Under the present Democratic administration, California is deteriorating in real-time, and citizens and companies are departing in droves. Many celebrities, like Mark Wahlberg, have fled, blaming exorbitant taxes, rising crime, and strangling rules placed on people and companies.
Simply put, red states provide greater freedom, less government intervention, fewer taxes, less crime, and a higher overall quality of life. As gorgeous as California is, it is just no longer worth it to run a business or live there.
Sports franchises are among the most difficult to sell of the industries leaving California. Sports teams are often entrenched in tradition and history. The New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys will always be connected with their respective cities.
However, franchises must occasionally do what is best commercially, regardless of how much grief it causes the dedicated following. After all, sports franchises are businesses like any other, and they must produce money.
The Oakland Raiders were one of the more recent relocations, moving to Las Vegas when the city of Oakland refused to authorize money for a better, more contemporary stadium. Las Vegas stepped up, and the Las Vegas Raiders are officially an NFL team.
Sin City struck again yesterday, with Major League Baseball approving the transfer of another Oakland franchise to Nevada’s Red State desert. The MLB approved the Oakland A’s on Thursday, making them the first team to move since 2005, when Montreal lost the Expos to Washington, D.C.
The relocation, however, is still years away, since Vegas is unlikely to have a stadium completed until 2027. In the meantime, it is unknown where the A’s will play for the next two seasons. The new facility is purportedly being created as part of a collaboration between Bally’s Gaming & Leisure Properties and the Tropicana Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.
The red state of Nevada has authorized public financing for a $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat retractable roof stadium near the Raiders’ home of Allegiant Stadium. The A’s will join the Raiders, the Golden Knights of the NHL, and the Aces of the WNBA as professional teams based on the Las Vegas Strip.
It’s a terrible scenario for Oakland, which has a rich athletic past with the A’s and Raiders. Oakland was home to some of the finest and most memorable teams of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Unfortunately for small-town clubs, the economic structure of Major League Baseball has made it increasingly difficult to compete.
With limited financial resources, having a stadium that can draw spectators is critical, and Oakland and the state of California were just unwilling to keep the Raiders or the A’s. A sizable portion of the clubs’ income comes from ticket sales. With inadequate facilities in terms of fan experience, fewer A’s fans were attending games, resulting in declining attendance and less money to spend on players.
This self-perpetuating cycle eventually decimated the Bay Area squad. This season, Oakland finished 50-112 and averaged slightly over 10,000 people per game. That is just not a viable economic strategy, and the Las Vegas A’s will suffer as a result.
It’s a sad moment for Oakland sports fans, but California’s economic woes are forcing individuals and companies away, and the Oakland A’s are just the latest to depart for a better life in the Red State.