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

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, government officials, former baseball stars like Rollie Fingers and Dave Stewart, young baseball players, and many others watched. They saw the team celebrate starting to build a new $1.75 billion ballpark. This stadium will hold 33,000 people and should be ready for the 2028 season.

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

Team president Marc Badain said he was sure the project would be done by 2028, and the local workers were ready to start right away.

It's good to see the positive results from today. We can also think about what the next three years will bring for the community, including the building project, new jobs, and other benefits, as construction starts, 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, and also in getting approval and building the $2 billion Allegiant Stadium.

Before Allegiant Stadium was finished, the Raiders stayed in Oakland for three seasons, sharing their stadium with the A's. Even though the Raiders were getting ready to leave, they kept a good relationship with the Bay Area. However, A's fans were very angry about their team moving soon and the way it was managed.

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

Fisher explained that as a local team, they want to attract young fans, thinking that if they get the children interested, their parents will also join. He mentioned that building a good group of fans happens quite fast, but creating a winning team takes more time.

We want to keep getting better, and we know that building a team, like any big project, might take more time than we expect. It's similar to building a stadium. But we believe we have the right people to be very successful.

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

The A's are trying to use their temporary home as well as possible, while also getting ready for their future. Each A's player has a patch of Sacramento's Tower Bridge on one sleeve and a Las Vegas logo on the other. This is because 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 before the A's could move to Las Vegas.

The stadium's design, with its five layers, looks a lot like the Sydney Opera House in Australia. A large glass window behind the outfield makes it feel open and offers views of the Las Vegas Strip. Instead of one main cooling system, the air conditioning will be sent through the seats.

This will be MLB's smallest stadium. Tropicana Field, where the Tampa Bay Rays play, usually holds almost 40,000 people. However, when the upper sections are closed, it can only hold 25,000.

The Rays, like the A's, are playing this season in a smaller stadium because Hurricane Milton damaged their main one. Tampa Bay doesn't know where their permanent home will be, and the team might soon have new owners.

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 A's will be the fourth big professional team in Las Vegas, joining the Raiders, the NHL's Golden Knights, and the WNBA's Aces.

Manfred said that the population, the success of other sports, and the amount of tourism make this a great market for them. He also said he was sure the team would do very well in Las Vegas.