By Mauricio Segura June 23, 2025
Photo: GBT Graphics
Las Vegas is about to add another showstopper to its already stacked lineup. On June 23, 2025, the Oakland Athletics officially broke ground on their new Las Vegas stadium, marking the final step before the team’s long-anticipated relocation. Dignitaries, former A’s legends, and youth baseball hopefuls filled the stage while bulldozers carved the future of Major League Baseball’s smallest but possibly most stylish ballpark.
Sitting on eight acres of the Tropicana site at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue, the stadium is, judging by the renderings, a visual splendor. Inspired by the iconic arches of the Sydney Opera House, its design features overlapping translucent layers that glow at night. The outfield’s enormous fan-facing window frames panoramic views of the famous Strip while cooling systems are tucked beneath seats offering a cool experience for desert baseball viewing.
The stadium will seat 33,000 fans, making it MLB’s smallest venue. Ownership expects completion to align with the 2028 season opener and promises statewide economic impact through new jobs and tourism vitality.
This move follows the playbook of the Vegas Raiders, who found football gold after uprooting from Oakland in 2020. A’s President Marc Badain, fresh from steering the Raiders’ remodel, is doubling down on success, insisting Las Vegas is an ideal hub thanks to demographics, tourism, and support. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred agreed, voicing confidence in the project's timing and support from Las Vegas officials.
Financially, the stadium is privately funded by A’s owner John Fisher, now investing around $1.1 billion, along with a $300 million loan from U.S. Bank and Goldman Sachs. Nevada and Clark County are chipping in $380 million in public funds, while key agreements ensure a 30-year lease and guarantees against relocation.
Oakland A's fans are still mourning the final season at the "love it or hate it" Oakland Coliseum. But for now, the team is playing at Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park, home of the Pacific Coast Leagues River Cats (affiliated with the Giants), sporting uniforms that feature both the Tower Bridge and Las Vegas logos, symbols of a painful goodbye to Oakland and enthusiastic hello to Vegas, with Sacramento in limbo somewhere in between.
When the A’s first debuted in Oakland in 1968, a swell of civic pride followed them through four World Series titles and decades of baseball lore. Their departure has hit the Bay Area community hard, with organized reverse boycotts and ongoing debates over ownership responsibility in pushing the move. While it marks an end of an era for many Oakland faithful, the city has suffered setbacks by losing the Raiders and Warriors in recent years. Yet Las Vegas is steadily building its own legacy. Already home to the NHL’s Golden Knights, NFL’s Raiders, and WNBA’s Aces, who recently hoisted championships, Las Vegas is at the precipice of becoming a full-blown major-league destination.
Despite the bittersweet split, this Vegas venture isn’t just about hitting homers under the Strip’s lights. Sporting events drive local commerce in Las Vegas. Ticket sales, parking, hotels, restaurants, and off season uses from Monster Jam to NCAA tournaments are all on the table. The futuristic retractable roof and air-conditioned seating mean baseball won’t melt into mirage. And with the monorail nearby, fans can stop at MGM Grand to toast a foul ball or two.
Can the A’s recapture the magic of their chess club turned dynasty beginnings in Philadelphia or their Oakland identity forged in sweat and grit? Owner Fisher acknowledged it will take time, both in building the stadium and vying for a championship. But he’s optimistic that local kids who cheer today will grow up rallying tomorrow.
From the desert dust of a Tropicana demolition to the construction roar of a domed amphitheater, the Las Vegas version of the Green & Gold is swinging for the fences.
