ADVERTISEMENTS
ADVERTISEMENTS
By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — The MLB Athletics have pumped up their presence in Las Vegas, phasing in their franchise brand into a market used to out-of-town entrepreneurs. Their $2 billion stadium under construction on the Strip is the team’s most palpable sign of the A’s presence here, along with press conferences on player contract extensions at the team’s Vegas area welcome center.
And while the big league A’s are on schedule to open their domed, 33,000-fan stadium in 2028 and played their 2026 season-opener in Toronto Friday, the minor league Aviators are Las Vegas’ baseball team right now and have been for decades.
True, the A’s and Aviators are tied at the hip because the Triple-A affiliate is the Athletics’ feeder minor league club. So, it’s conceivable A’s players who christen the new stadium on the Strip at Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue in two year might have been playing in tonight’s Aviators-Salt Lake Bees game.
A player who passed through Las Vegas and this 10,000-fan ballpark in Summerlin had a big game today in Toronto where A’s catcher Shea Langeliers blasted two solo home runs, including a dinger that tied the game in the top of the ninth inning.
But the defending American League champion Blue Jays scratched out the game-winning run on three straight hits in the bottom of the ninth for a 3-2 win. The A’s managed only three hits and struck out 16 times for their 27 outs. Every A’s batter struck out at least once.
Meanwhile, the Aviators lineup included former A’s players like 26-year-old Zack Gelof, who batted second in the order and played leftfield.
About 13 miles to the east on the Strip is the As’ stadium construction site. Take a look:
PSA