The Oakland A’s are looking at up to two dozen sites in the Las Vegas Valley for a potential big league ballpark if they can’t get a new stadium in California, according to the team’s president.
Team President Dave Kaval, who visited Southern Nevada with team owner John Fisher this week, said the intent of the visit was to cut the number of sites the team was considering.
“It actually went the other direction. Now, we have more sites to analyze. We have a lot of things to try to figure out,” Kaval said
Kaval and Fisher were in town for the second time in a matter of weeks as the A’s continue to look for a new home to replace the aging RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, California.
Las Vegas is the only city they have scouted for a possible relocation if the team can’t find funding for a new ballpark in the San Francisco Bay Area, officials said. The team, founded in Philadelphia in 1901, moved to Oakland from Kansas City in 1968.
Kaval wasn’t specific about possible sites in Las Vegas but mentioned areas near the Strip, near Allegiant Stadium, in Summerlin and Henderson, near UNLV and in downtown Las Vegas.
Kaval said he also enjoyed spending time with casino owner Derek Stevens while surveying potential sites downtown. Along with his brother, Greg, Stevens owns the Circa, The D and the Golden Gate on Fremont Street.
Kaval said the team needs to continue studying the Major League Baseball fanbase in Las Vegas. With 81 regular-season home games, the team would expect to draw locals and tourists, he said.
In 2019, more than 42 million people visited Las Vegas, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
“Understanding that mix and the percentages is one of the key things we need to spend more time understanding. All of that is in motion,” Kaval said.
In 2018, Henderson city officials reached out to the Arizona Diamondbacks about the possibility of building a new ballpark for the team, but nothing materialized.
In a statement, City Manager Richard Derrick said Henderson would “welcome an opportunity to work with an MLB team to bring more recreational opportunities to residents and spur economic vitality and job creation.”
Henderson officials met with the A’s contingent during a visit in May but did not meet with them during their second trip, a city official said.
A’s officials plan to return to the valley in July to learn more about a site owned by UNLV north of McCarran International Airport that was once considered for the Raiders football stadium.
Meanwhile, a key vote by the Oakland City Council on a proposed A’s ballpark development there is scheduled for next month.
Major League Baseball in May announced it had granted the A’s permission to seek a ballpark solution in a new city.
“There are a lot of great options” in Las Vegas, Kaval said. “One challenge we’ve always had in the Bay Area is that, because all the land there is expensive and built-out, there’s not many good options. In Southern Nevada, there are probably multiple ways to make it work.”