Oakland A’s Relocation? Las Vegas, Portland, Nashville, Charlotte Among Possible Cities

The Oakland Athletics might not call the Bay Area home for much longer. The MLB franchise is seriously considering relocation amid the organization’s inability to construct a new ballpark in its current city.

The A’s, who play their home games at the 55-year-old Oakland Coliseum, have been pursuing a waterfront ballpark near the city’s Howard Terminal. As the proposed project remains in limbo, the team and the league are putting pressure on the city to get something done.

“MLB is concerned with the rate of progress on the A's new ballpark effort with local officials and other stakeholders in Oakland,” MLB said in a statement. “The A’s have worked very hard to advance a new ballpark in downtown Oakland for the last four years, investing significant resources while facing multiple roadblocks.

"We know they remain deeply committed to succeeding in Oakland, and with two other sports franchises recently leaving the community, their commitment to Oakland is now more important than ever.”

The NFL’s Raiders and NBA’s Warriors have both left Oakland within the last couple of years. The Golden State Warriors moved to San Francisco, while the Raiders left the state completely and set up shop in Las Vegas.

Where might the A’s relocate? MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has named specific cities as sites for the league’s possible expansion. It stands to reason that those places could potentially become options for the A’s.

“Portland, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Nashville in the United States, certainly Montreal, maybe Vancouver, in Canada,” Manfred said in a 2018 interview on FS1. “We think there’s places in Mexico we could go over the long haul.”

From a geographic perspective, Portland and Las Vegas make sense. It would allow MLB to keep the A’s in the AL West, and the team wouldn’t be moving too far away from its fanbase.

The Raiders have yet to host a game with fans because of the pandemic, but the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights have been a major success since becoming an expansion NHL team in 2017. With MLB now embracing sports betting, the next logical move might be to put a baseball team in the nation’s gambling capital.

Relocating to Vancouver would also keep the A’s in the Pacific Time Zone, potentially making it a move that MLB would support.

Nashville is often mentioned as a new city that could support a professional baseball team. It’s proven to be a good sports town, supporting the NFL’s Titans and the Predators in the NHL. Home to only two of the four major professional team sports, the Music City might embrace the A’s.

Not too far away from Nashville, Charlotte offers a similar chance for MLB to enter a growing city.

“Charlotte is one of the fastest, largest growing cities without Major League Baseball,” Rick Curti, the founder of a grassroots effort working to bring baseball to the city, told The Athletic earlier this year. “They’re looking for markets where there is growth, and Charlotte fits that profile to a T.”

Montreal is still an option for another MLB team after losing the Expos over similar stadium issues. The Tampa Bay Rays are still considering plans to play a portion of their home games in the Canadian city.

No MLB franchise has relocated since the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2005. The Athletics played in Philadelphia and Kansas City before settling in Oakland.

The A’s have been in Oakland since 1968. The franchise has won three World Series championships in its current home.

“We have a fully funded plan at the waterfront that we think is really tremendous with a great vision. But at the same time, we are going to start exploring other markets and talking to other communities,” A’s president Dave Kaval told MLB.com.

“We need to have options and take the direction of Major League Baseball to ensure that we really advance the viability of the franchise for another generation.”