Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman naturally has plenty of thoughts on the Athletics' looming relocation from Oakland to Sin City.
And after a recent interview with Front Office Sports, the elected official has clarified some of her headline-grabbing comments.
Goodman originally told the "Front Office Sports Today" podcast she believes, deep down, A's owner John Fisher and president Dave Kaval would like to keep the franchise in Oakland, listing that among several other reasons why the team should stay there rather than make the move to Vegas while stating the plans don't make sense.
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On Tuesday morning, Goodman released a statement that appeared to walk back some of her comments and emphasized her excitement for the A's to be in Vegas.
From criticizing potential traffic congestion at the team's future ballpark location -- the soon-to-be-demolished Tropicana hotel -- to stating Fisher "needs to listen" to people in Oakland who want the team to stay, Goodman at first made her stance clear when speaking with Front Office Sports.
"I've lived in [Las Vegas] this year, 60 years, and so I know the town like the back of my hand," Goodman told the outlet. "I personally think [the A's] have got to figure out a way to stay in Oakland and make their dream come true."
Athletics
Goodman laid the onus on the city of Oakland to find funding for the A's original plans, which called for a new stadium along the water at Howard Terminal. Over the 2023 MLB All-Star break in July, Oakland mayor Sheng Thao presented league commissioner Rob Manfred with evidence of the city's proposal for the waterfront ballpark.
Among the documents shown to Manfred were a summary of terms, an infrastructure financing plan, a preliminary development plan, design guidelines and a tentative tract map. Negotiations ceased, however, when the A's committed to Vegas last spring.
Now, with public funding approved for a new Las Vegas ballpark and a unanimous MLB owners vote in favor of the A's relocation, things certainly are moving forward for the franchise's move -- though, as Goodman noted during her interview, it's not yet 100 percent set in stone.
Still, it appears as though the Mayor now is on board with welcoming another professional sports franchise to her city.