Oakland A's brass back scouting Las Vegas sites

The Oakland A’s are still home shopping in Las Vegas.

Team officials including owner John Fisher and president Dave Kaval are headed to Sin City to meet with resort operators, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal. 

• The team previously appeared to be narrowing down its prospective sites to the Bally’s-owned Tropicana site and the Las Vegas Festival Grounds.
• The Festival Grounds site, which appeared to be fading from consideration, is reportedly still in play.
• The team has designs for a $1 billion, 35,000-capacity stadium near the Las Vegas Strip.

It’s unclear where the A’s stand on receiving public funding from Las Vegas, Clark County, and Nevada. 

Team officials and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred have spoken to new Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, whose administration, while not open to raising taxes to fund a baseball stadium, indicated there are state programs that the A’s could potentially access.

Nats in Limbo

Meanwhile, the sale of the Washington Nationals is proving complicated. The Lerner family will likely continue to operate the team through the 2023 season, according to the Washington Post.

The biggest sticking point for a sale is the team’s unique arrangement with regional sports network MASN. Control and the bulk of the revenue from MASN is in the hands of the Baltimore Orioles, who are going through their own ownership challenges.

The two teams are in ongoing litigation regarding revenue the Nationals claim is owed them from the network.