With dirt piles and construction vehicles in the background, team owner John Fisher announced to a large group on Monday: "We are Vegas' team."

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, government officials, former Athletics stars like Rollie Fingers and Dave Stewart, young baseball players, and many others watched as the team celebrated starting construction on their new stadium. This stadium will cost $1.75 billion, hold 33,000 people, and is expected to be ready for the 2028 season.

The state of Nevada and Clark County have agreed to provide up to $380 million in public money for the project.

Team president Marc Badain stated that he was confident the project would be completed by 2028, noting that the local workforce was ready to begin work right away.

It's good to see the positive impact of today. We can also think about what the next three years will mean for the community, the building project, and the new jobs that will appear as construction starts, possibly even tonight.

Badain had a similar experience when he worked for the NFL's Raiders. He was very important in their move from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020. He also helped get the $2 billion Allegiant Stadium approved and built.

Until Allegiant Stadium was ready, the Raiders stayed in Oakland for three seasons, sharing their stadium with the A's. Despite knowing they were leaving, the Raiders kept a good relationship with Bay Area fans. However, A's fans were very angry about the team's upcoming move and how it was handled.

This situation made it impossible for the team to stay in Oakland, and they played their last season in the old stadium last year. The A's are now playing in a smaller stadium in West Sacramento, California, which is about an hour away, for at least three years while they wait to move to Las Vegas.

Fisher explained that their local team wants to attract young fans, thinking that if children like the team, their parents will too. He said that getting fans happens faster than people think, but building a winning team takes a lot more time.

We want to keep improving what we have, and building a team is like building anything else. Sometimes it takes more time than you expect. It's like building a stadium. But we believe we have the right parts to be very successful.

Bally's will build the stadium on nine acres of their 35-acre property, located at the corner of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. The Tropicana's hotel towers were demolished in October to create space for the new ballpark.

The A's team is trying to do well in their temporary home while also getting ready for their future. Each player wears a patch of Sacramento's Tower Bridge on one sleeve and a Las Vegas logo on the other. This is part of a three-year agreement with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

In December, the Las Vegas Stadium Authority approved the lease, non-relocation agreement, and development plans. These were the last important steps for the Athletics to become Las Vegas' team.

The stadium's design, with its five overlapping layers, looks very similar to Australia's famous Sydney Opera House. A large glass window behind the outfield gives an outdoor feeling with views of the Las Vegas Strip. Instead of one main cooling system, air conditioning will be sent through the seats.

This will be MLB's smallest stadium. However, Tropicana Field, where the Tampa Bay Rays play, can hold 25,000 people when its top sections are closed. Normally, it has almost 40,000 seats.

The Rays, like the A's, are playing this season in a smaller stadium because Hurricane Milton damaged their main one. The team doesn't know where they will play in the future, and new owners might take over the club soon.

Cleveland plays baseball at Progressive Field, which has a capacity of 34,830 seats. This is smaller than the original 43,345 when the stadium first opened in 1994.

The Oakland A's are planning to move to Las Vegas, becoming the fourth major league team there, alongside the Raiders, Golden Knights, and Aces.

Manfred said that the population, the success of other sports, and the amount of tourism make this a great market for them. He believes the team will be very successful in Las Vegas.