This is not the first time a team’s fan base has taken over Allegiant Stadium, nor will it be the last. Because Vegas is pleased with how the Raiders transaction is working for their city, A’s fans felt compelled to remark on this video. The stadium is completely full. That’s great if you’re one of the folks who benefits from ticket sales. This should be embarrassing for regular fans.
The games are just as important to A’s supporters as the community that surrounds the team. Winning and losing are fun, but watching a baseball game with a friend or family member and simply naming former players or reminiscing is a terrific way to spend time.
These Raiders game highlights, which we see many times a season, lack any of it. That is not the case with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Yes, having sports teams is wonderful, but when other teams’ fans are constantly taking over stadiums and going viral at half of your team’s home games every season, the support isn’t there, is it?
Because A’s owner John Fisher’s plan for Las Vegas will rely on tourism to meet the lofty goals his “economist” has for the ballpark, he may smile to himself as he watches these clips, thinking that baseball fans will travel like this in the middle of a heat wave to watch the Minnesota Twins. Baseball and football are quite different, and it will be difficult for people to take time from work in the middle of the week to go see their favorite team every year.
Even if the project is a success, all of the real economists are incorrect about the estimates, and Vegas truly is “different,” there will be one important factor lacking from baseball in Las Vegas, and that is the community that they have left behind in Oakland.
