A’s could make ‘minor’ move to join Raiders in Las Vegas

Long have the Raiders and the Oakland A’s shared a stadium; the only NFL/MLB shared stadium relationship left between the leagues. That is all going to be over soon with the Raiders moving to Las Vegas as early as 2020 for their brand new stadium there. But that doesn’t mean the connection will be completely severed between the Green & Gold and the Silver & Black.

It could be the A’s follow the Raiders to Vegas. Sort of. Their minor league affiliate — which is currently located in Nashville — could use a location that is closer to the Bay Area according to the Mercury News. After all, it isn’t ideal for the A’s to have their minor league team 2,300 miles, and 2 time zones away.

Lucky for them Vegas just so happens to be building a state of the art, $150M field for their minor league team. They have a Mets affiliate team currently located in Vegas but they are leaving for Syracuse New York. Right about the same time the contract with Nashville for the A’s affiliate is expiring.

The stadium in Vegas will have all the bells and whistles too, as one would expect from Las Vegas. It will have suites, party zones and decks along with a pool. It’s sounds pretty magnificent for a minor league park and could be quite the draw for the A’s. The A’s even have some history in Vegas.

They also made Vegas their Triple-A home back in the 1960’s as well. And when the Coliseum was adding Mount Davis for Al Davis and the Raiders, the A’s needed a temporary home for their opener in 1996. They chose Vegas.

It’s ironic, but even after the two teams are done being roommates in Oakland they just might become neighbors in Vegas.

It looks like all the pieces are lined up to make this a reality. That is unless the L.A. Dodgers get in the way of it all. They also have Triple-A history in Vegas and are considered the other favorite for the Vegas stadium once it’s completed. They’d have to sell their stake in their Oklahoma affiliate to be allowed to take over Vegas, but it would be a great spot for them too being another California based team.