Established in 1901 as charter members of the American League, the Athletics, while having been at times, one of the best franchises in baseball, have been one of the worst and played in three cities over the past century: Philadelphia, Kansas City and Oakland. The franchise has been located in Oakland the longest, since 1968, playing at the Oakland Coliseum. Over the past 50 years the financial landscape of baseball has changed drastically and nearly every team has opened or significantly renovated their ballpark. However, this has not been the case in Oakland as the Coliseum has changed little since its opening other than have a massive grandstand built beyond the outfield in the mid 1990s to accommodate the Oakland Raiders (NFL). For most of this century the A’s have sought to have a new ballpark built in the Bay Area at multiple locations. Numerous plans presented by the team have failed to gain support from local government officials, thus the team began exploring options to relocate. After failing to have a new football stadium built in Oakland the Raiders moved to Las Vegas following the 2019 season. The Athletics are seeking to follow in the footsteps of the Raiders and are in the initial stages of obtaining financing to construct a ballpark in Las Vegas. In May 2023 the Athletics announced plans to construct a $1.5 billion stadium on the location of the Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel. Initial plans call for the ballpark to seat around 33,000 fans. It would be a domed stadium with a layered, overlapping roof that protects fans and players from the outside elements but provides views of the Las Vegas strip through one of the world’s largest cable-net glass window. Additionally it would feature the largest videoboard in baseball at 18,000 square-feet.
In November 2023, Major League Baseball approved the Athletics relocation to Las Vegas. Financing for a new stadium has yet to be approved and the earliest a new ballpark would open is 2028. The A’s will remain in Oakland in 2024 but beyond that season, their location has not been determined.
