Are the Athletics Even Welcome in Las Vegas?

All 30 of Major League Baseball’s team owners voted in favor of allowing the Oakland Athletics to move to Las Vegas. While there are still some issues to solve, it is a foregone conclusion that the franchise will be playing baseball in Sin City. However, the reaction from the Las Vegas metropolitan area has been mixed. This isn’t the reaction that a city should have whenever a major professional sports franchise is coming to town. It makes me wonder whether the Oakland Athletics are even going to be welcome in Vegas.

Not the Excitement You’d Expect for the A’s Arrival

Whenever a major sports franchise moves to a new place, typically they are met with a lot of excitement and a hero’s welcome in their new city. The new fans are probably counting down to the first game and the phone is constantly ringing for season tickets. However, since the A’s were approved to move to Sin City, the reaction has only been mixed. This isn’t exactly a warm welcome from the Las Vegas metropolitan area.

A Las Vegas Teachers Union Is Against It

One group that isn’t in favor of Oakland coming to Sin City is a Las Vegas teachers union. Recently, the union filed a lawsuit to give voters the final decision on the Athletics receiving public funding. While the lawsuit was thrown out by a Carson County judge, the union is planning on filing an appeal in the Nevada Supreme Court. Commissioner Rob Manfred has even acknowledged he has some concerns over this development.

Mark Davis Hasn’t Forgiven John Fisher

Executives of other sports teams are generally very welcoming whenever a new team moves in. However, the old wounds between Raiders owner Mark Davis and John Fisher appear to still be fresh. Since the Raiders came back to Oakland, they’ve always shared the Oakland Coliseum with the Athletics. Davis essentially blamed Fisher for the Raiders being unable to get a stadium deal done in Oakland. He also went as far as to call out their ‘Rooted in Oakland’ slogan as an insult to the Raiders. I don’t expect Mark Davis to help the Athletics promote their inaugural season or anything related to them.

Other Sports Executives Aren’t Excited Either

At a conference hosted by the Nevada Independent featuring various Las Vegas sports executives, Oak View Group President Marc Badain described Fisher and A’s President Dave Kaval’s behavior as “lacking honesty and professionalism.” Badain was the former president of the Raiders both in Oakland and Las Vegas. He indirectly took a shot a Fisher’s stadium design saying it “couldn’t be cookie-cutter.” The other executives at the conference expressed a degree of skepticism about whether the A’s would be successful at all. This isn’t exactly the most welcoming response from both John Fisher and Dave Kaval’s peers in the sports industry.

The Athletics Don’t Sound Very Welcome in Sin City

This isn’t the reaction a city typically has before a professional team arrives. However, the city is inheriting a team that is run by possibly the worst owner in all professional sports. Mark Davis and others still have hard feelings over Mark Fisher’s behavior when the Raiders and Athletics shared the Coliseum. It’s hard to get more excited when hard feelings still exist and the product probably will be unwatchable. Judging by the reactions of people and other major local sports executives, it doesn’t sound like the A’s are truly welcome in Las Vegas.

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