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The sad story of Oakland losing the Athletics, its last professional sports team

Published January 26, 2024 at 7:40 AM EST
Reuben Ortiz of Modesto, Calif., holds a sign outside Oakland Coliseum to protest the Oakland Athletics' planned move to Las Vegas, before a baseball game between the Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays in Oakland, Calif., June 13, 2023. The Athletics’ move to Las Vegas was unanimously approved Thursday, Nov 16, 2023 by Major League Baseball team owners. After years of complaints about the Oakland Coliseum and an inability to gain government assistance for a new ballpark in the Bay area, the A’s plan to move to a stadium to be built on the Las Vegas Strip with $380 million in public financing approved by the Nevada government. (Jed Jacobsohn/AP)
Reuben Ortiz of Modesto, Calif., holds a sign outside Oakland Coliseum to protest the Oakland Athletics' planned move to Las Vegas, before a baseball game between the Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays in Oakland, Calif., June 13, 2023. The Athletics’ move to Las Vegas was unanimously approved Thursday, Nov 16, 2023 by Major League Baseball team owners. After years of complaints about the Oakland Coliseum and an inability to gain government assistance for a new ballpark in the Bay area, the A’s plan to move to a stadium to be built on the Las Vegas Strip with $380 million in public financing approved by the Nevada government. (Jed Jacobsohn/AP)

The Oakland Athletics are confirmed to be moving to Las Vegas in a couple of years. It means that Oakland will lose its last remaining professional sports team.

Just a decade ago the city was home to the Athletics, the Warriors basketball team — now based in San Francisco — and the Raiders football team, who preceded the Athletics in moving to Las Vegas.

Dan Moore is a writer and lifelong Oakland sports fan. He writes for The Ringer, Baseball Prospectus and Oaklandside Magazine and has covered the demise of pro sports in Oakland. He talks to host Scott Tong about what has happened and why.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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