ownership had insisted on a multibillion-dollar, 55-acre project that included a ballpark, residential, commercial and retail space. In Las Vegas, for whatever reason, they seem satisfied with a 9-acre leased ballpark on leased land. If they had proposed a similar project in Oakland, we feel confident a new ballpark would already be under construction.”

This is also a move that has been widely criticized by fans, who have accused ownership of tanking to lower attendance and make the move easier. On top of that, there has been criticism of the plan in Las Vegas, which is a smaller market than Oakland, will have a smaller stadium, and require 8,000 tourists a day to attend home games for it to be a success.

Despite these criticisms, the relocation application is moving ahead. In order for it to pass, 75% of owners must agree to the move. Manfred has also made it clear that he feels the A’s did what they could to stay in Oakland.

“I think that the owners as a whole understand that there has been a multiyear, approaching a decade effort, where for a vast majority of time the sole focus was Oakland,” Manfred said.

Manfred seemingly criticized the A’s reverse boycott

Fans in Oakland feel that ownership is purposefully trying to make them look bad. So, to prove how capable the fanbase is, the fans orchestrated a reverse boycott earlier in June. The result was a playoff atmosphere for one of the worst teams in baseball.

After the game, Manfred seemingly took a shot at A’s fans, saying, “It was great. It’s great to see what is this year almost an average Major League Baseball crowd in the facility for one night. That’s a great thing.”

Manfred later said he was being taken out of context, but it’s hard to ignore how condescending that comes across in what is a difficult situation for fans.