The Oakland Athletics, often referred to as the A's, are members of the American League of Major League Baseball. Even those not entirely familiar with baseball may know the A's and their controversial and polarizing use of sabermetrics. Thanks in large part to the movie "Moneyball", which was nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture.

Less glamorous has been the franchises struggles regarding its home venue, Oakland Coliseum. For many years, the A's shared the venue with the NFL's Oakland Raiders. The stadium has had a wide array of problems over time.

Including but not limited to flooding, sewage backups and a tendency to attract possums. The third listed item is decidedly cuter than the others. Fans have somewhat embraced it and crafted a makeshift mascot out of the situation. But it's also rendered the television booth for visiting teams to be essentially unusable. And now apparently the Athletics have decided the situation is no longer tenable, once and for all.

Reach binding agreement for real estate in Las Vegas

The Oakland Athletics are likely headed for Las Vegas, as indicated by Yahoo. It comes after roughly 20 years of negotiations between the team and the City of Oakland. There had long been hopes that a new stadium could be built to keep the A's in the region.

Team officials have entered into an agreement to buy approximately 50 acres of land in Las Vegas. One of the Athletics' Minor League teams is currently based in the city. The A's hope to break ground on a new stadium next year and be moved in by 2027. In addition to the stadium, they also hope to build a movie theater and other attractions on the site.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao announced after the news hit that she was ending negotiations with the team, reports NBC. Seeming to further cement the franchise's southeastern move. "A blank check," is what Thao claims the A's were asking for, which she said the city couldn't give them.

Las Vegas would be the fourth city to host the Athletics franchise.

Following Philadelphia; Kansas City, Missouri and, of course, Oakland. During its time as the Oakland Athletics, the team has won four World Series Championships in six appearances. Among those to play for the A's in Oakland include Reggie Jackson, Rickey Henderson and Dennis Eckersley.

Probably feels like déjà vu for many Oakland fans

This is not the first go-round of this sort for Oakland sports fans. The situation is playing out almost eerily similar to how the Raiders left the city (for a second time). Even that there was a 'lame duck' period of time where the team continued playing in Oakland. Meanwhile, their upcoming new home is being constructed - in Las Vegas.

Not long ago, Las Vegas had zero top sports teams.

It now seems set to have at least four. Taking one, possibly two, teams from Oakland. And expansion teams in the NHL and WNBA have also been launched there.

Oakland has in recent years also lost its NBA team in the Golden State Warriors, albeit to a much closer location. The Warriors would set up shop in the neighboring City of San Francisco.
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