The Major League Baseball (MLB) team Oakland Athletics played their final home game at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California (US) on September 26th. Now, all eyes are on the future of the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise that is over three years away from its ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ moment.
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the ‘A’s’) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California (US). The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. The team played its home games at the Oakland Coliseum until 2024 with plans to temporarily move to the Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, California, for the 2025-2027 seasons before their permanent move to Las Vegas.
The 63,000-capacity Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is a multipurpose stadium in Oakland, California, United States. It is part of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent 19,200-capacity Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880.
New York (US)-based the Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league and the highest level of organized baseball in the United States and Canada. One of the big four major leagues, the MLB comprises 30 teams divided equally between the National League and the American League with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada.
Here’s what’s known about the ‘A’s’ Las Vegas plans as the team is set to vacate the Bay Area.
Team Name in Las Vegas
‘LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL’ stated that the team plans to bring the Athletics and ‘A’s’ names with them to ‘Sin City’. So, they will be known as the Las Vegas Athletics.
‘A’s’ Las Vegas Ballpark
Plans call for the ‘A’s’ stadium to be constructed on nine acres of the 35-acre site that was once home to the Tropicana Las Vegas (a defunct casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada). The Tropicana is set to be imploded on October 9th to make way for the ballpark and other development.
Lined with upscale casino hotels, the neon-soaked Strip is quintessential Las Vegas. As well as gambling floors, the vast hotel complexes house a variety of shops, restaurants (ranging from mainstream to high-end) and performance venues for music, comedy and circus-style acts. Attractions like the soaring, choreographed Fountains of Bellagio and the High Roller observation wheel draw crowds.
Construction Timeline
‘LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL’ further stated that after the Tropicana is brought down and the land is cleared, the ‘A’s’ plan to begin building their Southern Nevada home in the second quarter of 2025. The new facility is expected to be completed in 2028 in time for the ‘A’s’ to begin playing ball on the Strip that year.
Stadium Capacity
The ‘A’s’ Las Vegas ballpark will feature six levels and fit 33,000 fans with 30,000 fixed seats and 3,000 in standing room only spaces.
‘A’s’ Temporary Abode
Before they get to Southern Nevada, the ‘A’s’ will play the 2025-2027 seasons at the 14,014-capacity Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, California, a Triple-A (the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball [MiLB] in the United States) since 1946 ballpark in Sacramento, as they build their new $1.5 billion Las Vegas Strip ballpark. In order to bring the stadium up to the MLB standards, the ‘A’s’ are upgrading the facility, adding a new clubhouse, new videoboards, new hospitality spaces, and club seating.
St. Petersburg (US)-based the Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below the Major League Baseball (MLB), including teams affiliated with the MLB clubs. Entering the 2021 season, the number of full-season MLB-affiliated minor leagues with teams in the United States and Canada was reduced to 11 with a total of 120 teams.
During their Sacramento stop, the team will be known simply as the Athletics and will not take on Sacramento as their City designation, since their time in California’s capital is temporary.
Vegas Ballpark Financials
The ‘A’s’ plan to pay for their $1.5 billion stadium by up to $850 million in equity from the team Owner John Fisher’s family, $350 million in public money – made available via Senate Bill 1 in Nevada – and $300 million in debt financing to be taken on by the team.
The ‘A’s’ are also seeking local investors in the stadium project which could offset some of the equity contribution from the Fisher family. In exchange for investing capital in the ballpark’s construction, the prospective investors would be given minority stakes in the team.
Climate-controlled Ballpark?
Of course. The ‘A’s’ are looking to provide a high-quality game and event experience within their Las Vegas ballpark. To that, the stadium will feature a fixed roof with a giant 36,000-square-foot glass curtain-wall facing toward the Strip. That wall and the other cutouts in the roof, where natural light will be let into the stadium, will give attendees an outdoor feel in an indoor stadium.
Natural or Artificial Turf?
With the ballpark having a fixed roof, the ‘A’s’ plan to use artificial turf in Las Vegas, since caring for natural grass without direct sunlight would pose a challenge. Unlike the National Football League (NFL) team Las Vegas Raiders home arena – the 65,000-capacity Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada – the ‘A’s don’t have the acreage to feature a field tray that rolls in and out of the stadium like the Raiders do with their natural turf field.
Las Vegas Aviators Future
The ‘A’s’ Triple-A affiliate – the MiLB team the Las Vegas Aviators – will co-exist in Southern Nevada come 2028. Plans are for the Aviators to continue playing at the Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin. The team brass has noted the advantages of having its Triple-A team being in the same City, including the ability to call the players up and have them available the same day.
The Las Vegas Aviators, formerly known as the Las Vegas 51s and the Las Vegas Stars, are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Summerlin South, Nevada, a community in Las Vegas.
The 10,000-capacity Las Vegas Ballpark is a baseball stadium in Summerlin South, Nevada, United States. It is the home field of the Las Vegas Aviators of the Pacific Coast League who are currently affiliated with the Oakland Athletics.
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