A's Requesting Fewer Games at Yet-to-be-Built Las Vegas Ballpark

Jason Burke | Jun 5, 2024

Dec 10, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign on the strip. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Oakland A's are planning to move to Las Vegas for the 2028 season, but they need to get to work on constructing a ballpark to play games in before that date. One hurdle that needs to be cleared before construction can begin is the non-relocation agreement.

According to the Nevada Independent, the A's "are requesting to play up to eight home games a season away from the team’s future $1.5 billion Las Vegas ballpark" as part of that agreement. There are financial ramifications that come with such a proposal, but the Indy does a great job of covering those in their article.

The thing that sticks out the most from the team requesting so many games outside of Vegas is that it really undercuts what they pitched last year around this time in order to secure public funding from Nevada. There was a lot of talk about the A's bringing in money from out-of-towners that Vegas wouldn't see "but for" the A's. In other words, people wouldn't go to Vegas if the A's weren't in town.

And yet, the team is trying to remove as much as ten percent of their home schedule away from their yet-to-be-built home. Both the CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Steve Hill and A's President Dave Kaval told the Indy that the A's being out of town would open up more dates for conerts and other events.

Vegas has plenty of concert venues to choose from, and there is going to be a specific window for an artist that would require the A's ballpark, especially once Sin City lands an NBA team. How many music acts are too big for an arena, but not big enough for a football stadium?

Also, if there is such a need for this specific size of venue, why do the A's need to be involved at all? Just build that venue. Heck, keep the armadillo theme.

It just doesn't seem like it matters to John Fisher and the A's where they end up, which is not the vibe that they should be giving off right now. Instead, they should be solidifying a reputation for being a good community partner and building trust locally. They're doing the exact opposite, which is pretty on brand for them.

It's not like the fans in Oakland didn't try to warn them.