Rob Manfred confirms A's have started relocation process

Speaking on the day of the 2023 MLB All-Star Game, Rob Manfred told reporters attending the event that the Oakland Athletics have already started the process to relocate from the East Bay area to Las Vegas, as reported by the Associated Press.

The Oakland Athletics have taken initial steps towards relocating to Las Vegas by submitting information related to their application, according to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.

However, the application is not yet complete, as an initial three-member committee must pass the application before a vote takes place, in which at least 75% of the 30 major league teams must approve the move.

Manfred said that following the expected relocation of the A's, the MLB will embark on an expanding process to bring two new franchises to the league. "I hope pretty shortly [after the relocation of the A's] we would put together an expansion committee and start talking, internally first, about the issues associated with expansion,” Manfred told reporters.

When addressing the issues leading to the move of the A's franchise away from Oakland, Mandred said: "My single biggest disappointment is that because of the kind of political process in Oakland, we didn’t find a solution to keep the A’s in Oakland."

The Athletics' lease at the Coliseum is set to expire after the 2024 season, and after that, they'll either extend the lease for at least the following three seasons or find an alternative and temporary stadium as a solution while their new stadium in the Las Vegas Strip is built, with an expected finalization due 2028.

That might prove to key a point step toward the final relocation and the approval of the move, as Manfred told reporters that “one of the things that you have to include [in the relocation application] is what’s gonna happen during the interim period."

For now, Mandred revealed, the A's "have not made a submission on that topic,” something that would turn into a deal-breaker in the case the A's owner and president can't find a proper solution for the 2025-2027 playing span.

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