Oakland Athletics fans downtrodden as Las Vegas stadium bill passed by Nevada senate: "Help fund a team owned by a billionaire. Makes sense" 

A move of the Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas moved one step closer to reality Tuesday. The state senate in Nevada passed a $380 million bill to help fund a proposed stadium in Las Vegas that would serve as the new home for the Athletics.

The measure passed by a 13-8 vote after some amendments were made to the original bill, as well as some non-stadium additions were made regarding paid family leave and "prevailing wage in monorail projects."

Approval of a stadium funding bill by the state senate has largely been seen as the biggest hurdle for the proposed move by the Athletics. The bill now advances to the state assembly. If it passes there, it will go to the desk of Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo. Lombardo is on record as favoring the bill and the Athletics' move.

If the bill is signed by Lombardo, the only remaining step will be approval by MLB owners. In what is assumed to be a rubber-stamp approval, 75 percent of MLB owners will have to approve the Oakland Athletics' petition to move.

However, California legislators Barbara Lee and Mark DeSaulnier introduced the "Moneyball Act" on Tuesday. The act would require owners of any MLB organization seeking to relocate to compensate the state and local authorities of the area they moved away from or subject the league to anti-trust laws that have been exempt for over a century.

Anti-trust laws prohibit all agreements and conspiracies in restraint of trade and commerce. MLB, being exempt from these laws, has been able to conduct business as the league has seen fit.

In May, the Oakland Athletics organization purchased 35 acres of prized real estate at the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip on which to build a planned 30,000-seat stadium that is expected to cost approximately $1.5 billion.

A move to Las Vegas would be the fourth geographic shift for the current Oakland Athletics in the 123-year history of the team.

The Athletics began life in Philadelphia in 1901, playing in the city until 1954. In 1955, the Athletics began a brief stint in Kansas City as MLB teams began to move off the East Coast into the wider reaches of the United States. The team only lasted in America's heartland until 1967, when the move was made to Oakland.

And now, the Athletics appear poised to begin moving east. At least Las Vegas residents are happy.

Reportedly 25,000 tickets have already been sold as Athletics fans have a "reverse boycott" planned for Tuesday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Fans are hoping to encourage the league to see Oakland as a viable market and convince owner John Fisher to sell the team rather than move it.

Oakland Athletics showing signs of life on the field

Oakland Athletics players celebrate after a 4-3 win against the Tampa Bay Rays at RingCentral Coliseum on June 12, 2023

While the Athletics still have MLB's worst record at 18-50, the team is on a bit of a run. Oakland has won six straight games, including a sweep at the Milwaukee Brewers last weekend and two of three from the Pittsburgh Pirates last week.