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Two years before their move to Nevada, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected the A’s application to trademark the names “Las Vegas Athletics” and “Vegas Athletics.”
The A’s were told that the nickname “Athletics” was too generic and could be confused with other activities, even though it was associated with Las Vegas. However, it has been the club’s nickname since the Philadelphia Athletics began play in 1901.
The club has three months from the refusal, on December 29, to request an extension and submit a new request within six months.
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(L-R) Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas), U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), Athletics Chairman Marc Badain, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, Athletics Principal Owner John Fisher, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Chairman and CEO Steve Hill and Clark County (Nev.) Commission Chairman Jim Gibson participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony work on the $1.75 billion dome, with 33,000 seats. MLB Athletic Stadium on June 23, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
A $2 billion, 33,000-capacity stadium on the Las Vegas Strip is under construction. Club officials told the Las Vegas Stadium Authority on Dec. 4 that the stadium was scheduled to open for the 2028 season.
This isn’t the first obstacle the A’s have faced since they even considered going to Vegas. Initially hoping to play there in 2027, lawmakers failed to pass the budget bill that provided more than $1 billion to fund capital improvement projects for state public works and construction during the summer of 2023. That came shortly after the team had to abandon its original stadium location before finding a new one.
Two years ago, former Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman even admitted that the team’s plans for a stadium made “no sense” and that the team should “find a way to stay in Oakland.”
The A’s played their final game in Oakland in 2024 before moving to Sacramento. They currently play at the Triple-A stadium of their old crosstown rival, the San Francisco Giants.
The Oakland Athletics and their design teams released renderings of the club’s planned $1.5 billion stadium in Las Vegas on Tuesday (March 5, 2024), which show five layers on top of each other with a look similar to the famous Sydney Opera House. (Negative via AP)
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They moved to West Sacramento, Calif., last year to play the first of three planned seasons in the city’s Triple-A ballpark. The team only caters to “athletics” when playing in the Northern California city.
Nevada and Clark County approved up to $380 million in state funds for the stadium, and the A’s said they would cover the remaining expenses. Owner John Fisher is looking for investors to help finance the project.
In preparing for their move to Las Vegas, the A’s signed some notable contracts. The most recent was a seven-year, $86 million contract for left fielder Tyler Soderstrom, the richest in team history. They also acquired second baseman Jeff McNeil from the New York Mets on December 22.
FILE – This rendering provided by the Oakland Athletics on May 26, 2023 shows a view of their proposed new baseball stadium at the Tropicana site in Las Vegas. Major League Baseball has outlined a detailed process for approving the Oakland Athletics’ move to Las Vegas, which appears poised to become the second move by a franchise in the last half-century. (Oakland Athletics via AP, file)
Going back to last offseason, the A’s also reached agreements on a five-year, $60 million contract with designated hitter and outfielder Brent Rooker and a seven-year, $65.5 million contract with outfielder Lawrence Butler. Manager Mark Kotsay signed an extension that will see him through 2028, with a club option for 2029, while Nick Kurtz is the reigning American League Rookie of the Year.
Last year, the Patent and Trademark Office denied Utah’s NHL team the use of the nickname “Yetis” due to potential confusion with companies such as Yeti Coolers. Utah, which left the Phoenix area in 2024, now uses the nickname “Mammoth.”
