The Oakland A’s are Vegas bound! What does this mean for the professional baseball team already in Las Vegas?

In the late hours of April 19, 2023, reporters Howard Stutz and Tabitha Mueller of the Nevada Independent broke the news that the Oakland (too early to call them Las Vegas?) A’s entered into a purchase agreement for a parcel of land north of Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, and just west of T-Mobile Arena, home of the Vegas Golden Knights. In response, the city of Oakland is ceasing all negotiations relating to the A’s previously planned stadium district at the Howard Terminal site. This paves the way for the A’s to join the Raiders, its previous “stadium-mate” at the Oakland Coliseum, in leaving the East Bay for Las Vegas.

The A’s will be the newest team to join the recent sports explosion in Las Vegas, but professional baseball isn’t new to Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Aviators, originally known as the Las Vegas Stars (1983-2000) and then as the Las Vegas 51’s (2001-2018), currently play in a new, 10,000 seat ballpark located in Summerlin, a suburb approximately 15 miles west of the Las Vegas strip.

With the A’s coming to Vegas, what does this mean for Vegas’ homegrown baseball team? The reason for such a question… Rule 52 of the Major League Baseball’s Major League Rules (“MLR”). In short, this rule prevents multiple Clubs from establishing themselves too close together and imposing on another’s geographical market.

MLR Rule 52(a) governs the territorial rights for both Minor and Major league teams. To get technical, the rule states that each Club is granted a “home territory”. As it relates to Las Vegas, no Major League Club has Las Vegas, NV as its “home territory”, but the same cannot be said for a Minor League Club. The Aviators have the exclusive home territorial rights to Las Vegas (technically Clark County, NV). See Attachment 52 of MLR.

There are two important components of MLR Rule 52 – the “home territory restriction” and the “mileage restriction.” MLR Rule 52(a)(4) provides that no Minor or Major League Club may play its homes games within the home territory of any other Minor or Major League Club (the “Home Territory Restriction”) nor can any Minor or Major League Club play within 15 miles from the boundary of the home territory (the “Mileage Restriction”) of any other Minor or Major League Club.

Whether it be the Home Territory Restriction or Mileage Restriction, both are seemingly a problem for the A’s and the Aviators to play in the same city. So how will this work? To keep it simple, The A’s will need to get the Aviators’ blessing – in writing of course.?

Rule 52(d)(1) provides that a Major or Minor League Club may establish a home territory or play its home games in a location otherwise prohibited by Rule 52 if the imposing club obtains written consent from the Club whose territorial rights would be violated. This means that the A’s must obtain the Aviators’ written consent to play in its “home territory.”

Luckily, the Aviators and the A’s already have a working relationship since the Aviators serve as the Triple-A Affiliate for the A’s which will undoubtedly help in any negotiation over those rights. There have been several reports about a territory consent deal being in place between The Howard Hughes Corporation and John Fisher, owners of the Aviators and A’s respectively, but the terms of said deal have not been disclosed. From an on-the-field perspective, it benefits the A’s to have their top affiliate a short drive away, similar to the Vegas Golden Knights and its American Hockey League affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. For example, the A’s can call up a player from the Aviators without a travel issue and an A’s player can be placed on rehab assignment without having to leave Las Vegas.

While the framework for the stadium financing and potential public-private partnership is still being determined and lobbied for at the current Nevada legislative session, all signs point to the Oakland A’s becoming the Las Vegas A’s in 2027.

We’re still a ways away from the A’s coming to Las Vegas, but when the time comes, I expect both teams to enjoy an energized fan base and reap the benefits of playing in the entertainment capital of the world and the greatest arena on Earth.