{"id":519504,"date":"2026-03-05T04:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T04:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/519504\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T04:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T04:09:09","slug":"as-return-to-field-in-las-vegas-for-big-league-weekend-as-new-ballpark-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/519504\/","title":{"rendered":"A\u2019s return to field in Las Vegas for Big League Weekend as new ballpark looms"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) \u2014 Las Vegas is set to get another major sports landmark as the Athletics prepare to move to the city<\/a>, and fans will get an early taste of big-league action during \u201cBig League Weekend\u201d at Las Vegas Ballpark when the A\u2019s face the L.A. Angels.<\/p>\n

The event comes as spring training ramps up and as Las Vegas positions itself to be home to both a Major League Baseball team and a successful Triple-A franchise.<\/p>\n

Karen and Tom Siewright, longtime A\u2019s fans from Sacramento, said they plan to follow the team when it relocates. The A\u2019s are expected to play in Sacramento until they move to Las Vegas in two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just try to stay faithful. We\u2019ll be here. We\u2019ll just make the trip,\u201d Jim Gemma said in a clip that also identified Karen and Tom Siewright as die-hard A\u2019s fans from Sacramento.<\/p>\n

In the same clip, the couple said they expect to make regular trips to Las Vegas to see the team. \u201cWe\u2019ll make the run down the freeway and come see \u2019em here,\u201d they said. Asked if they could be counted as \u201cofficial baseball tourists,\u201d they responded, \u201cYes, definitely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their visit to Las Vegas Ballpark also included a stop for Aviators gear. \u201cWhen the aviators come, I never have an Aviator\u2019s shirt, so it\u2019s like -aw, I gotta come and get my aviators,\u201d one of them said. Asked if the trip was for Aviators merchandise, the response was: \u201cYes, I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aviators media relations director Jim Gemma said the Triple-A club has built a strong fan base and expects room for both teams in the market.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur base is really good. We averaged 6500 to 7000 fans a game last year. Fixed seating here is 8196, so I mean, on weekends, we do very well here,\u201d Gemma said.<\/p>\n

Gemma also pointed to differences between the major and minor league schedules and the affordability of the Triple-A experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have 81 home dates. We will have 75, we play 150 games in triple A again, with minor league baseball, it\u2019s affordable, family fun. We have free parking here. We have $2 beer nights. The price points will always be affordable. That\u2019s what Minor League Baseball is. That\u2019s why Minor League Baseball is very successful. They draw 40 million fans a year over the 120 teams,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For the Sacramento fans, the move still comes with mixed emotions. \u201cSad, cause they\u2019re moving away from us. We did season tickets last year in Sacramento, and we were always A\u2019s fans going to the Coliseum in Oakland. So for us, it was great to have them a helluva lot closer to home,\u201d one of them said.<\/p>\n

But they also acknowledged the relocation gives them another reason to visit Southern Nevada. \u201cWell, yeah. That\u2019s on the agenda,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS (KSNV) \u2014 Las Vegas is set to get another major sports landmark as the Athletics prepare…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519505,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":["post-519504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}