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Two years before moving to Nevada, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied 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 if they were associated with Las Vegas. That, however, has been the club’s nickname since the Philadelphia Athletics began play in 1901.
The club has three months from when the denials were issued on December 29 to request an extension to submit a new application within a six-month period.
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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 President and CEO Steve Hill, and Clark (Nev.) County Commission Chairman Jim Gibson participate in a $1.75 billion, 33,000-seat ribbon-cutting ceremony. Domed stadium for the MLB A’s on June 23, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
A $2 billion, 33,000-seat stadium is being built on the Las Vegas Strip. Club officials told the Las Vegas Stadium Authority on Dec. 4 that the stadium is scheduled to open for the 2028 season.
This isn’t the first obstacle the A’s have faced since they even considered going to Las Vegas. They originally hoped to play there in 2027, but lawmakers failed to pass the budget bill that included 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 “didn’t make sense” and that the team should “find a way to stay in Oakland.”
The A’s played their last game in Oakland in 2024 before moving to Sacramento. They currently play in the Triple-A stadium of their former cross-town rival, the San Francisco Giants.
The Oakland Athletics and their design teams released renderings Tuesday, March 5, 2024, of the club’s planned $1.5 billion stadium in Las Vegas that show five overlapping layers with a look similar to the famous Sydney Opera House. (Negative via AP)
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They moved to West Sacramento, California, last year to play the first of three planned seasons at the city’s Triple-A stadium. The team is called only “Athletics” while playing in the Northern California city.
Nevada and Clark County have approved up to $380 million in public funding for the stadium, and the A’s have said they will cover the remaining expenses. Owner John Fisher has been looking for investors to help finance the project.
As they prepared to 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 stadium at the Tropicana site in Las Vegas. Major League Baseball laid out a detailed process to approve the move of the Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas, which appears 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/outfielder Brent Rooker and a seven-year, $65.5 million contract with outfielder Lawrence Butler. Manager Mark Kotsay signed an extension that takes him through 2028, with a club option for 2029, while Nick Kurtz is the reigning American League Rookie of the Year.
Utah’s NHL team was denied use of the “Yetis” nickname by the Patent and Trademark Office last year due to potential confusion with companies like Yeti Coolers. Utah, who moved from the Phoenix area in 2024, now uses the nickname “Mammoth.”
