The Athletics have a new team president, and it is someone with experience moving a team from Oakland to Las Vegas. On Thursday, the A’s named Marc Badain their new president, a role he held with the NFL’s Raiders when the team relocated from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020. Badain left the Raiders one year later amid controversy.
“We are excited to welcome Marc to the Athletics,” A’s owner John Fisher said in a statement. “His vast experience, particularly his work on the opening of Allegiant Stadium and overseeing the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas, makes him a great addition to our team at this pivotal moment. His leadership, commitment to the community, and ability to oversee transformative projects will be key as we look to build a strong and successful future in Southern Nevada.”
Prior to joining the A’s, Badain was president of sports and entertainment venues in Las Vegas run by real estate company Oak View Group. He joined the Raiders as an intern in 1991 and eventually climbed the ladder to CFO, assistant to the CEO, and then team president in 2015. Badain was instrumental in the Raiders securing Allegiant Stadium, a $1.9 billion facility on the Las Vegas Strip.
On July 19, 2021, Badain and several other high-ranking Raiders executives resigned after what owner Mark Davis called “accounting irregularities” surfaced. Davis said the team may have overpaid taxes over a period of several years and said the resignations “might be fairly characterized” as forced.
The A’s hope to move into a new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip in time for the 2028 season. Last month, Fisher said construction is expected to begin this summer. The A’s will play at least the next three seasons at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento. Sutter Health Park is a Triple-A facility, and they will share the ballpark with the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate.
“Is there a market for a baseball stadium (in Las Vegas)? I would hope so,” Badain told Sports Illustrated in 2023. “I would hope that the work has been done to study the market. I think it’s a little more challenging. The economics of baseball are very different than the other three sports. The regional sports television comes into play here. This is not a huge market for that. And you’re going to have to sell 2.5 million tickets. That’s not easy.”
Badain replaces former A’s president Dave Kaval, who left the team in December. Minority investor Sandy Dean had served as interim team president after Kaval’s departure.
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