On June 23, Major League Baseball's Athletics celebrated the groundbreaking on their planned $1.75 billion ballpark that will be built on the famed Las Vegas Strip.
The event came 20 months after MLB owners approved the team's decision to move the franchise from Oakland (where the As played until the end of last season) to Las Vegas. However, even with Monday's groundbreaking, it's not certain when the team will officially move to Sin City. The team hopes to move into the 33,000-seat facility in 2028, but funding has not yet been finalized for the stadium.
With the A's planning to move, Rotowire – your daily home for the latest fantasy baseball developments – was curious how teams from North America's Big Four professional sports leagues fared since 2005 during the first season in their new town. We used Sports Reference's websites for MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL teams to examine their records, if they made the playoffs that season and when they first made the playoffs after moving.
Relocated Teams In Their First Season
| Year | Team/League | Previous City | Winning Pct | Playoffs? | First Playoff Season |
| 2005 | Washington Nationals (MLB) | Montreal | .500 (81-81) | No | 2012 |
| 2008 | Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA) | Seattle | .280 (23-59) | No | 2009-10 |
| 2011 | Winnipeg Jets (NHL) | Atlanta | .512 (37-35-10) | No | 2014-15 |
| 2016 | Los Angeles Rams (NFL) | St. Louis | .250 (4-12) | No | 2017 |
| 2017 | Los Angeles Chargers (NFL) | San Diego | .563 (9-7) | No | 2018 |
| 2020 | Las Vegas Raiders (NFL) | Oakland | .500 (8-8) | No | 2021 |
| 2024 | Utah Hockey Club (NHL) | Arizona (Phoenix) | .494 (38-31-13) | No | N/A |
This analysis is provided by Rotowire, where top sportsbook promos are always on tap.
Performance Trends for Relocated Teams in First Season
Our research does not include teams forced to relocate for temporary purposes (such as the A's playing in Sacramento now) or because of natural disasters (such as the New Orleans Hornets playing two seasons in Oklahoma City after Hurricane Katrina, or the Tampa Bay Rays using Tampa's Steinbrenner Field in 2025 after Hurricane Milton shredded the roof of St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field). We also did not include temporary accommodations during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic (such as the Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Raptors).
We did, however, include the Utah Hockey Club in our list because, though the NHL considers it an expansion franchise, the owners purchased the assets of the Arizona Coyotes and moved them to Salt Lake City.
Historic Postseason Success For Relocated Teams
None of the teams that moved over the past 20 years made the postseason during the first year in their new town, so that MLB betting trend would not favor the As. But four of them reached the playoffs in their second season. That includes the Las Vegas Raiders, who preceded the Athletics in moving away from Oakland in 2020.
Utah, now nicknamed the Mammoth, could join that group next season. DraftKings Sportsbook gives Utah, which missed the playoffs by seven points in the 2024-25 season, +4000 odds to win the Stanley Cup in 2026. That ranks 16th among the 32 NHL teams.
In addition, three of the teams listed above have won titles since moving. Oklahoma City was the most recent team to join that list, winning the NBA Finals in Game 7 on June 22. The Los Angeles Rams won the Super Bowl – in their home stadium – in the 2021 season, their sixth season since returning to L.A. after their 21-year stay in St. Louis. And the Washington Nationals were World Series champions in 2019, their 15th season after the former Montreal Expos shifted to D.C.
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