Athletics Reportedly Place Bid on Las Vegas Site for Potential New Ballpark

The Oakland Athletics could be following in the Las Vegas Raiders' footsteps. 

The A's have made an offer on an unspecified Las Vegas site that could be used for a new ballpark, team president Dave Kaval told Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. 

"We're kind of moving from a phase of research/data gathering to action around a final site," Kaval told Akers. "That's really important because the site selection is a really critical path to keep the process moving forward to where we could have a holistically blessed project."

The A's have made several trips to Las Vegas as they continue to scope out potential relocation sites amid negotiations for a new stadium in Oakland. The team was expected to reveal a list of Las Vegas finalists after the World Series, but Akers says that is no longer happening. 

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred pushed the A's to begin exploring relocation options in May. 

However, Oakland has recently stepped up its efforts to keep the A's in town, with Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf announcing Friday the city is receiving $14.5 million in federal grants that could be used for the A's ballpark project. 

The A's have played at the Oakland Coliseum since 1968. They previously shared the stadium with the Raiders before the team moved to Las Vegas, where they now play at the brand new Allegiant Stadium, which cost $1.9 billion to build. 

If the A's were to move to Las Vegas, they would join a growing number of professional teams in the area, including the Raiders, the NHL's Golden Knights and the WNBA's Aces. It would also be the fourth time the franchise has moved. They previously played in Philadelphia and Kansas City. 

On the other hand, if the team was to remain in Oakland, it would likely build its new ballpark at a waterfront facility near Howard Terminal.