Oakland A’s preparing list of potential stadium sites in Las Vegas

There appeared to be good news regarding hopes that the Oakland A’s would remain in the Bay Area. The Oakland City Council had voted in favor of a non-binding modified plan for the Howard Terminal Project. Meanwhile, the A’s had postponed their scheduled trip to Las Vegas, seemingly focusing on working with the city to keep the team in town.

But that may not be the case any longer. According to Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle, the A’s will be looking to prepare a list of potential stadium sites in Las Vegas once the MLB postseason is over.

So much for the Oakland A’s being Rooted In Oakland

At this point, the threat of relocation has to be taken seriously. Las Vegas has been doing everything possible to court Major League Baseball in general, and the A’s in particular. With the success of the NHL in the desert, and the Raiders having already abandoned Oakland for Las Vegas, the city has become a prime destination.

It is entirely possible that this is just another negotiating tactic. Ownership and the city had disagreed as to the amount of money that either side should be contributing, as well as questions regarding the financing for the project. Until ground was actually broken, there was still plenty that could go wrong.

This is a part of the list of what could go wrong between the A’s and the city. It also calls into question whether or not the A’s had been negotiating in good faith, as the team had Las Vegas as an option. While relocation may have been regarded as the fallback plan, it is entirely possible that remaining in Oakland was the fallback option all along.

The Oakland A’s are preparing a list of potential stadium sites in Las Vegas. It may turn out that their Rooted in Oakland slogan meant nothing at all.