‘A’s’ neutral home games equation

Article posted by Coliseum, June 12^th, 2024

Image: Oakland Athletics

The Major League Baseball (MLB) team Oakland Athletics are facing pushback on the number of home games they could play away from Las Vegas (US) should they relocate.

‘news3lv.com’ stated that a section of the team’s draft non-relocation agreement states the ‘A’s’ could play up to seven home games outside the proposed $1.5 billion stadium in a single season.

The Oakland Athletics (more popularly known as the ‘A’s’) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California (US). The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division.

The 63,000-capacity Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is a multipurpose stadium in Oakland, California, United States. It is part of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent 19,200-capacity Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880.

The ‘A’s’ new ballpark will occupy nine acres on the Tropicana site (a defunct casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip). The Oakland Athletics have released renderings of their new, 33,000-seat ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip, which is set to be canopied by an enormous, five-tier roof.

Lined with upscale casino hotels, the neon-soaked Strip is quintessential Las Vegas. As well as gambling floors, the vast hotel complexes house a variety of shops, restaurants (ranging from mainstream to high-end) and performance venues for music, comedy and circus-style acts. Attractions like the soaring, choreographed Fountains of Bellagio and the High Roller observation wheel draw crowds.

‘news3lv.com’ further stated that Jeremy Koo, an Attorney and ‘A’s’ fan, wrote a letter to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority saying this section would far exceed the number of neutral site games carved out in other non-relocation agreements.

He argued that it would also affect the economic and tax revenue projections tied to the idea of a Las Vegas stadium hosting more than 80 home games for the ‘A’s’. He estimates that relocating seven or eight games would result in a loss of $2.6 to 3 million in incremental tax revenue and $65 to $75 million in lost incremental economic activity each year.

Moving seven or eight games would also “wipe out the equivalent of a year or more worth of community benefits” that were bargained as part of the public funding for the stadium, Koo wrote in his letter.

Las Vegas (US)-based the Las Vegas Stadium Authority is an 11-person panel that manages and oversees publicly-funded stadiums in Las Vegas, Nevada, US.

The MLB hosts several games at neutral sites each season, such as the international series and special games at the Field of Dreams in Iowa or the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania. This season, eight MLB games in total are scheduled for the neutral sites, and no team will play more than two designated home games away from its home market.

New York (US)-based the Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league and the highest level of organized baseball in the United States and Canada. One of the big four major leagues, the MLB comprises 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada.

The Field of Dreams is a baseball field and pop-culture tourist attraction built for the 1989 movie of the same name. It is located in Dyersville, Iowa, within Dubuque County (US).

The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children (primarily boys) aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States.

While Nevada has committed up to $380 million in public funding for stadium construction, the ‘A’s’ still haven’t said where they will source their portion of funding.

The team said it will play the next three seasons in Sacramento before the new Las Vegas stadium opens in 2028.

The ‘A’s’ will leave Oakland after the 2024 season and play their home games at the 14,014-capacity Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, California, from 2025 to 2027 ahead of their planned relocation to Las Vegas in 2028.

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.

Watch 380 member-exclusive videos with valuable tips for your venue