Early stages and negotiations On May 11, 2021, MLB permitted the Athletics to explore moving if the team failed to get a replacement stadium from the city of Oakland by 2024. Among the cities and regions under consideration by the team was the Las Vegas area, the home of the
National Hockey League (NHL)'s
Vegas Golden Knights and
National Football League (NFL)'s Las Vegas Raiders. The A's organized meetings with local government officials and toured potential sites led by Fisher. After a presentation at a June MLB owners meeting in
New York City, team president
Dave Kaval said that the A's were considering ballpark sites in the Resort Corridor, the
Cashman Field site, and the Valley cities of
Henderson or
Summerlin,
Nevada. Kaval also said that the team was still continuing to explore "parallel paths" in Oakland and elsewhere. In September 2021, Kaval said that the Athletics would finalize the list of possible ballpark sites in Las Vegas by November. In November, the A's launched a survey for fans of the
Las Vegas Aviators, the team's
Triple-A affiliate, to determine interest for an MLB team in Las Vegas and a new ballpark. The survey's results, released a month later, indicated that most Aviators fans and Las Vegas residents were interested in having an MLB team in the city. That same month, the A's made an offer for an undisclosed plot of land in the Valley as the site for a $1 billion ballpark. The Howard Hughes Corp, the owners of the Aviators, offered free land for the A's to build a new ballpark. Previously, team representatives had met with the Hughes Corp. in Summerlin. In April 2022, the A's narrowed the list to two sites in the
Las Vegas Strip: the
Tropicana Las Vegas resort and the
Las Vegas Festival Grounds. Around the same time, the Tropicana's non-land assets were sold to
Bally's Corporation and approved by Nevada state regulators later that year. Before the Bally's acquisition, in December 2021, the A's had submitted a bid to acquire the Tropicana site and build a ballpark. MLB, in reaction to the A's interest in Nevada, decided that no moving fee would be charged to the A's if they moved to Las Vegas. In August, A's officials held two meetings with casino owner and financier Paul Ruffin to talk about ballpark on the Festival Grounds. In October 2022, Oakland missed a deadline to reach an agreement on a ballpark in the Howard Terminal, with negotiations pushed back a year. Kaval said that the delay in negotiations would "all but doom our efforts" to keep the team in Oakland. On October 29,
Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred said that he was "not positive" the A's could remain in Oakland and that the team had made progress in exploring a possible move to Las Vegas. In November 2022, a source familiar with the Athletics' negotiations with Las Vegas said that even if the team were to move to the city, the Triple-A Aviators would stay put and temporarily share
Las Vegas Ballpark with their MLB affiliate while a new ballpark was under construction. On November 3, Bally's CEO Lee Fenton said that the Tropicana site was "very much in the cards" as a ballpark site and revealed that Bally's had held talks with the team. On November 7, then-Nevada Governor
Steve Sisolak and other officials said that the state would not use a hotel room tax to fund a Las Vegas ballpark for the A's as they did with
Allegiant Stadium for the Raiders; he did not rule out other ways of publicly financing the ballpark, such as infrastructure improvements or tax-increment financing. In January 2023, the Athletics continued talks with Bally's about converting the Tropicana into a ballpark while talks with Ruffin over the Festival Grounds stalled. Meanwhile, the
Department of Transportation (DOT) refused to grant $182 million in federal funding for the Howard Terminal project and the city of Oakland was considering
obligation bonds as an alternative. On January 26, new Nevada Governor
Joe Lombardo met with team officials to discuss a public-private economic partnership to finance a new ballpark; he ruled out an increase in state taxes to pay for construction. Lombardo's spokesperson said that the A's or another MLB team looking to move to Nevada "may or may not be eligible for a variety of existing economic development programs in the state". In February, it was revealed that
Resorts World Las Vegas President Scott Sibella and other Las Vegas hotel owners had met with Athletics officials for a ballpark at the Festival Grounds site. Sibella said, "We reinforced our support that we believe the best site is on the Sahara/L[as] V[egas] Blvd. Having the A's in Las Vegas will be great for the Strip communities and the LV community" and that the team "will have our full support".
