The other night I had the pleasure of attending a Las Vegas Aviators game at the Las Vegas Ballpark. They played (and lost to) the Sacramento River Cats. That picture is me with the Aviators mascot, Spruce the Goose.
The facility is in an area of town known as Summerlin. For those who don’t know Vegas, it’s a “suburban” Master Planned Community on the West edge of town. The Ballpark itself is within walking distance of a newer outdoor shopping complex (the kind of place that does a farmer’s market on the weekend) and a high end locals casino resort. It’s easy to get there from two different exits on the highway that loops around town or two major east/west roads. There’s ample parking, a real effort to appeal to foodies while still having access to classic ballgame fare, and comfortable seating for 8196 with a total capacity over 10,000. The night I attended there were about 7300 present.
There has been a lot of talk about the Oakland A’s coming to town, adding Major League Baseball to Vegas’s stable of professional sports teams. We currently have the reigning world champion WNBA Aces and NHL Golden Knights, as well as other teams. The latest legislative session passed a law to make it possible, land deals are in talks, and MLB is considering whether to let it come to pass. But nothing is set in concrete.
Here’s the thing: a typical A’s game is currently bringing in barely enough fans to fill the locals oriented Ballpark way on the West edge of town. Some games end up with fewer fans in the stands than the minor league game I saw the other night! Somehow they plan to fill a brand new 30,000 seat stadium close to the Strip and all the Strip traffic with limited parking available on a regular basis. Oh, and it’s the same freeway exit as people are using to get to Allegiant Stadium T-Mobile Arena, and the “back way” to Harry Reid Airport.
I’m not sure who’s coming out ahead on this deal, but it certainly isn’t the people of Las Vegas. I’m not even going to bet on whether this will actually come to pass, or whether it’s just a gambit to make Oakland beg to keep their team.
If they do make it here I’ll have the same policy I do for the Raiders: I’ll buy one team T-shirt and one hat for the Las Vegas A’s; and the day they announce they are leaving town they are dead to me.
