If you build it, will they come?

It’s no secret that I’m a big sports fan and have been one since I was a little kid.

And, I’m proud to say that my favorite teams from my youth are still my favorites to this day. The lone exception is the Vegas Golden Knights. Prior to them coming to town, I’d watch hockey every four years in the Olympics and that was pretty much it.

Speaking of coming to town, that’s what led me to write on this topic. Recently, I’ve had family and friends ask me how I felt about the Athletics making Vegas their home in a few years. It was the same type of question I got when the Raiders were looking to move here. The answer is, I have mixed feelings then and now.

I’ll start with the A’s moving here. Yes, as a lifelong fan, I’m excited to see them play whenever the mood hits me. But my hesitancy in welcoming them here with open arms really stems from my concern that very few will do the same. Here’s why. The A’s have not been good for several years, this season included. The owner is not known for opening his wallet and paying for young talent once their rookie contracts expire. It’s always been the same thing. They get traded away for prospects, which is a fancy term for low-paid no-names. It feels like the team is always starting over. I’ve often said they are the best AAA team in the Majors. Oh, wait, Vegas already has a AAA team in the Aviators, which coincidentally, are the Athletics’ Minor League affiliate.

If you ask 30 people in Vegas their favorite baseball team, you could probably get 20 different answers, with several saying the Dodgers or Yankees but not the A’s.

Yes, they will have a billion-dollar stadium but I worry if the famous whisper from “Field of Dreams” will hold true, “If you build it, they will come.”

Here are my concerns, because I want the team to be successful here not only in the standings but in the stands.

If you want to establish a local fan base, you have to put a good product on the field. This is the problem the Raiders have had and why home games often look, and feel, like road games.

Secondly, Vegas is no longer starved for a pro team. With the success VGK has had and now with the Raiders and Aces being in town, that hunger has been somewhat fed. And now there’s been more talk about Las Vegas getting an NBA expansion team. They should have done that a decade ago. While an expansion team is good in that a community can call it their own, few have seen the same type of immediate success the Golden Knights had.

Gone are the days when UNLV basketball was the closest thing we had to a professional team. When they were good, it was the toughest ticket in town. But because of the transient nature of Las Vegas’ population and its sports fickleness, when the Rebels are bad, you can barely give tickets away. Case in point, in the early 2000s, I was home visiting from Hawaii and my brother asked if I wanted to go to a Rebels game. Sure. He got two tickets with the purchase of a dozen donuts via a promotion at a local donut shop. Granted, the donuts were better than the seats… but still.

Back to the A’s. I recently got into a bit of a debate with a resident who said he’s excited they’re coming because he can see his Detroit Tigers play. Is that what it’s going to be? The stadium filled with fans of the visiting team and few for the home team? The owner will have to not only keep young talent and pay them, but bring in some quality veterans. Yes, the crowd size will be good in the beginning because of the novelty of it but after the new-car smell wears off, I’m not so sure. They’ll also need to have plenty of promo nights to entice the average fan and cater to locals. And unlike the Raiders, the A’s can’t have the highest-priced tickets in their respective sport. Again, fans are no longer that hungry.

I truly hope I’m wrong and the A’s are a success. I guess time will tell.