How the A's got from Oakland to the Las Vegas Strip, where the team plays during the bridge years, who pays for the new ballpark, and what fans can expect through the 2028 target.
The Short Version of a Long Goodbye
If you are just tuning in to the Athletics story, here is the honest, no-spin version: after more than half a century in Oakland, the A's played their final season there in 2024, and the franchise is now on its way to a brand-new home on the Las Vegas Strip. The move has been messy, emotional, and years in the making, and this guide walks through how the team got from the East Bay to the desert, where it actually plays in the meantime, and what fans can expect next.
Whether you are a longtime A's fan following the team across state lines or a new Las Vegas fan getting in on the ground floor, the timeline matters. We keep a running, dated version in our A's franchise timeline, but here is the fan-friendly overview.
From Oakland to a Bridge in Sacramento
The A's did not go straight from Oakland to Las Vegas, and that trips up a lot of people. The new ballpark on the Strip was never going to be ready the moment the team left the Oakland Coliseum, so the franchise needed a temporary home for the seasons in between. That bridge landed in West Sacramento, at Sutter Health Park, the home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.
It is an unusual arrangement. A major league team is playing in a minor league park, sharing the building with its own farm club, while a permanent stadium goes up several hundred miles away. The plan has long called for these bridge years to run through the 2027 season before the Las Vegas ballpark opens. For the full stop-by-stop version of that journey, our piece on the Oakland to Sacramento to Vegas timeline lays it all out.
Where the A's Actually Play Right Now
Here is the part that surprises even dedicated fans in 2026. While Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento has served as the primary interim home, the team brought a block of regular-season games to Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin during the 2026 season, the first regular-season major league games the city has hosted in about three decades. That gave Las Vegas fans a real taste of big-league baseball in their own backyard well before the Strip ballpark is finished.
So if you are planning to see the A's in person before the new park opens, you have had two very different options: a minor league park in the Sacramento area or a Summerlin stop when the schedule brings the team to town. It is a strange in-between chapter, but it is also a genuinely fun one for anyone building the habit of following this team.
The New Home on the Strip
in Oakland, the A's played their final season there in 2024, and the franchise is now on its way to a brand-new home on the Las Vegas Strip.
The destination is what makes this move different from any relocation in recent baseball memory. The A's are building on the Las Vegas Strip itself, on the site of the former Tropicana hotel and casino near the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue. The franchise broke ground there in June 2025, and construction has been climbing steadily ever since.
The building is designed as a fully enclosed, climate-controlled ballpark, which is not a luxury in Las Vegas, it is a requirement. Summer game-time temperatures make an open-air park a non-starter, so the new home is being built as an air-conditioned dome. We go deep on the design, size, and features in our guide to the new Las Vegas ballpark, so this guide keeps it to the big picture.
Who Is Paying for All of This
The money side of the move has been one of its most argued-over pieces, and for good reason. The total project cost has climbed over time and is now reported at roughly $2 billion. Nevada lawmakers authorized up to $380 million in public funding toward the stadium, and the rest of the bill falls to the team and its financing. The A's have even said publicly they may not use the entire public allotment.
Those are big, moving numbers, and they carry real public policy questions about how a city funds a professional sports stadium. We break down the dollars, the debt, and who actually profits in our explainer on the economics of the A's Vegas deal, because it deserves more than a one-line summary.
The Name, the Colors, and What Carries Over
One thing that did not change in the move is the core identity. The team dropped the city label and is now branded simply as the Athletics, but the A's nickname, the green and gold, and the elephant logo all made the trip. That continuity matters, because it is a reminder that this is the same franchise that won championships in Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Oakland, not a brand-new expansion team.
For fans, that is the emotional tightrope of this whole era. The A's carry a deep, real history that a lot of Oakland fans feel was taken from them, and a new Las Vegas fan base is inheriting that history rather than starting from zero. Honoring both truths at once is the healthiest way to be a fan of this team right now.
What This Means for You as a Fan
Practically speaking, the next couple of seasons are a waiting game with some real baseball mixed in. The team is developing a young core, playing interim seasons split between Sacramento and Las Vegas, and pointing everything toward a 2028 opening on the Strip. If you want to be there on day one, it is worth getting familiar with how tickets and access are likely to work as the opening approaches.
The smart move for now is simple: follow the young roster, get to a game wherever the team is playing, and pay attention to construction milestones as the ballpark takes shape. The fans who show up during this awkward in-between stretch are the ones who will get to say they were there before the Strip doors ever opened.
The Bottom Line
The A's move to Las Vegas is not a single event, it is a multi-year transition: out of Oakland after 2024, into a Sacramento-and-Summerlin bridge, and toward a fully enclosed ballpark on the Strip targeted to open in 2028. Timelines on a project this big can shift, and honest fans should hold the opening date loosely rather than treat it as a promise. But the direction is clear, the building is going up, and Las Vegas baseball is no longer a rumor. It is under construction.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the Athletics leave Oakland?
The A's played their final season in Oakland in 2024 after more than 50 years there, and the franchise chose to relocate to Las Vegas, where it is building a new ballpark on the Strip. The move followed years of failed stadium efforts in the Bay Area.
Where do the Athletics play while the Las Vegas ballpark is being built?
The primary interim home has been Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, shared with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. In 2026 the team also brought a block of regular-season games to Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin, the city's first regular-season MLB games in about three decades.
When is the new Las Vegas ballpark expected to open?
The long-standing target is the 2028 season, with the bridge years planned to run through 2027. A project this size can slip, so fans should treat 2028 as the goal rather than a guarantee.
Where is the new A's ballpark being built?
On the Las Vegas Strip, on the site of the former Tropicana hotel and casino near Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue. The team broke ground there in June 2025.
How much does the new stadium cost, and who pays for it?
The total project is reported at roughly $2 billion. Nevada authorized up to $380 million in public funding, with the rest covered by the team and its financing, and the A's have said they may not use the full public amount.
Did the team change its name and colors in the move?
The franchise dropped the city label and is branded simply as the Athletics, but the A's nickname, the green and gold colors, and the elephant logo all carried over. It is the same franchise, not an expansion team.
