(The Center Square) – Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman clarified her remarks this week after going on a sports podcast and questioning why the Oakland Athletics would move to the Las Vegas Strip.
During an interview Monday with Front Office Sports, Goodman discussed a variety of sports topics such as the Super Bowl, Formula One racing, what Vegas has to offer professional leagues, and the A’s.
The A’s plan includes the Tropicana site on the Las Vegas Strip. In June, the Nevada Legislature approved a $380 million tax bill contingent on the new stadium being built at the Tropicana cite at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue.
“To come here and take down an old hotel and put it right at the heart of the strip and more congestion – we have enough congestion right now – which we just experienced with Formula One,” Goodman said in the interview adding, she meets people from Oakland and “they want to keep the team,” but their local government has to come up with a way to help pay for a new stadium.
Goodman said she prefers a site in Las Vegas’ historic area, but the club wanted to be closer to the strip, a move she doesn’t think makes sense.
“I personally think [the A’s] have got to figure out a way to stay in Oakland and make their dream come true,” she added. Goodman did not rule out the A’s becoming the Las Vegas A’s, but added that “until it’s done, it’s not done.”
Following her remarks, Front Office Sports posted the audio with the headline “Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said she thinks that the Oakland A’s should stay in Oakland.”
Goodman on Tuesday addressed her remarks in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I want to be clear that I am excited about the prospect of Major League Baseball in Las Vegas, and it very well may be that the Las Vegas A’s will become a reality that we will welcome to our city,” she said.
She went on to say: “My points included that 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 in Oakland and that the ownership and government there should listen to their great fans and try to make that dream come true.”
“Should that fail, Las Vegas has shown that it is a spectacular market for major league sports franchises,” Goodman said.
