All season long the Oakland Athletics have dominated the headlines with their impending move to Las Vegas. MLB hasn’t had a team relocate since 2005 when the Montreal Expos moved to Washington to become the Nationals. Most recently, the governor of Nevada, Joe Lombardo signed a bill to give the A’s public funding to build their new stadium. While Oakland is far from done with the relocation process, this is a big step in getting Major League Baseball on the strip. However, I believe the Oakland Athletics are going to be failures in Las Vegas.
There Are Better Things to Do in Vegas
Embed from Getty ImagesThere are better things to do in Vegas than watching a baseball game. One can obviously gamble, see a show, visit a wacky museum, go clubbing, take a helicopter ride somewhere, tour Hoover Dam, ride the high roller, and much more. For most people planning a bachelor or bachelorette trip to Vegas, seeing a baseball game probably isn’t on the list. Vegas has a lot of activities and attractions you can’t see or do at home. Most people in this country can see a baseball game in their home state. If it were me, I’d opt to do something more exotic. I wouldn’t define watching a consistently downtrodden franchise as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The Worst Team in Baseball Is Coming to Vegas
Embed from Getty ImagesWhat’s being overshadowed is that Sin City would be inheriting the worst team in Major League Baseball. Oakland’s public enemy number one and Athletics owner John Fisher has shown no effort to make the team better. Nobody wants to pay money to see a horrendous product on the field. While the first year may go well due to the curiosity and eagerness of the city, this won’t last forever. Eventually, the newness will fade and unless there is a winner on the field, people will stop caring. This in turn will make it harder to establish a fan base, something that the Rays and Marlins are still struggling to do partially because of all the losing early on.
Intolerably Hot Summers
Embed from Getty ImagesDuring the summertime in Las Vegas, temperatures can get above over 100 degrees. Unless this new stadium has a roof, not many people are going to want to watch a game in that weather. During hot weather days during the summer, crowds are often very sparse at baseball games. I can’t think of anybody who enjoys the sun beating down on them while sitting for over two hours. Unless there is a roof over this stadium, I would expect to see a lot of empty seats.
The NFL’s Raiders Have Struggled Since Leaving Oakland
Embed from Getty ImagesThe NFL has become the most popular sports league in America compared to other professional sports. Despite having a state-of-the-art stadium, the Raiders attendance has continued to fall. Like the Athletics are trying to do now, the Raiders ditched Oakland for Las Vegas. However, since leaving Oakland, the Raiders attendance has dropped from the top three in the league all the way down to 30th. It’s not uncommon to see more opposing team fans in the stadium. Recently, Raiders owner Mark Davis has been complaining about this issue.
Nevada Is a Transplant and Tourist State
Embed from Getty ImagesJust like Florida, Nevada is a transplant and tourist state. This means the state gets new residents and visitors from all over the country. Most of the time when someone moves to a new state, they often bring their fandom for their original team with them. With a good number of the state’s residents being transplanted, it’ll be another obstacle that will make it difficult to establish a true home team following. The Rays deal with this every year when Tropicana Field becomes “Yankee Stadium South” during the Yankees series. I wouldn’t be shocked if we saw a lot more other teams’ fans flood the new Las Vegas ballpark during those games.
The A’s Are Worse off Leaving for Vegas
Embed from Getty ImagesGiven the state of the Athletics right now and how John Fisher runs the team, I can’t see them having any success in Vegas. With the state of Nevada being primarily a transplant and tourist state, it’ll be hard for them to develop a real fan base. If Johnny Boy had a brain and opened his eyes, he’d recognize he has a loyal fan base and Oakland. While it’s inevitable that MLB will have a team on the strip, if it ends up being Oakland, the A’s won’t be successful at the box office or on the field.
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8 Comments
As an OAKLAND A’s fan, thank you Eric for this article.
Been an A’s fan since they drafted Jackson,Bando,and Rick Monday from ASU growing up in Phoenix. I feel your pain but on my two tours of every stadium in the MLB the Coliseum was the biggest dump by far. I am thrilled to see them come here to Vegas both selfishly and because it will have a huge impact on their competitive abilities. Can’t wait to buy you a beer at the A’s someday championship parade down the strip.
I am an avid baseball fan and Vegas fan. I will definitely go to Vegas just to see baseball games. I think it will give me something else to do in Vegas while I’m there to take a gambling time out! I look forward to the move. I think it’s awesome and as for the A’s fans you all took your team for granted.
you probably said the same thing when hockey was coming here
I come in to Vegas on Friday pay 200 to 300 dollars a day for a hotel room. I’ll be in Vegas for about. 48 hours,,about 10 hours for sleep. That leaves me with 38 hours for vacation.Then I’m going to spend about 100 dollars for a ticket ,beer and hot dog to watch a losing baseball game in 100 plus degree heat,
I must be crazy to waste precious time with the Vegas baseball experience
I bet the gaming lords would really like me as a return customer.
For something involving a significant AMT of public money, I don’t understand why this matter can not be on the ballot. Why? Wanna kill this whole stupid idea? Get it on the ballot! Yesterday! This is America.
They’re not a consistently downtrodden team. They’ve made the playoffs 11 times in the last 22 seasons. They know how to put together competitive teams.
The fact that that’s what you think Does not make that a general opinion. Hi, I’m excited about the idea I’ve been a baseball fan my whole life. It will be excited to walk unto to the stadium. Sit down and enjoy the game. The game is about winning or losing.Same for any given sport.