Derek Stevens, the co-owner of the
Circa,
Golden Gate and
The D properties downtown, confirmed that he attended the meeting and said, "I talked to with ownership in John Fisher and their President Dave [Kaval] for a while yesterday. This will be very good for Las Vegas, very good for jobs, very good for hotel rooms. The key thing is getting the location nailed down and moving forward." Stevens also made a case for luring the A's to southern Nevada over an
expansion team, claiming, "If Vegas doesn't land the A's, it could impact whether Vegas gets a team anytime in the near future. Having the [MLB] Commissioner [Rob Manfred] waive the relocation fee is huge. When people say they want an expansion team that is a 'Vegas Team,' people forget the expansion fee will be between $1 billion to $2 billion. Who in Vegas has that kind of money for an expansion fee and THEN have to deal with all the other elements like stadium costs and operating cash?" On February 17, it was revealed that the Athletics were exploring the
Rio hotel and casino as an option for a new ballpark and spoke with their owner, Dreamscape Properties. The team also hired eleven
lobbyists to persuade the
Nevada Legislature to approve a public-private partnership. After the Athletics' two-day games at Las Vegas Ballpark as part of Big League Weekend,
Clark County Commission Chairman Jim Gibson said, "The governor has said no new taxes, but that doesn't mean there aren't public revenues available. We'll look to the governor and legislature to see what kind of appetite they have for whatever's required."
Agreement and switching focus to Tropicana In April 2023, it was revealed that negotiations between the city of Oakland and the Athletics organization had ended, with the team moving forward with a new $1.5 billion 30,000-seat retractable stadium at the site of the
Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel across
Interstate 15 from the Golden Knights'
T-Mobile Arena, financed through a public-private partnership including a special tax district after reaching an agreement with
Red Rock Resorts to purchase and develop the land, with the backing of many within the state of Nevada and MLB. The deal would have also required $500 million in public funding from the special tax district to finance the ballpark and would need approval from the
Nevada Legislature with June 5, the end of the regular legislative session, as the deadline to agree on a funding package and could call a special session in this case. Before selecting the Wild Wild casino, the Athletics were offered the resort corridor of the
Rio hotel and casino for $1 by the Dreamscope Cos but turned it down in favor of Wild Wild West after a previous deal on the Festival Grounds had collapsed. Oakland Mayor
Sheng Thao said, "it is clear to me that the A's have no intention of staying in Oakland and have simply been using this process to try to extract a better deal out of Las Vegas. I am not interested in continuing to play that game. The fans and our residents deserve better." Within the legislature, lawmakers said that a funding bill would arrive and that there was no timeline for immediate action yet; there was some skepticism or opposition to handing out $500 million for the ballpark. Shortly after announcing the stadium deal, team president Dave Kaval was interviewed by CBS affiliate
KLAS-TV. He revealed that the Athletics had an agreement with the Aviators to play at the
Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin temporarily until their new home on the Strip was complete. Conversely, Aviators president Don Logan said that the natural grass field of Las Vegas Ballpark would not accommodate the team and the Athletics with a proposal to implement artificial turf on the stadium based on the Texas Rangers'
Globe Life Field floated which was toured by the Athletics as a model for the new Strip ballpark while Rob Manfred has said that it was a feasible option for the A's to share Las Vegas Ballpark with the Aviators. By April 22, the Athletics would reach a deal with the Southern Nevada Building Trades Union to use workers and contractors from the area to build the new Strip ballpark which is expected to begin construction in mid to late 2024 and was contingent on the state of Nevada approving a financing package. On April 26, Kaval met with Nevada Democratic legislators, including Assembly Speaker
Steve Yeager, to discuss the new ballpark for half an hour. Las Vegas Mayor
Carolyn Goodman when asked about the $500 million needed for the ballpark responded "To make this work the owners need to make a bold statement upfront. What you want to see is the private ownership come in and be invested in our community and not just look to each of us who calls this home for more taxes. No thank you!" However, Goodman's
