PHOENIX: They still call Las Vegas home, having lived there from their birth to their upbringing.
They have developed a strong passion for the Vegas Golden Knights, the original professional team in the city. They regularly go to NHL games in the winter and wish they could have been there on Tuesday night to celebrate the team’s Stanley Cup victory with the entire community.
When the Philadelphia Phillies visit their hometown soon, they’ll be able to invite their friends and family to see them play in person.
Please excuse Bryce Harper, the MVP of the Phillies, and Bryson Stott, the shortstop, for not joining Nevadans in celebrating the announcement on Wednesday night that the Oakland A’s would almost certainly be moving to Las Vegas.
It irks Harper and Stott.
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They don’t think the franchise will have any chance of becoming successful in their hometown; in fact, they’re downright pessimistic.
Harper expressed sympathy for the Oakland supporters to USA TODAY Sports. It’s simply incorrect. In Oakland, they have a rich history. You’re leaving a city with a team. Because of all the greatness and history they’ve witnessed there, I’m a little depressed.
“Oakland is where I see the A’s.
“They don’t seem like Vegas to me.”
After the Nevada State Assembly and State Senate approved the bill to spend up to $380 million in public money toward the development of a new baseball stadium on the Las Vegas strip, the A’s relocation plan to Las Vegas became nearly a formality. Strong supporter of the law, Governor Joe Lombardo, is currently awaiting his approval.
After a vote by MLB owners on the relocation plan—which needs to be approved by all 30 owners—it will officially become official. According to Scott, “We would rather see an expansion team than a relocated team.” This is why fans are so devoted to the Knights because they are Vegas’ original team and therefore naturally drawn to the city, which wasn’t always a major hockey town.
The relocation plan will formally become official following a vote by MLB owners, each of whom must approve it. Scott stated, “We would prefer to see an expansion team rather than a relocated team.” Because the Knights are the original club in Vegas, fans are naturally drawn to the city, which wasn’t traditionally a significant hockey town. This is why fans are so committed to the franchise.
“I attended many of their games,” Stott remarked. At most, there’s a 50/50 chance between Raiders supporters and the opponent. You want to bring your own supporters to the game even if you are selling tickets.
Furthermore, it’s not like Las Vegas is inheriting a winning venture. In baseball, the A’s and the Royals of Kansas City are tied for the poorest record. At $58 million, they have the lowest payroll in MLB. They are also years away from ever approaching the status of a postseason squad.
Harper stated, “For that reason, it ought to have been an expansion team rather than the A’s.” “Take a look at the Knights; while they were an expansion team, they won the Cup. They were, as the saying goes, born in Vegas. This is the inaugural team to visit Vegas.
“Those men are going to have a difficult time. The Raiders had a difficult season last year. It was assumed that the Raiders would succeed. Perhaps they will be, but first you need to develop a following. By the time those five and six-year-olds are sixteen or seventeen years old, they will have fans because they will grow up to be Raiders or A’s supporters.
In order to succeed, they had better spend money.
“Vegas enjoys a good winner.”
This weekend, when the Phillies play a three-game series against the A’s in the Oakland Coliseum, they will get a firsthand look at the anguish felt by the fans. The A’s are leased to the Coliseum through 2024, but unless a ballpark can be constructed by 2028, who knows where they’ll play?
Who knows, maybe this will be the final time Harper and the Phillies visit the Coliseum to play the A’s.
Harper remarked, “Those fans are so devoted, they bleed green.” It won’t be the same in Vegas, I’m not sure what they’re going to be like or how they’re going to be.
Quite a tiny market. Aside from the fact that the 30,000-seat stadium is somewhat helpful, I will be really sorry to see them go because of all of the history and excellence they have witnessed there.
The similar wish was expressed by former All-Star outfielder Dexter Fowler, a Las Vegas native who won a World Series with the Chicago Cubs. He told USA TODAY Sports that he wished the A’s had just stayed in Oakland and allowed baseball to establish an expansion team in Las Vegas.
According to Fowler, Vegas ought to have had an expansion team. “There’s a sense of a big city in this small city.” This community is passionate about their home teams. They need to spend a little more money, field a better product, and demonstrate to the supporters that they are here to win, not just to be present, if they hope to perform well here.
However, I’m just really sorry for Oakland. The Raiders have already been lost to Vegas. This now. Vegas will be hated by those folks.
“It seems like Vegas has us again!
