With Oakland Athletics Still Exploring Ballpark In Las Vegas, Their Triple A Team Opens 40th Season Of Minor League Baseball In Vegas Amid Brrrr Conditions Tuesday
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Story by Alan Snel Photos by Hugh Byrne
Las Vegas Ballpark is a rather snazzy minor league baseball park, with its club level, 22 suites and pool beyond the centerfield fence.
But on a frigid night in suburban Summerlin, the $150 million ballyard owned by Howard Hughes Corporation could have used a battalion of space heaters for the baseball fans who donned ski hats, ear muffs, blankets, hoodies, winter coats and scarves to buffer themselves against the cold on the Las Vegas Aviators home-opener.
It’s the 40th season of minor league baseball in Las Vegas, which has hosted Triple-A teams for the Padres, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Mets at Cashman Field in downtown Las Vegas and, now, the Oakland Athletics in a luxurious ballpark out in the burbs.
It was cold and windy so a share of outdoor seats were empty tonight. But who knows how many Las Vegans sought warm refuge in the club level and Aviators team store, where the heat was a welcome alternative to the bone-chilling conditions out in the ballpark bowl.
These are interesting times for the Triple-A Aviators because their parent Major League Baseball club, the Athletics, claims it’s serious about moving the MLB team to this market if the A’s can’t reach an agreement with the city of Oakland over a ballpark proposal that’s part of a $12 billion waterfront development project.
But there has not been any political movement in metro Las Vegas to publicly subsidize the construction of a palatial sports venue for the MLB Athletics like we saw for the NFL Raiders, which increased its team value to more than $5 billion thanks to Southern Nevada contributing $750 million to the Raiders stadium construction budget.
It’s also unclear whether a market the size of Las Vegas could sell out a 35,000-seat domed ballpark for 81 home games, though it’s safe to say a ballpark here would draw more than the outdated Coliseum in Oakland.
A new MLB ballpark would need a retractable roof because of Las Vegas’ searing summers.
Though the ballpark tonight could have used a roof with heat. Some people ended up leaving early because of the cold conditions.
For the record, the Aviators lost their home-opener, 7-6, to the Oklahoma City Dodgers.
The Aviators announced attendance at 6,950 — not a shabby number when you consider the chill in the air Tuesday night.
