Phillies' Bryce Harper: 'I Don't Agree' with A's Leaving Oakland, Moving to Las Vegas | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
Philadelphia Phillies superstar Bryce Harper, who is from Las Vegas, doesn't like the way it appears Major League Baseball will put its first team in his hometown.
Speaking to The Athletic's Matt Gelb, Harper addressed the growing likelihood the Oakland Athletics will leave the city for Las Vegas:
"I feel bad for the A's and their fans. They're so rooted in Oakland. Those fans bleed green. Now it's, 'Hey, we're going to pick the A's to come to Vegas.' I don't agree with that. Who cares what I think? It's my own opinion. But when you see a team like the A's—there's so much history at the Coliseum with all the great players they've had. And the last couple of years, it hasn't been the greatest. I get that. I totally understand.
"But do I believe they should leave Oakland because of that? No. They could be as good as anybody if they actually went and did it. Those fans deserve that."
When asked if he thought a marriage between MLB and Vegas could work, Harper said, "I don't know."
The two-time National League MVP would prefer if the franchise didn't keep the Athletics nickname in their new city:
"I don't think they should use the A's name. I really don't. I don't think it's fair to anybody in Oakland for that to happen. I really don't. I think they should rebrand it. That's my own personal opinion. Maybe people in Vegas might think differently. They might love the Las Vegas A's name. You already have the (WNBA's) Aces and they're really good. You're not going to take a New York Yankees fan and change them into an A's fan overnight."
The A's have cleared some key hurdles this week in their quest to get a new stadium built in Las Vegas.
The Nevada state legislature voted on Wednesday to approve $380 million in public funding as part of the proposed $1.5 billion stadium. The legislature approval came after the state senate voted by a 13-8 margin to approve the funding bill on Tuesday.
Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo has to sign the bill into law. If that happens, the A's have to file for relocation with Major League Baseball and the other owners must vote to approve the move.
Per Scott Sonner and Gabe Stern of the Associated Press, Lombardo's signature and MLB's approval are "both anticipated" now that the stadium-funding issue has been resolved through the Nevada legislature.
Tuesday's vote from the Nevada senate came on the same day A's fans staged a reverse boycott for their home game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
A season-high 27,759 people were in attendance at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum to cheer on their team and let owner John Fisher know what they think about him.
Jeff Passan @JeffPassanThe announced attendance at the Oakland A's reverse boycott game: 27,759.<br><br>And the crowd has been absolutely electric. Constantly engaged, chanting for John Fisher to sell the team and trying to remind everyone that Oakland losing baseball is a genuinely bad thing for the sport.
Construction on the ballpark in Vegas isn't expected to begin until late-2024 or early-2025, with the stadium opening likely happening in 2028.
The Athletics' lease at the Oakland Coliseum expires after the 2024 season. Team president Dave Kaval told David Waldstein and Benjamin Hoffman of the New York Times in April they could play home games at Las Vegas Ballpark, home of their Triple-A affiliate, while they wait for the new stadium to be built.
The A's have been in Oakland since the 1968 season when they relocated from Kansas City.
