There's another twist in the Athletics' quest to build a new stadium in Oakland.
Mayor Libby Schaaf confirmed on Tuesday that Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said the Athletics could move to Las Vegas as a result of the city of Oakland filing a lawsuit over the partial sale of the Oakland Coliseum to the team.
"The reports of that are accurate," she said, according to KTVU FOX 2. "(Las Vegas) is the city that came out of his mouth."
Schaaf said the commissioner identified Vegas as a potential spot because Oakland sports fans are already upset about the NFL's Raiders moving there.
"Obviously he chose his city wisely as far as exposing a pain point that all Oaklanders feel about losing our sports teams," she said.
Oakland councilman Larry Reid said earlier this week that Manfred made the suggestion about relocation after meeting with city officials last week.
"He kind of laid down the law," Reid said, according to Phil Matier of the San Francisco Chronicle.
"He talked about how it was five years ago that he became commissioner, how he had resisted the A’s moving to San Jose back then," he added. "Then he talked about his frustration with the lawsuit and how the city needs to make it go away."
The lawsuit would prevent the team from buying Alameda County's shares of the Coliseum. The city shares ownership of the stadium with the county and wants to purchase the other half. However, it can't match the Athletics' offer of $85 million, according to Matier.
A judge issued a temporary restraining order last week that blocked the sale after the city sued the county. The Athletics, meanwhile, want to build a new ballpark at Howard Terminal and redevelop the land around the Coliseum to subsidize the price of a privately-owned stadium.