The Athletics and Major League Baseball are leaving Las Vegas excited about the franchise’s future following a weeklong home stand in the team’s future home market.
Team officials said the A’s felt at home, seeing success on the field during their 6-game residency at Las Vegas Ballpark, going 4-2 and winning both series against the Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies.
The winning on the field came as work continues just over 9.5 miles away as the home run flies on the A’s $2 billion, 33,000-fan capacity Las Vegas Strip ballpark. Crews have made considerable progress since the June 2025 groundbreaking, with well over $400 million spent on the project thus far.
“The Las Vegas Series will help to build fan interest and momentum as the A’s look forward to the opening of their amazing new ballpark in 2028,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told the Review-Journal via email.
First Vegas merchandise
The home stand saw the first Las Vegas Athletics branded merchandise for sale at the Aviators team store. There were multiple Las Vegas series shirts with the A’s logo paired up with the Rockies and Brewers, a Kelly green Las Vegas Athletics shirt with an elephant logo and a shirt with the Welcome to Las Vegas sign, silhouettes of baseball players and an elephant. Aviators hats with LV and Las Vegas script featured on them, in A’s colorways, were also a big hit over the weekend.
“With the A’s playing games in Las Vegas this season, we saw a unique opportunity to create merchandise that celebrates our future home while connecting with fans today,” Catherine Aker, A’s senior vice president of marketing, said. “The response to the Las Vegas A’s and Las Vegas Series collections has exceeded our expectations and reinforces the excitement we’re seeing throughout the community as we continue our journey to Southern Nevada.”
Crowd support
Each game was an announced sellout, with the six games averaging 8,496 fans, filling Las Vegas Ballpark’s just under 8,200 fixed seats along with standing-room-only spaces and the ballpark’s grass berm. There were more people in attendance for the games than announced, but MLB only allows clubs to include paid attendance in their reported figures and not those of the team’s corporate partners and others who were provided with tickets for the games, according to the team.
A’s star first baseman Nick Kurtz said the team felt the support of the fans over the weeklong home stand and was happy to have a winning record in front of the fans who will be cheering them on well into the future.
“I think we’ve had a pretty good environment,” Kurtz said. “I feel we put on some good games for the crowd, and I feel like they’ve had our back the whole time.”
A’s Manager Mark Kotsay said he’s always appreciated the fan support in Las Vegas, thanks in part to the fact that many of the players worked their way up through the Las Vegas Aviators, the club’s Triple-A affiliate, to the A’s annual Big League Weekend split-squad spring training games at Las Vegas Ballpark.
“Always felt great about the support we get (in Las Vegas),” Kotsay said. “Having our Triple-A team here, the connectivity to some of these guys on the roster obviously helps that because now the fans can see them perform at the big league level. I’m sure they’ve followed a lot of these guys through their Triple-A seasons, and I’ve been a part of that success with them and shared in that. … A lot of the youth, I’m sure, the excitement about seeing their big league guy make the team and be a big part of the team, gives them that joy of, ‘Hey, man, we’re really going to have a major league team here down the road.’”
Looking toward the future
Kurtz wasn’t just a star on the field in Southern Nevada. The reigning American League Player of the Month and his teammates were in the community, with visits to a hospital, library, food bank, and other non-profit and police support events. Kurtz also hosted a youth baseball camp for around 200 kids. Being visible early on is important to show the franchise is more than just a baseball team, it’s a community partner, Kurtz said.
“It’s huge,” Kurtz said. “I’m going to play here after we move here, 100 percent, and I want to give back. I want to use my platform for the betterment of other people. So, to be able to start that early in Vegas was really cool to do.”
The A’s featured a star-studded group of those who threw out ceremonial first pitches during the six games, including Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, UNLV football head coach Dan Mullen, magician Criss Angel and DJ Diplo. Joining the notable Las Vegas performers included Colin McNaught, CCSD principal of the year and national finalist for principal of the year. Clark County School District Superintendent Jhone Ebert said McNaught more than belonged in the notable group, and she said she is excited about their continued partnership with the A’s.
“We are so excited to partner with the A’s,” Ebert said. “They have been phenomenal. … When you think about everyone in the whole universe of baseball and what they can do, to have Colin and the Clark County School District be lifted up. … But it’s a huge honor to have CCSD staff recognized.”
A’s owner John Fisher, who has lived in Las Vegas since last year, is looking forward to future games in Las Vegas, eventually leading the 2028 grand opening of the team’s Strip ballpark.
“Vegas fans are unlike any other fans in the world,” Fisher said. “They are incredibly passionate about their home teams. … I couldn’t be more excited about bringing our team here for these two series, for a couple of series next year and then starting in 2028, 81 games a year, plus playoffs.”
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.