Clark County was negotiating with the Athletics to reach a deal on the ballpark with an option to extend the negotiations. In response to the team's planned move to Las Vegas, Athletics fans would hold a protest during the team's April 28 home game against the Reds, holding up signs that read "Sell", "Stay", "#FisherOut", "Kaval=Liar" and "Sell the Team" with the latter chanted in the stands along with "Stay in Oakland", the phrase used by
Oakland Raiders fans urging the team to remain in Oakland. Controversially, the official MLB broadcast of the game cropped out these signs, leading the league to apologize. "We were unaware of the edit. When it came to our attention, we corrected it as it isn't consistent with our policy", said a spokesperson. On May 4, Lombardo announced that a legislative package for the Athletics' proposed ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip is being created with an initial deadline of May 26 with other options, such as a special session if it can't be passed in time. However, the Athletics are considering alternative options in the Las Vegas area if they fail to secure legislative support for $500 million in the new Strip ballpark. Additionally, language for a potential funding bill would likely be available at the end of the week. Despite it, the Athletics struck a deal with Bally's to build a new ballpark on the previously explored Tropicana Las Vegas site and reduce the share of public funding from $500 million to $395 million while Bally's would build a casino-hotel adjacent to the ballpark; the tax package for the revised proposal was similar to the original one at Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel but the legislative language still needed to be finalized. The deal was announced by the Athletics and Bally's on May 15. In response to the Bally's deal, Nevada Department of Transportation spokesman Justin Hopkins told the website LVSportsBiz.org, "Our project team would like to know more about the Athletics' construction plans, including their anticipated start date and how their access needs will be affected by the construction. We want to ensure that we coordinate with their needs and any other ongoing work in the area, as we strive to be good partners with our community and stakeholders. If there are any adjustments we can make to our schedule or prioritize certain tasks to facilitate potential stadium work, we would like to know so that we can act quickly," though he added "NDOT has not yet heard from the Athletics about the ballpark proposal at Tropicana." Aside from the deal with Bally's, the Athletics pitched a tax district to pay for the new Strip ballpark. The reason the Athletics switched the site of the proposed ballpark from Wild Wild West Casino to the Tropicana Las Vegas was due to Culinary Union 226's not supporting the site change. By May 12, Culinary Union 226 eventually reached an agreement with the Athletics to provide union contracts for their workers on the new Strip ballpark. However, the project initially had an issue with Nevada lawmakers who were willing to provide only $195 million in tax credits instead of $395 million for the Athletics. Moreover, Clark County officials were concerned that taxpayers would be on the hook to cover debt payments and that property taxes would be increased to pay them. In spite of this, the Athletics reached a "loose agreement" for a financing package less than $500 million with state officials after weeks of discussion with a reduction of contributions from Clark County. The proposal involved $180 million from the state of Nevada of which $90 million would be repaid from the ballpark's revenues while $150 million would come from Clark County which would be repaid from a tax district set up on the site and the public total would be between $350 million and $380 million. Additionally, a credit enhancement would be used for the ballpark to improve the chances of repayment along with a two-year debt reserve account and the ballpark itself would be owned by the Las Vegas Stadium Authority, similar to Allegiant Stadium upon completion while Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. contributed to the project free of charge. On May 24, Governor Joe Lombardo announced the agreement with the Athletics, Treasurer Zach Conine, and Clark County officials in a press release for the bill's sending to legislature. In the press release, Lombardo said, "This agreement follows months of negotiations between the state, the county and the A's, and I believe it gives us a tremendous opportunity to continue building on the professional sports infrastructure of southern Nevada. Las Vegas is clearly a sports town, and Major League Baseball should be a part of it." By May 26, the Athletics released the first official renderings of the new $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat ballpark on the site of the Tropicana. While the Athletics released the renderings of the new ballpark,
Darrell Steinberg has said that the city of
Sacramento could temporarily host the team for three seasons at
Sutter Health Park, the home of the Triple-A
Sacramento River Cats (a former A's affiliate now affiliated with the Giants), until they move to Las Vegas.
