For the 11th time this season, the Oakland Athletics' Triple-A affiliate in Nevada, the Las Vegas Aviators held a sellout game with 10,554 fans in attendance.
This might not have meant a lot prior to this year, but considering the short-term situation of the A's franchise it is important because it proves the viability of the Athletics using the ballpark as a stopgap until the new stadium at the Tropicana site is completed upon their full relocation to Las Vegas and the exit from Oakland.
THANK YOU LAS VEGAS!
— Las Vegas Aviators (@AviatorsLV) July 4, 2023
Tonight we hit our 11th sellout of the season at 10,554 fans in attendance! pic.twitter.com/I6eSalU3oM
A criticism of the A's playing at Las Vegas' Triple-A ballpark is that it's outside and it has to endure a summer heat considered brutal. However, Tuesday was the hottest day of the year so far in Vegas at 114 degrees, and it didn't stop the Aviators from selling the full capacity of their venue.
A sellout for a AAA team in this ridiculous heat proves that MLB games at the ballpark will easily sell out each game played there, and it's not that the A's are really sitting many fewer (or more) fans these days inside the Oakland Coliseum.
The other incredible thing about the Aviators' sell-out is that the 10,554 fans that showed up were 465 more than the average attendance at the Oakland Coliseum for A's games this year according to data gathered by ESPN.
Another apprehension of the A's playing at a AAA ballpark is that the stadium would be significantly smaller than the Oakland Coliseum, and any other major league park for that matter. That, one would assume, would mean a loss of potential ticket sales which would be left on the table.
However, the closer the new stadium comes to reality in Las Vegas, the less the average attendance will be in Oakland with East Bay residents just stopping paying attention to their soon-on-the-move team.
The AAA Aviators sellout in extreme heat makes the prospect of the A's playing in Las Vegas in 2025 all the more closed to reality and proves the viability of the city and the state as a legitimate landing spot for an MLB franchise.