Some A's fans are now wearing the Las Vegas hat. Photos for this story: Hugh Byrne/LVSportsBiz.com

There’s Always Las Vegas Armadillos; U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Denies Team’s Request to Trademark ‘Las Vegas Athletics,’ ‘Vegas Athletics’


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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied the MLB A’s request to trademark “Las Vegas Athletics” and “Vegas Athletics.”

The term, “athletics,” is too broad and not distinct enough.

So, trademarked Las Vegas A’s and Vegas A’s gear is not a done deal — quite yet.

While it’s true the A’s have begun building their $2 billion domed stadium on the Strip for a 2028 opening, the terms,” Las Vegas” and “Athletics” are not connected enough.

But that could change over time. The A’s are spending more time in Las Vegas and opened a welcome center in a business district off the 215 beltway in the southwest valley. The A’s will likely draw an approved trademark in time. The historic American League franchise has relocated twice before, from Philadelphia and then Kansas City. The “Athletics” name might be trademarked, but now Las Vegas Athletics.

The team is going by “Athletics” while they play in the Sacramento market in 2026 and 2027 while the stadium is build at the old Tropicana hotel site.

The A’s are making progress on their stadium construction. Architects have compared the exterior shape of the stadium to that of an armadillo.


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Alan Snel

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.