Oakland A’s $1.5 billion move to Las Vegas could be put to a vote in June, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said a vote on the Oakland Athletics’ potential move to Las Vegas could take place when the owners meet in New York next month.

The Athletics recently agreed to use land at the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip, where the Tropicana Las Vegas casino resort is located, to build a 30,000-seat stadium.

“It’s possible that a move will be voted on as early as June,” Manfred said Thursday in Milwaukee during his tour of major league stadiums to speak with players.

“It’s very difficult to set a timeline for Oakland until a deal can actually be considered.” There’s a relocation process internally that they need to go through and we haven’t even started on that.”

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo said Wednesday that lawmakers and the athletics had reached a tentative agreement on a $1.5 billion stadium funding plan that would lure the franchise to Las Vegas. A funding bill has yet to be approved by the legislature.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said owners could vote on moving the Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas, Nevada, during owners meetings taking place June 13-15 in New York

Athletics and the state of Nevada have tentatively agreed to build a stadium in Las Vegas

The move would also result in Oakland losing its last “Big Four” sports franchise in seven years once the move is complete in 2027.

Manfred was asked if he thinks the possibility of the Athletics remaining in Oakland, where the team has played since 1968, is completely closed.

“I think you’d have to ask the mayor of Oakland that,” Manfred said. “She said she broke off negotiations after an announcement was made in Las Vegas.

“I don’t have a crystal ball that knows where anything leads.” There’s no final deal in Las Vegas yet. “We’ll have to see how that plays out.”

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao issued a statement following the Athletics’ land purchase in Nevada, saying she was disappointed the team had not negotiated with the city as a “true partner.”

The Athletics are looking for a new ballpark to replace the Oakland Coliseum, which has served as their home stadium since arriving from Kansas City and where the team’s lease runs through 2024.

The team also looked at a site near the Howard Terminal in Oakland before shifting focus to other states.

With their future uncertain, track and field teams are battling at historic levels on the field and in the stands.

The preliminary agreement included plans to build a potential stadium on the Tropicana’s hotel grounds

The hotel sits on a 35-acre site that is now slated to be used for a $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat stadium

The Tropicana has been a historic part of the world-famous Las Vegas Strip since the 1960’s

Like most Vegas hotels and casinos, the Tropicana offers a wide variety of games to play

In recent years, however, it’s been eclipsed by luxury resorts like the MGM Grand

They started 10:41 on Thursday after drawing level with the 1932 Boston Red Sox and the 1897 St. Louis Browns and posting the fourth-worst 50-game start in major league history.

Their average home attendance of 8,695 is nearly 3,600 fewer fans per game than any other team.

Manfred was in Milwaukee when Wisconsin lawmakers debated possible funding plans for American Family Field, the Brewers’ home field since 2001. Manfred was confident that the state would find a solution.

The Brewers’ lease, which runs through 2030, calls for the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District to handle the repairs. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the team said the district doesn’t have enough money to meet the need and the state surplus offers a chance to fund it without imposing a new tax or borrowing money.

“This is a gem of a ballpark,” Manfred said. “It’s really important that the existing lease obligation is funded so that this great ballpark gets regular maintenance.” “It has to be done on time.”

Evers proposed spending nearly $300 million in taxpayers’ money to make improvements to the stadium, a plan that Republican Convention Speaker Robin Vos declared dead on his arrival. Republicans, who control the Legislature, have yet to present their own alternative, but talks are private.

Vos said he wants to negotiate a deal that includes the team’s commitment to staying longer in Milwaukee and less relying on funds from a one-time budget surplus that is expected to be around $7 billion.

“The choices that are made between the different ways public money can be spent are choices that legislators have to make,” Manfred said.

“What I can say is that this ballpark is an asset.” “The Brewers are interested in a long-term relationship, an extension of the lease that keeps them here.”

The Athletics began playing at the Oakland Coliseum in 1968 after moving from Kansas City

However, by the 2000s, the Colosseum was showing some clear signs of its age

The A’s have also not managed to win an AL Pennant or come close to a World Series since the 2000s

Manfred noted that Milwaukee’s situation “is actually the opposite of what happened in Oakland.”

“This is a top class facility when built,” said Manfred. “It’s well maintained. The owner is committed to not only putting a competitive team on the pitch, but also doing his part to keep this stadium alive.

“Most importantly, the fans here have been enthusiastically supporting the Tam. I think the real decision that needs to be made here is what we can do to sustain this really great momentum.

“Oakland, unfortunately it’s a facility that has never been as good as this to begin with.” They made some unfortunate decisions about not maintaining the ballpark the way it needed to be maintained. This resulted in a drop in attendance, affecting the quality of produce the team could afford to take to the field.”