Legislative sessions and approval With the unveiling of the first renderings of the ballpark, the Athletics also saw the language for the stadium bill revealed publicly, which contained many of the confirmed details of the tentative agreement, such as public funding capped at $380 million and the Las Vegas Stadium Authority (LVSA) as its owner with the bill itself, named the Southern Nevada Tourism Innovation Act, introduced into the Nevada Legislature for a vote. By
Memorial Day 2023, the legislature held its first and only regular session hearing on the Southern Nevada Tourism Innovation Act with officials, residents and some out of state people speaking for or against the bill which lasted for six hours. New details of the ballpark were also revealed, such as 2028 as the projected opening date instead of 2027 and the potential to host other events apart from Major League Baseball, which included the
World Baseball Classic (WBC),
WWE Royal Rumble and
SummerSlam,
XFL games,
MLS matches,
rugby sevens,
NCAA games, the
Monster Jam World Finals, the
Davis Cup,
Monster Energy Supercross, and
cricket. On June 7, Lombardo called for a special session for the legislature to vote on the Southern Nevada Tourism Innovation Act at 10 am, with the Senate Committee of the Whole convening by 12 noon to discuss the bill with support and opposition from both state senators and citizens. On June 8, the legislature adjourned and the Senate would not reconvene on the bill until June 12 as there were amendments proposed for the bill. The reconvening ended in recess without a vote in the Senate although behind the scenes negotiations with lawmakers continued and the Assembly would announce a morning meeting on the bill through a Committee of the Whole which became the first time they would review it alongside the Senate. During the hearing, the stadium bill received amendments such as a community benefits agreement and more money repaid to Nevada state tax credits. The amended bill would eventually be approved by the Senate Committee of the Whole (COW) in a 12–7 vote and sent to the Senate floor for another vote where it was approved 13–8 with the bill in the Assembly. The Assembly would then vote to approve the bill 25–15 with amendments and the Senate would concur ensuring it would end up with Governor Lombardo on June 14. Shortly after SB1's approval in the legislature, the team released a statement thanking legislators for passing the bill during the special session. With SB1 approved, Bally's fully turned its attention to demolishing the Tropicana to make way for the Athletics' ballpark. During the special session on the bill, Las Vegas Convention and Assembly President Steve Hill said the Athletics could play some games in
Reno at the
Reno Aces'
Greater Nevada Field while their new home on the Las Vegas Strip was under construction. Additionally, US House Representatives
Barbara Lee and
Mark DeSaulnier introduced the Moneyball Act in the House named after
the 2003 memoir of the same name by
Michael Lewis which required the Athletics or any MLB team moving from its former home city to compensate them or the league would lose its antitrust exemption. On June 15, Manfred addressed reporters during the three-day MLB owners' meeting in New York after the Legislature approved SB1. He said that the Athletics would apply to move and establish a committee to define the operating and broadcast territories surrounding the Las Vegas Valley, headed by
Milwaukee Brewers owner
Mark Attanasio, before making a recommendation that would go to the executive council and full ownership. During the meeting, Lombardo would sign SB1 into law allowing Nevada to begin work on a new ballpark, and the Athletics to start the moving process.
Post-agreement and approval The schedule for the
2024 MLB season had already been set by the time the A's plans to move were announced. That meant that the Athletics played at the Coliseum for that season, which was the team's final year in Oakland. The A's, with MLB's cooperation, looked at options for a temporary home in 2025, with Las Vegas, Reno, Sacramento, and
San Francisco's
Oracle Park being considered. These plans were later confirmed by an Athletics spokesperson in an interview with
The Mercury News while the options in Las Vegas and Reno were contingent on approval from the
MLB Players Association (MLBPA). In the case of Reno and Sacramento, both cities had Triple-A facilities that could be used to accommodate the Athletics for three seasons similar to Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin. On June 20, the city of Oakland and Alameda County explored the options of forcing the Athletics to pay $30 million in purchase payments for the Coliseum due to its joint ownership of the facility and impending move to Las Vegas. On June 19, Bally's chairman Soo Kim told
KTNV-TV that the Tropicana might not be razed until two years later into construction and that there was a scenario where part of the resort-casino could remain after the ballpark is complete. He also noted that the ballpark would include a new casino-resort and a separate, adjacent sports-themed attraction. On June 21, the Athletics officially began the process to move to Las Vegas by drawing up an application to MLB being written up before being filed, submitted, and put to an owners' vote. Two weeks after the bill's approval, the Athletics revealed that Bally's would provide 3 to 4 more acres of land on the Tropicana for the ballpark with plans to hire a design architect, a construction firm and a project manager amidst concerns about its size and a statement from Clark County spokeswoman Jennifer Cooper saying her county can't issue $120 million yet until other agreements are finalized and the Athletics deposit $100 million in private money for the project. On June 29, the Nevada State Education Association (NSEA) created a new
