Rob Manfred: Las Vegas ‘a viable alternative’ to Oakland if Athletics must relocate

Because the Athletics proceed to struggle for a brand new stadium in Oakland, it is changing into more and more clear that they’ve choices elsewhere. One in all them could be to comply with their former co-tenant on the RingCentral Coliseum, the Raiders, and arrange store in Las Vegas.

If it involves that, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred seems keen to OK a transfer to Vegas.

“Las Vegas is a viable different for a serious league membership,” Manfred mentioned in a Q&A with the Baseball Writers’ Affiliation of America forward of the All-Star Sport. “There are different viable options that I have not turned the A’s free to even discover at this level.”

MORE: Four potential landing spots for the A’s if they relocate

The Athletics’ lease on the Coliseum runs via 2024, however MLB declared the stadium non-viable earlier in the course of the 2021 marketing campaign. That is a part of why Manfred gave the Athletics permission to discover a transfer to a different market.

“The Oakland Coliseum web site will not be a viable possibility for the long run imaginative and prescient of baseball,” the league said in a statement. “We’ve got instructed the Athletics to start to discover different markets whereas they proceed to pursue a waterfront ballpark in Oakland.

“The Athletics want a brand new ballpark to stay aggressive, so it’s now in our greatest curiosity to additionally think about different markets.”

The A’s have performed on the Coliseum since 1968, however lately, the stadium has continued to degrade and undergo varied points. Most notably, it has had plumbing issues and sewage leaks which have impacted the clubhouses over the past decade.

Now, the ball in Oakland’s courtroom, and town will quickly need to decide about whether or not they wish to preserve the A’s round. That entails making a choice about accepting the A’s proposal of a waterfront stadium for which the crew will privately fund $1 billion.

“So we’re gonna know in some way what’s gonna occur in Oakland within the subsequent couple months,” Manfred mentioned. “If you cannot get a ballpark, I believe the relocation course of, whether or not it is Las Vegas or a broader array of cities that get thought of, is gonna tackle extra tempo.”