LAS VEGAS (AP) — Outfielder Lawrence Butler heard a “let's go Brewers” chant break out in the stands on Monday night, and though this was an Athletics home game, that didn't surprise him.
What happened next got his attention.
“The fans booed them,” Butler said. “We haven't got that in all my big league years. So that was pretty cool just to have some fans behind us.”
Butler and his A's teammates are getting a taste of what it feels like to play meaningful
games in Las Vegas, where the club is scheduled to move full time in 2028.
The A's have played spring training games at Las Vegas Ballpark — home to the organization's Triple-A affiliate — but this is the first time in 30 years they are playing regular-season games here.
They opened the 1996 season in Las Vegas because Oakland Coliseum was completing renovations to welcome the Raiders back from Los Angeles. Now the Las Vegas Raiders play about a mile from the A's future home on the Strip.
The Raiders played three lame duck seasons in Oakland while Allegiant Stadium was under construction, but the A's chose instead to move to a Triple-A park in West Sacramento, California, for three years while their $2 billion, 33,000-person capacity domed stadium is being built.
Between the latter years in Oakland and the current ones in Sacramento, the A's have had to make due with a less-than-ideal situation, and thus the sounds of fans cheering for opposing teams is not foreign to Athletics players.
That is part of why they are playing regular-season games in Las Vegas, to further familiarize their future fan base with the team.
And not just on the field. Players, team alumni and club officials have taken part in community events this week, such as working with youth players and visiting a children's hospital.
“It's great to be here,” said Nick Kurtz, last season's unanimous AL Rookie of the Year. “We've played a couple of spring training games here. I feel like we've kind of built that fan base already, so we give them a firsthand view of what we are. It's really important for us and it's cool to do.”
Fans appear to be embracing their future major league team. All six games — against Milwaukee on Monday through Wednesday and versus Colorado on Friday through Sunday — sold out.
Capacity at the ballpark is 10,000, but MLB officials have taken up some of the seating to make sure the games meet big-league standards and each team is allotted tickets to distribute that don't count in the announced attendance. The average announced attendance of around 8,500 for each game is the number of paid tickets.
Fans have turned out despite the A's playing the hottest home games in organization history, the temperatures hovering around or topping 100 degrees.
The homestand included Tuesday night when the A's-Brewers game was played at the same time the Vegas Golden Knights were hosting the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. Attendance was announced at 8,422.
“It's a sports city,” catcher Shea Langeliers said. "People love their teams here. Obviously, the Golden Knights are doing something special right now, so understandably people are probably more tuned into that because it’s the Stanley Cup Final. It seems like it’s an exciting time.”
Many fans who drive to Golden Knights games pass the construction site for the A's stadium.
The players got a close-up look Tuesday when they were given a private tour. They got to see how the upper desk is being built and the roof is beginning to go in as well. Much progress has been made on the lower bowl.
“I think the guys were excited,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “You can actually see the foundations of the locker room, amenities, the things that they're going to be privileged to have in the spaces that were created for them. I think there was a lot of talk (among players) about anticipating getting there.”
Because Las Vegas is the organization's top minor league affiliate, the A's locker room is full of players who called this city home before their respective promotions to the majors.
“It doesn't feel like that long ago, but 2022 has been a handful of years now,” Langeliers said. “I just remember having a lot of fun here. The group of guys that was here, the coaching staff, just the fans, the atmosphere was really cool.”
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