political action committee known as Schools Over Stadiums for the purpose of exploring "every possible path" of reversing the legislature's and Governor Lombardo's approval of SB1, including litigation or a ballot measure on the bill in 2024, with over 102,586 signatures required for the latter option. In response, a spokesperson for the Athletics said the team was aware of Schools Over Stadiums and the NSEA's earlier opposition to the bill. The NSEA's opposition to SB1 and proposal to get the bill on the ballot for Nevada voters was also supported by the group We Want a Voice which had a similar proposal and would work with the NSEA. Otherwise both were opposed by Nevada's largest teachers union, the Clark County Education Association (CCEA), which considered the matter of SB1 to be settled, and Clark County Commission Chair Jim Gibson echoed similar such sentiments even claiming the bill's additional revenue would be used to help with students, teachers, and other aspects of education. In July, owners
John S. Middleton of the
Philadelphia Phillies and
John Sherman of the
Kansas City Royals joined the newly formed MLB relocation committee on Las Vegas alongside the Brewers' Attanasio. In the same month, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said the organization was ready to negotiate with MLB over the effects and working conditions of the Athletics' move to Las Vegas, including a temporary home in Las Vegas, Reno, Sacramento, or San Francisco. The conditions outlined by Clark were focused on the field, travel, amenities, housing, support, and the area for the players and the players' families. When asked about the playing field, Clark said, "We would have to make sure that the quality of that turf, if that's what happens, or the quality of the grass and the support for it, if that's what happens, is up to snuff." Clark also noted that if the Athletics were to play at Las Vegas Ballpark temporarily for three seasons, it would be a challenge due to not having a roof to protect players from the sun and brought up the issues of playing field, health, safety, accommodations, travel, and schedules, and that the MLBPA will have conversations on these issues pertaining to the Athletics possibly sharing it with the Aviators. On Oracle Park, Clark mentioned that the MLBPA could be involved in discussions about having the Athletics play in the same venue with the cross-bay Giants but noted they would engage in a different conversation by the time the votes are cast. When reports of Reno being considered an option were published, the city's mayor
Hillary Schieve said they had not had any conversations with the Athletics organization about sharing Greater Nevada Field with the Aces but were open to discussing the possibility of the proposal. During the
2023 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in
Seattle, Manfred confirmed the Athletics had started the moving process by submitting information for the application. However, Oakland Mayor
Sheng Thao met with Manfred during the All-Star Game to share documents with him and 29 other MLB owners outlining the city's plans to build a new ballpark at the Coliseum or Howard Terminal from earlier years in a bid to keep the Athletics from leaving. After Thao met with Manfred, the Athletics announced their sponsorship for the softball charity game Battle for Vegas in Summerlin's Las Vegas Ballpark and a fan fest held alongside this event with the Golden Knights and Raiders, making this first time the team supported an officially-sanctioned event in the Las Vegas area. On July 13, Hill revealed that the Athletics would not fully use $380 million in public funding to finance the new ballpark at the Tropicana. Instead, the team would use around $340 million for the ballpark. Two days later, Hill said that the Las Vegas Stadium Authority would meet on August 24 to detail the process of the Athletics' move. On July 20, Kim said that Bally's was waiting for the Athletics to go through the stadium-planning process before the Tropicana could be demolished. He also noted that the Tropicana could be torn down in segments while allowing some of it to remain or brought down all at once via implosion. On July 25, fans of the Athletics and Giants, during the local
Bay Bridge Series between their respective teams at Oracle Park, chanted "Sell the team!" and wore "Sell!" t-shirts as part of Unite the Bay, an event held to protest the Athletics' move to Las Vegas, similar to the Reverse Boycott. After the Unite the Bay rally, the Athletics organization announced they would select
Gensler or the joint bid by
HNTB (which participated in the construction of
Allegiant Stadium) and
Bjarke Ingels Group as the design team for the ballpark by November for new renderings with the latter having previously participated in the scrapped Howard Terminal plans. Brad Schrock, the head director of the ballpark design, said that the project could have up to 33,000 seats. Schrock also revealed on July 27 that the ballpark would turn four acres of its site into a plaza similar to
