The Las Vegas Baseball Team Should NOT Be Named The A's
ESPN - The Oakland Athletics have signed a binding agreement to purchase land near the Las Vegas Strip, where they intend to construct a major league ballpark, team president Dave Kaval said Wednesday night.
The agreement is for a 49-acre site owned by Red Rock Resorts, the parent company of Station Casinos.
Kaval told the Las Vegas Review-Journal a $1.5 billion, 35,000-seat stadium with a partially retractable roof would be built on the site, adding that other developments, including restaurants and an amphitheater, are being discussed.
The A's will work with Nevada and Clark County on a public-private partnership to fund the stadium. Kaval said the A's hope to break ground by next year and would hope to be moved into their new home by 2027.
Big news today is at long last the A's announced they are officially moving to Las Vegas. It's been a long time coming and something I feel I've been writing about for 5 years now.
It took for-ev-er to get professional sports in Vegas, and they have all thrived. First the Golden Knights, then the Raiders, and now a baseball team will be right off the strip for our drunken pleasure.
But with the new city and new stadium comes the big question- will they still be called the A's? My answer, god I hope not. Not for nothing, the name A's is dumb. We're just used to it, but it's one of the dumber names in professional sports. It was my go-to response when everyone said how dumb the name "Commanders" is...most team names are pretty dumb, especially the old ones, we are just used to them. The Reds?! The Browns?!?!? None of 'em are good, they've just always been a part of our lives so we don't think twice about them.
But nothing about Vegas screams yellow and green. I love the color scheme, but it just doesn't fit. And there's never been a better opportunity for a full rebrand than moving to Vegas. You have an empty canvas. The world is your oyster. And you start by giving the team name to Oakland, saving it for if a team ever returns, and starting brand new in the desert.
Now, if they want to play it down the middle, the most obvious new name would be the Vegas Aces. You can even keep the elephant mascot. But I think you have to change the colors to silver and black, matching the Raiders, or gold and black matching the Knights. Unfortunately a small snafu is there already is a Vegas Aces, the WNBA team, so that could be tricky, but it makes the most sense.
My condolences to my friends in the Bay Area who wanted to root for the team in a new stadium, but at least you'll always have the memories. And besides, if you choose to stay a fan, a quick flight to Vegas is pretty cool. I don't know how that works to be honest, do you stay a fan? I suppose not, because the ownership is now your mortal enemy. But you also can't become a Giants fan, can you? I don't know. I guess just root for the Dodgers like everyone else out there.
PS: I'll always miss watching Raiders games with a big ol' baseball diamond on the field. Maybe they should just do that again at Allegiant. It'd be awesome.
