The Athletics had a busy week in their future home.

From Thursday through Saturday, team representatives traveled the valley with team mascot Stomper to participate in Nevada Reading Week events and area Little League season openings. On Friday, the team launched an online season ticket priority sign-up drive.

The A’s also drew a combined 16,800 fans to Las Vegas Ballpark Saturday and Sunday for two preseason games with the Arizona Diamondbacks before heading back to Arizona for spring training. The A’s and the D-backs each won a game. 

As a team, the A’s won’t be back in Clark County until next spring and it won’t be until 2028 that the club can officially be called the Las Vegas Athletics after it moves into the planned $1.75 billion ballpark (with up to $380 million in public financing) on the south end of the Strip. Regular season home games will take place 563 miles to the north in a Sacramento minor league ballpark.

But owner John Fisher said the team’s activity last week marked another effort to establish an early foothold in the community before the team’s eventual move to Southern Nevada.

“We’re going to start construction in the middle of the year [on the stadium] and we are focused on what’s in front of us,” Fisher said to reporters before Saturday’s game. “We’re making progress building on the young talent with this team and we’re going to build an incredible ballpark.”

One person who understands baseball and the Southern Nevada community is Don Logan, president of the Las Vegas Aviators — the Athletics’ triple-A affiliate. 

Logan has been part of the community's sports scene for more than four decades and he spent Saturday visiting privately with Fisher, A’s vice chairman Sandy Dean and newly appointed A’s President Marc Badain. Logan said in an interview that the major league team needs to lean on its minor league affiliate to help gain awareness of the Las Vegas market.

“You have a fan base here that is going to want to see the A’s, have a commitment to the game and put a good product on the field,” Logan said. “[The A’s] have taken real positive steps in that direction. Baseball is much more exposed than the other sports because the game has to be the centerpiece of the whole experience.”

To draw baseball fans, the A’s announced a radio deal on March 4 for all regular season, spring training, and any potential postseason games to be broadcast on a Las Vegas-based FM radio station.

Dean, who served as interim president until Badain was hired and is a longtime confidant of the Fisher family, said last week’s efforts will grow into year-round endeavors in establishing the team’s Las Vegas presence, even with the ballclub playing in Sacramento.

“There are things that matter to a community and the A’s want to be part of the community,” Dean said.

The A’s had the lowest payroll in the major leagues for three straight seasons, but the team is now locking in key players with long-term contracts with eyes on Las Vegas.

It began on the first day of spring training when manager Mark Kotsay, whose contract was set to expire after this season, finalized a three-year contract extension that keeps him in charge through the first season in Las Vegas in 2028, with a club option for 2029. 

On Monday, the A’s and outfielder Lawrence Butler agreed to a $65.5 million, seven-year contract. In addition to Butler, who spent part of the 2024 season playing for the Aviators, the A’s signed designated hitter/outfielder Brent Rooker to a $60 million, five-year contract and free agent pitcher Luis Severino to a team-record $67 million, three-year deal.

Catcher Sean Langeliers, who spent much of the 2022 season with the Aviators before joining the A’s, said Las Vegas is on the mind of the players away from the field. 

“We’ve discussed Vegas and everybody asks me where to live when we get here,” Langeliers said. “We’re growing as a core [group of players] and we’re growing as a team.”

Fisher said Saturday the team wants to create a recognizable presence on the field while playing in Sacramento.  

“We're building upon things. We’ve made a lot of really important moves,” Fisher said. “The fans will start to recognize the incredible young talent we have with this team.” 

Switching cities part of the A’s history

The fanbase will take time to grow. 

It was no coincidence that new interior renderings for the ballpark were released a day before the launch of an online sales drive for fans to secure “priority access” for season tickets. The cost is $19.01, recognizing the year the A’s came into existence. The team didn’t release how many prospective ticket holders signed up in the first 48 hours, saying only that the response was positive, with two-thirds of sign-ups coming from Clark County.

The games this weekend attracted Terri McFarlane, a lifelong A’s fan from Oakland. She and her son Fabio, who now lives in Las Vegas, enjoyed the sunshine sitting in section 127 in the outfield. McFarlane said she may even head up to Sacramento for a game or two over the next few years. 

“The A’s will have had four homes [Philadelphia, Kansas City, Oakland and Las Vegas] when they get here. Technically five if you count Sacramento,” she said. “I’ll never root for the [San Francisco] Giants so I’ll remain loyal.”

Summerlin real estate agents Donna Schneider and Juliet Ward love that professional sports has become a major part of Las Vegas. They regularly attend games at Las Vegas Ballpark and are planning to purchase tickets at the new stadium.

“I’ll root for the A’s, but not when they play against my favorite team,” said Scheider, pointing to her New York Yankees cap and jersey. 

Jeff and Kristi Lynn, newly transplanted Las Vegas residents by way of Nashville, looked a little out of place in The Fly Zone, the Aviators’ team store, wearing sweatshirts from their favorite team, the Milwaukee Brewers. 

“We love baseball and we like coming to Las Vegas Ballpark,” Jeff Lynn said. “We’ll have to see once the stadium arrives what we want to do.”

Logan said the Aviators don’t stock a lot of A’s merchandise, but it might increase over time.

An expensive jersey patch

Despite the weekend’s focus on building a presence in Southern Nevada, the only tangible reminder of the team’s future home will be a “Las Vegas” jersey patch the A’s will wear on their left sleeves. A patch depicting Sacramento’s Tower Bridge is on the jersey’s right sleeve. 

The Friday announcement about the Las Vegas patch came with the typical fanfare. 

Butler, Langeliers, Rooker and all-star pitcher Mason Miller modeled the team’s jerseys on an outdoor plaza with the Strip and Sphere in the background. The Sphere displayed the A’s logo. Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill said the agency’s sponsorship of the patches — totaling $8.25 million over three years — was worth the cost because it ties the team to the community.

“It’s going to spark conversation at every game and on every broadcast all across this country,” Hill said. “We think there is real value to the patch as the team moves closer to Las Vegas.”

Logan said the appointment last week of Badain as A’s president helped alleviate any concerns in the community around the stadium’s development. Badain oversaw the relocation of the Raiders to Las Vegas for the 2020 NFL season and construction of the $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium. 

“I think the A’s understand they need a constant presence in the community,” Logan said.