Count Phillies star and Las Vegas native Bryce Harper among those who oppose the Athletics’ proposed move to Sin City.
The ownership team of the Athletics made significant progress in their relocation plans on Wednesday, as the $1.5 billion stadium bill for the team’s home in Las Vegas was approved. This was a significant hurdle, and now that it has been surpassed, it further paves the way for the A’s to relocate.
“I feel sorry for the fans in Oakland,” Harper told USA Today. “It’s just not right. They have so much history in Oakland. You’re taking a team out of a city. I’m pretty sad because of all the history and all the greatness they’ve seen there. I see the A’s as Oakland. I don’t see them as Vegas.”
Harper’s teammate and fellow Las Vegas native, shortstop Bryson Stott also opposed the move.
“We would rather see an expansion team than a relocated team,” Stott said. “That’s why fans are so crazy about the Knights. It’s Vegas’s first team. It’s ours. It was kind of easy for people to gravitate towards that. Vegas wasn’t a big hockey town. It is now. But baseball, you have people in town liking the Dodgers, and the Angels, and the Padres and the Diamondbacks. It will take a few generations before they have a real fandom in baseball. I’m sure they’ll sell tickets for visiting fans, which is probably all they care about.”
The news of the latest step in the relocation plans comes on the heels of a “reverse boycott” that A’s fans conducted on Tuesday night, as 27,000 fans were in attendance at Oakland Coliseum to see the team pick up its sixth straight victory. The 27,000 fans more than tripled the average attendance at the ballpark this season.
