Circa Resorts CEO Derek Stevens planted seeds for a partnership with Major League Baseball's Athletics more than a year ago that have now sprouted into a multiyear deal.

The A's and Stevens announced Thursday that the Downtown Las Vegas resort would become the team's "first official founding partner." Through the agreement, the A's will name a field-level suite adjacent to the home dugout the Circa Dugout Box. Circa will also become the A's "official resort and sportsbook."

Financial figures and length of the agreement were not disclosed.

Stevens said Circa will have 22 seats in the section for all 81 A's home games plus an additional 32 seats throughout the 33,000-fan capacity, closed-roof stadium. He and the Circa team plan to use those seats to create "Time of Your Life" promotional packages available to customers through the resort.

"I love baseball, and I reached out to the A's early and said I want to do a deal with you guys," Stevens told The Nevada Independent in an interview Monday. "The real premise was I wanted to develop something unique and special for when the A's got to Vegas."

Stevens first partnered with the A's in 2025, paying an undisclosed amount to place advertising signage for the company's sports betting business on the left field wall in Sacramento's Triple-A Sutter Health Park, where the A's are playing home games through 2027.

California is one of 10 states without legal sports betting, and the closest Circa sportsbook to Sacramento is 140 miles away inside Legends Bay Casino in Sparks. 

Stevens is supportive of Las Vegas' emergence as a sports haven. He and his wife, Nicole, attended the March announcement that the Super Bowl will return to the city in 2029.

Circa has a heavy connection with sports, given the casino's oversized three-level sportsbook and Stadium Swim, its 60,000-square-foot pool area with a 40-foot-tall, high-definition television to show live sporting events.

Stevens and his brother, Greg, owned the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s (now Aviators) for seven years, ending in 2013 when the minor league team was sold to Howard Hughes Corp.

"I just wanted to make sure that we were at the forefront of what was going to be potentially offered. I got the ability to meet with management, get to know the ownership team and their family," Stevens said.

In June, Stevens, A's owner John Fisher and their wives were seen attending Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals between the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes, sitting in Stevens' seats in the front row at T-Mobile Arena.

"I hit it off with all of them. We've been working on this deal for a while," he said.

Fisher said Stevens "truly put Vegas on the map as the sports capital of the world." He said watching the Knights play from "right behind the glass was a crazy experience. We're going to have the same kinds of crazy experiences when we open our baseball park here." 

A's President Marc Badain said sales of the suites are progressing given that opening day of the 2028 season is roughly 19 months away. He said the 12 "owners suites" are sold while others are being held back for potential resort partnerships and other naming opportunities. He said half of the executive level suites have been sold.

Badain said the deal with Circa doesn't preclude other casino-resort operators from reaching various sponsorships with the A's, which could include signage inside the ballpark. 

"We sat down with Derek and his team and the goal was not just to do a traditional sponsorship, but to do something that added to the experience and delivering what Vegas as a market has grown accustomed to," Badain said.

He said there isn't a timeframe for the official naming rights to the stadium, which could bring in millions of dollars annually to the A's.

In Sacramento, the A's also have a deal with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which is paying the team $8.25 million through 2027 to place a "Las Vegas" patch on the left sleeves of the team's jerseys. The deal also came with three Las Vegas signs that are prominently featured on Sutter Health's left field wall.

Updated at 1:06 p.m. on 9/17/2026 with additional quotes from Fisher.