Athletics owner John Fisher believed South Korea provided an opportunity to expand Major League Baseball's presence internationally. 

Former pitcher Chan Ho Park, the first South Korean-born player to play in the league, had a similar thought. That notion was sealed in March 2024 when two of his former teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, played the first-ever regular season home games at the Gocheok SkyDome in Seoul.

"I saw firsthand how even a small point of connection can create meaningful change," Park said in a statement Monday announcing that his private investment firm, Team61, would invest $70 million into the Athletics.

Park will also become a strategic partner to Fisher and the franchise on "player development and Asian player strategy" ahead of the A's 2028 move to Las Vegas into a $2 billion stadium on the Strip. 

"Korea is now a baseball powerhouse with outstanding fans and a strong player-development system," Park said of the country's professional baseball league, which surpassed 10 million in attendance in two consecutive years. The 2026 season has drawn more than 7.6 million spectators in its first half.

But the investment, which was praised by leadership of Las Vegas' Korean community, could also provide a boost to Las Vegas visitation from South Korea, the sixth-largest provider of international visitors to Southern Nevada, accounting for more than 158,200 tourists in 2025. 

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) has increased its presence in South Korea with sales offices, targeted advertising and promotions with the country's travel media outlets. Before the pandemic, South Korea provided 202,000 visitors in 2019, a single-year high.

Korean Air has offered daily nonstop service between Harry Reid International Airport and Seoul's Incheon International Airport for 20 years. During the week of the Consumer Electronics Show in January, the airline added flights to address increased passenger volume.

Through the first five months of 2026, Korean Air flew more than 77,600 passengers to and from Las Vegas, an increase of 2.1 percent from the same five months of 2025.

LVCVA CEO Steve Hill said none of the early projections for the ballpark's attendance factored an international component.

"Given the popularity of baseball in markets like Korea and Japan, it's clear there was even more potential than we realized," Hill said. "It's exciting, and largely a bonus, that this opportunity already looks bigger internationally than we originally anticipated."

Hill helped seek legislative approval in 2023 for the $350 million in public financing for the A's $2 billion, 33,000-fan capacity stadium on the Strip location where the Tropicana Las Vegas once stood.

"We've seen how major sports, from the NFL and NHL to international soccer and rugby, can drive global visitation and business," Hill said. "We always believed that welcoming a Major League Baseball team would add another driver on the international front." 

Hill said the involvement of "prominent South Korean figures in the Athletics' ownership group further showcases the powerful intersection of sports, culture and international engagement that defines Las Vegas."

Park played 17 years for the Dodgers, Padres and five other teams.

In a statement, Park said the investment in the A's was a way to create more opportunities for the next generation of Korean players. Team61, named for the number Park wore during his major league career, is making an initial $55 million investment, with an additional $15 million expected following approval from Major League Baseball.

Other notable Koreans that are part of Team61 include actor Ken Jeong, a star of the Las Vegas-centric movie The Hangover, actor Daniel Dae Kim and Suga, a member of the K-Pop group BTS, which performed four sold-out shows at Allegiant Stadium in May.

Meanwhile, Jeannie Kim, president of Las Vegas' Korean American Chamber of Commerce, said the presence of Park and his involvement with the A's could encourage some of the 45,000 members of Southern Nevada's Korean community to attend A's games.

Kim said the Korean community is active in Las Vegas, adding that Koreans own roughly 65 percent of the Asian-centric businesses along Spring Mountain Road from Interstate 15 to Jones Boulevard.

"Everyone in our community knows about Chan Ho Park," Kim said. "We hope this means more Korean players will get a chance to come to Las Vegas."

Second major investment into the A's

The A's announcement was the second deal in less than a week for the American League team that is playing home games at a triple-A ballpark in Sacramento until its Las Vegas stadium is completed for the opening of the 2028 season.

Last week, the A's confirmed that Harbinger Sports Partners, an investment fund led by Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban, was buying a minority stake in the A's. A price or percentage of ownership were not disclosed.

A year ago, Aramark Sports + Entertainment committed $175 million to the A's to become a minority equity owner and control a 20-year concession contract for food and beverage outlets for the ballpark.

In an interview with The Nevada Independent in June, Fisher said the team brought in new investment partners, including partners from Asia that would expand the A's global reach. He declined at the time to name the investors. 

A league spokesman said all ownership transfers are subject to MLB approval. 

Fisher took part in the announcement in Seoul, appearing on stage with Park, A's President Marc Badain and Jeong.