A look at the history of MLB relocation over the past 70 years
The Oakland Athletics are firmly headed for Las Vegas after Major League Baseball team owners unanimously approved the sport's first relocation since 2005 on Thursday.
It will be the A's fourth city — from Philadelphia to Kansas City to Oakland to Las Vegas — the most in baseball's history.
Here's a look at Major League Baseball teams that have moved cities since 1953.
TBA: Oakland Athletics move to Las Vegas
After years of complaints about the Oakland Coliseum and an inability to gain government assistance for a new ballpark in the Bay Area, the A’s plan to move to a stadium to be built on the Las Vegas Strip with $380 million in public financing approved by the Nevada government. The A’s lease at the Coliseum expires after the 2024 season and it remains unclear where the team will play before a new ballpark opens, in 2027 at the earliest.
2005: Montreal Expos move to Washington
The franchise became the Nationals after 36 years in Canada, leaving after declining attendance at Olympic Stadium and a desire for a new ballpark.
1972: Washington Senators move to Texas
The second version of the Senators was founded in 1961, lasting 11 seasons before declining attendance spurred a move to the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
1970: Seattle Pilots move to Milwaukee
The expansion Pilots — of "Ball Four" fame — lasted just one season in Seattle before moving to Milwaukee. Seattle would later get an expansion team, the Mariners, that started play in 1977.
1968: Kansas City Athletics move to Oakland
Citing declining attendance and a desire to move to the growing West Coast market, the Athletics make the move to the Bay Area, where they'll stay until Thursday's news.
First baseman Joe Adcock of the Boston Braves poses for an action portrait before an MLB Spring Training game circa March, 1953 in Bradenton, Florida. On March 18, 1953, the Boston Braves would move to Milwaukee to become the Milwaukee Braves. (Photo
1966: Milwaukee Braves move to Atlanta
The franchise had a successful 13-year run in Milwaukee, winning the World Series in 1957, but that couldn't stop the team from moving to the growing Atlanta market.
1961: Washington Senators move to Minnesota
After 60 years in the nation's capital, the first version of the Washington Senators moved to Minnesota, where the franchise remains today.
Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees slides safely into second base during a game against the Washington Senators at Griffith Stadium, Washington DC, 1961. The others are not identified. (Photo by Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images)
1958: Brooklyn Dodgers move to Los Angeles/New York Giants move to San Francisco
In a pair of moves that shook the sport, the Dodgers and Giants both left New York for the rapidly growing West Coast. New York had just one team — the Yankees — for a handful of seasons until the Mets were established in 1962.
1955: Philadelphia Athletics move to Kansas City
After 52 seasons in Philadelphia, the Athletics moved to Kansas City in an effort to find a new market where they didn't have to compete with the crosstown Phillies.
Big three of the Phila Athletics. left to right, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, and Eddie Collins, at the Giants training camp, Augusta, Georgia. (Getty Images)
1954: St. Louis Browns move to Baltimore
After years of poor performance and competition with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Browns moved to Baltimore, where they became the Orioles.
1953: Boston Braves move to Milwaukee
The Braves set off a wave of relocation throughout the 1950s and '60s when the franchise left for Milwaukee after 77 seasons in Boston.
___
AP Baseball Writers Stephen Hawkins, Ronald Blum and David Brandt contributed to this report.