T-Mobile Arena. In August, Kaval revealed that the new stadium in Las Vegas would have 33,000 seats, not 30,000. On August 21, the Athletics announced that the
Minneapolis-based Mortenson | McCarthy would serve as the construction manager for the ballpark. On August 23, Fisher published an op-ed in the
Las Vegas Review-Journal announcing that the Athletics had fully submitted their application to MLB. On the same day, Fisher told the
Review-Journal about the team's impending move to the Las Vegas Valley. By August 25, the Las Vegas Stadium Authority (LVSA) held another meeting on the ballpark. When asked about a temporary home for 2025–2027, Kaval said a three-year lease extension at the Oakland Coliseum, Las Vegas Ballpark, or Oracle Park were strongly under consideration for the Athletics. He also said that the Las Vegas Ballpark would need upgrades to host the Athletics alongside the Aviators. Thao included a provision to keep the Athletics name and history in Oakland if the team were to play at the Coliseum for three more years alongside an expansion team. In September, Schools Over Stadiums filed a referendum petition with the office of the Nevada Secretary of State to put the Athletics' stadium proposal for a vote in the
2024 elections by gathering around or more than 100,000 signatures from voting-eligible Nevada residents to do so. By September 7, the Athletics hired the
Creative Artists Agency (CAA) sub-division CAA ICON as the official consulting firm for the ballpark project. On September 13, Kaval revealed the new ballpark would be climate-controlled but have a retractable roof. On September 15, MLB reportedly set the vote on the Athletics' move to Las Vegas for November. On September 27, Manfred said he hoped for a vote on the move during the owners meeting in
Arlington, Texas, between November 14 and 16. By September 28, Schools Over Stadiums later received a lawsuit from Athletics lobbyists seeking to prevent their petition from being put on the ballot next year. In October, the Las Vegas Stadium Authority held its first meeting to receive the first drafts of the proposed lease and community-benefits agreements. The Authority said construction for the new stadium was tentatively slated to begin in April 2025 and finish in January 2028. Officials announced a 30-year, rent-free lease for the Athletics; the team would also have the option to buy the stadium, pay for all operations, and maintain "facility standards". The organization also voted to approve a $700,000 retainer for the law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. By Thursday, Manfred announced that he would make a recommendation on the Athletics' move before the November vote at the owners meeting. By November, the Schools Over Stadiums' petition to put SB1 on the 2024 ballot was rejected by Nevada District Judge James Todd Russell, who said that the plaintiffs would have to refile their referendum petition with the full text of SB1 or appeal the decision in a higher court on Tuesday. On November 9, Athletics fans sent boxes to 29 MLB owners containing paraphernalia urging them to vote no. On November 14, the committee issued a report on the viability of Las Vegas as a baseball market to the other MLB owners in Arlington. Although the report posed questions about Las Vegas as an MLB city, the Athletics move was expected to be approved by the entire league and there was no organized opposition. Amid the vote, Schools Over Stadiums filed a lawsuit to overturn SB1 after the failed effort to put the legislation on the ballot, led by the local
teachers union. At the meeting, Manfred made a recommendation, and the owners unanimously voted to approve the move.
Vote aftermath On November 28, 2023, the non-profit fan group Oakland 68s created the
Oakland Ballers, a team in the independent, MLB-affiliated
Pioneer League began play in 2024. The team was established in response to the Athletics' move to Las Vegas and is modeled after their time in Oakland right down to sharing the same color scheme and logo including its abbreviated name. By March 2024, new renderings of the ballpark were revealed to the public. They showed a fixed roof inspired by traditional baseball pennants, multi-tiered seating, the world's largest cable-net window facing Las Vegas Boulevard, a jumbotron, and a three-acre plaza. The design was created by the
Denmark-based
Bjarke Ingels Group and
HNTB. On April 2, 2024, the
Tropicana Las Vegas closed; it was demolished in October to make way for the Athletics' new ballpark. On April 4, 2024, the Athletics reached an agreement with the
San Francisco Giants and their Triple-A affiliate, the
Sacramento River Cats, to play at
Sutter Health Park in
West Sacramento, beginning in 2025. In May 2024, the Athletics hired investment firm Galatiotio Sports Partners to help raise $500 million for the ballpark. By May 14, the
Supreme Court of Nevada rejected Schools Over Stadiums' effort to put public funding for the Athletics' new ballpark on the ballot. In January 2026, the Athletics' applications to trademark the terms "Las Vegas Athletics" and "Vegas Athletics" were denied by the
United States Patent and Trademark Office, which cited the generic nature of the term "athletics." == Reception ==