On Monday morning, with piles of dirt, construction vehicles, and the future spot for home plate at the new Athletics ballpark behind him, team owner John Fisher spoke to a large group and said, "We are Vegas' team."

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, along with state and local officials, celebrated the start of building a new $1.75 billion baseball stadium. Former Athletics stars like Rollie Fingers and Dave Stewart, and also young baseball players, were there. This new stadium will hold 33,000 people and should be ready for the 2028 season.

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

Team president Marc Badain said he was sure the project would be finished by 2028, and he added that the local workers were ready and excited to begin.

It's good to see the positive impact of a day like today, and to think about what the next three years will mean for the community, the building project, and new jobs. You will see all these things as this building starts to be built, possibly even tonight.

Badain had a similar job with the NFL's Raiders. He was very important in their move from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020. He also helped get approval for and build the $2 billion Allegiant Stadium.

Before Allegiant Stadium was finished, the Raiders stayed in Oakland for three seasons, sharing a stadium with the A's. The Raiders kept a strong connection to the Bay Area, but A's fans were very angry about their team leaving and the way it was being handled.

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

Fisher said that as a local team, they want to get young fans interested, because if they can get the children, their parents will also come. He also mentioned that building a winning team takes a lot of time and effort.

We want to keep improving what we have. Building a team is like building anything else; it can take more time than you expect, just like building a stadium. We believe we have the right parts to be very successful.

Bally's plans to build the stadium on nine acres of their 35-acre property. This property is located at the corner of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. The Tropicana hotel buildings were taken down last October to make space for the new ballpark.

The Oakland A's are 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 deal with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

In December, the Las Vegas Stadium Authority approved the lease, the agreement not to move, and the development plans. These were the last important steps before the A's can officially 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 makes it feel like you are outside, with views of the Las Vegas Strip. Instead of one main cooling system, air conditioning will be sent directly 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.

Because Hurricane Milton damaged their main stadium, the Rays, like the A's, are playing this season in a smaller ballpark. The team's future home is not yet decided, and new owners might take over the club soon.

Cleveland plays at Progressive Field, which can now hold 34,830 people. This is fewer seats than when the park opened in 1994, when it could hold 43,345.

The Oakland A's are going to be the fourth big professional sports team in Las Vegas, joining the Raiders, the Golden Knights from the NHL, and the Aces from the WNBA.

Manfred said that because of the local population, the success of other sports, and the amount of tourism, Las Vegas is a perfect market for their team. He is sure the team will do very well there.