After Raiders Move, MLB Commissioner Open To Team In Vegas
LAS VEGAS (CBS SF) – One month after the Oakland Raiders announced they would move to Las Vegas, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said he would be open to a team playing in the gambling and tourism hub.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Manfred told a meeting of sports reporters, "If we were looking at relocation, Las Vegas would be on the list."
Manfred said the league would be looking closely at the National Football League's and the National Hockey League's moves into Las Vegas, a city long-dismissed by the major professional sports leagues due to gambling.
In March, NFL owners overwhelmingly approved the Raiders relocation to a new $1.9 billion stadium in Las Vegas. The facility is expected to be completed by the 2020 season.
Before then, Las Vegas will get its first professional sports franchise this fall, as the expansion Golden Nights of the NHL take to the ice.
Manfred went on to say that an expansion team in Las Vegas would not happen until stadium situations involving the Oakland A's and Tampa Bay Rays are settled.
The A's have long sought a new stadium to the aging Coliseum, which they currently share with the departing Raiders. After looking at possible sites in Fremont and San Jose, the A's have once again focused on several sites in Oakland, including a stadium on the current Coliseum site.
A's officials said an announcement on a stadium site would be made before the end of the year.