In a stunning podcast interview published today, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman seemed to square up against the A’s moving to Las Vegas, saying their proposed stadium site “doesn’t make sense,” and “they’ve got to figure out a way to stay in Oakland.”
It’s a big week for Las Vegas with the Super Bowl coming up there Sunday. So with a media blitz hitting the city, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman went on a not-very-well-known sports and business podcast called Front Office Sports Today to talk about sports matters in Las Vegas (the Super Bowl, an NBA team possibly coming to Las Vegas, a somewhat unsuccessful Formula One race held there in November.)
But the not-very-well-known podcast Front Office Sports Today suddenly became a very well-known podcast in the hours since the interview was posted. The Chronicle reports that Mayor Goodman seemed opposed to the A’s move to Las Vegas, saying “I love the people from Oakland, I think they deserve to have their team.”
NEWS: Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman told FOS that she believes the Oakland A’s plans for the Tropicana site don’t make sense—and that the team should stay in Oakland.
— Front Office Sports Today (@FOS_Today) February 6, 2024
Listen to the full conversation » https://t.co/zXuYISdLnz pic.twitter.com/G4iaenAfMe
You can listen to the full interview here. “I’ve lived in this town, this year, 60 years. And so I know the town like the back of my hand,” Goodman said. “I personally think they’ve got to figure out a way to stay in Oakland and make their dream come true.”
“I’ve lived in this town 60 years, and so I know the town like the back of my hand,” Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said.
— San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) February 6, 2024
“I personally think they’ve got to figure out a way to stay in Oakland and make their dream come true.” https://t.co/qJcv6QPEDa
Goodman also sounded like she was not thrilled with the A’s new proposed location on the Las Vegas Strip at the Tropicana, which they announced just one week after saying they had a different Vegas location.
(The Chronicle adds that the Strip is under the jurisdiction of Clark County, not Goodman’s City Hall. So it seems apparent that Goodman would much prefer the A's stick with their original site, just west of the Strip on Dean Martin Boulevard.)
“It’s in the historic, old part of town, which is where all major interstate highways come together,” Goodman of her preferred site. “We have seven access points to it. It is in an opportunity zone. There are all these benefits. And so when they said no, I thought this doesn’t make sense. Here’s a great site. They can get a great price on it because it’s owned by the city. We went out to reach for them, and yet no, they’re going to go out and want to get closer to the Strip, with all the congestion and everything.”
Regardless, the shit has kind of hit the fan in Las Vegas since the podcast was posted Tuesday morning. And Goodman has somewhat walked her remarks back.
Statement on today’s conversation about the Oakland A’s. pic.twitter.com/3dOXfFuq3d
— Carolyn G. Goodman (@mayoroflasvegas) February 6, 2024
“It is my belief that in their perfect world the ownership of the A’s would like to have a new ballpark on the water and that the ownership and government there should listen to their great fans and try to make the dream come true,” Goodman posted on social media. “Should that fail, Las Vegas has shown that it is a spectacular market for a major league sports franchise.”
NEWS: A Nevada teachers union, through a political action committee, has sued the state and Gov. Joe Lombardo to block the bill that gives the A's $380 million in stadium funding. https://t.co/ViCvRJxkaa
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) February 5, 2024
Yet there is other trouble looming, totally unrelated to the Las Vegas mayor’s remarks, that can still upend the A’s proposed move to Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Sun reported Monday that the political action committee of the Nevada State Education Association teachers union sued the state of Nevada over the $380 million in public funding for the proposed A’s ballpark. It’s unclear whether that lawsuit seeks anything except to halt the stadium funding, though the A's sure need that funding to pull off their relocation.
Related: A’s Agree to Cough Up $45 Million for Unpaid Oakland Coliseum Bill [SFist]
Image: OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 28: With the decision to move from Oakland to Las Vegas fans of the Oakland Athletics protest with signs outside the stadium prior to the start of the game against the Cincinnati Reds at RingCentral Coliseum on April 28, 2023 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)