The clock is ticking on the Oakland Athletics to stay in Oakland. John Fisher made up his mind a long time ago. He sees the A’s as being a better fit for Las Vegas than their current home. While the fans organized protests and boycotts, Fisher’s decision never changed. Now he and the Athletics have taken another massive step towards Nevada – this one is worth $500 million. 

For the A’s to successfully shift to Las Vegas, they need to build their stadium first. According to most reports, the cost of that new construction comes in at around $1.5 billion. Now the issue is that the Nevada legislators approved $380 million in public funding in June 2023. However, the Athletics can only access that money after they raise the remaining amount. As a result, the team has now hired the “industry’s leading sports banker” to guide them through. 

According to the Los Angeles Times, The Oakland Athletics have hired Galatioto Sports Partners to attract investors. Fisher aims to raise $500 million in exchange for a share of the team’s ownership. The firm is responsible for over 100 sports financing deals. One of the most famous deals brokered by Galatioto was the sale of the Angels and Mighty Duck by Walt Disney Co.

This isn’t a surprising development in this story. It has been known for a while that John Fisher is aiming to sell a minority stake in the A’s. The owner hopes to raise enough money through these sales to fund his $1.5 billion ballpark in the Las Vegas strip. However, with his timeline already running a little behind, there are growing doubts about the ballpark’s expected date of completion.

While the Oakland Athletics expects to shift to Las Vegas by 2028, delays in construction could jeopardize that move. According to most estimates, if the construction doesn’t start by 2025, a 2028 opening could be impossible.

How do the next three years look for the Oakland Athletics? 

The Sacramento Kings announced earlier in April that the Oakland Athletics will be shifting to Sacramento for three seasons. As the team’s lease with the Coliseum ends after 2024, the tea will make the Sutter Health Park their temporary home until the construction of their Vegas ballpark is complete. That’s certainly a cause of relaxation because, for a long time, there was unclarity regarding their next move.

However, with the risk of construction delaying, one wonders how will the Athletics raise more money. According to Forbes’ list released in March, the current value of the A’s is around $1.2 billion. A $500 million raise at that price would entail selling off 42% of the shares – is John Fisher really willing to let go of that much of the equity? Clearly, the challenges haven’t ended yet for the A’s. 

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The team will play in a minor-league park with limited revenues for the next three years. So there’s a lot at stake here for Fisher. It’ll be interesting to see the next step of the Athletics.