Story by Alan Snel Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — It was more than two hours before the Athletics were about to play the Milwaukee Brewers in Las Vegas — yes, regular season MLB games in Sin City in mid-June.
And A’s manager Mark Kotsay was relaxing on his dugout bench, fielding questions from the media. A reporter asked him about A’s star Nick Kurtz and what Kurtz was improving on in his sophomore season after winning the Rookie of the Year award in 2025.
“Hey Nick,” Kotsay yelled over to Kurtz who was strolling through the dugout to head to the A’s clubhouse. “What are you improving on this year?”
Talk about great timing. Kurtz mentioned stolen bases through the laughter after Kotsay posed the question to the 23-year-old budding MLB superstar. Take a look:
*
The A’s are playing ball this week in Las Vegas, offering six Major League Baseball game samples to Vegas folks to show what it’s like to watch the big leaguers in the minor league ballpark that is home of the Athletics’ Triple-A Aviators club of the Pacific Coast League.
Kurtz and teammates like catcher Shea Langeliers know this ball yard in downtown Summerlin because they played there on the way to the Bigs.
The A’s are building a $2 billion domed stadium on the Strip at the site of the former Tropicana hotel-casino at Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana venue.
The ballpark being built on a nine-acre footprint of the 35-acre location is slated to open in 2028. Meanwhile, the Athletics are playing in a Triple-A ballpark in West Sacramento, California until the 33,000-fan venue opens in Las Vegas.
This week, the A’s opened a homestand at Las Vegas Ballpark. They lost to the Brewers Monday in a wild 15-14 loss in 12 innings, but rebounded with a 7-5 win Tuesday and a 4-3 comeback victory thanks to three home runs tonight. Attendance was reported at 8,436 as the temperature eclipsed the 100-degree mark.
The A’s have won 33 games and lost 35, and occupy third place in their five-team division.
The A’s also have been sending players and staffers to places like the Las Vegas Boys & Girls Club this week to try and create brand awareness in their future home market. A’s owner John Fisher has already purchased a house in Henderson, while other front office workers have settled in the Vegas market.
“You can feel the energy of the Vegas community really supporting us,” Kotsay said at his pregame chat.
*
The team handed out free jerseys on Monday and today’s promotional freebie were sun hats.
The A’s have Thursday off, then host the Colorado Rockies Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Sunday game is a 12:05 pm start because the A’s play the very next day in West Sacramento at 6:40PM.
PSA