Tim Parsons / Tahoe Onstage
That’s no UFO, it’s the Oakland A’s top minor league team that will land in the Reno Aces’ division next season.
Oakland’s Triple-A squad is leaving Tennessee after four seasons. It will drop one clever name – Nashville Sounds – for another: Las Vegas 51s. Baseball fans in Reno will now have more opportunities to see the top minor league teams of the two closest big league teams, Oakland and San Francisco.
The Las Vegas 51s are in the Pacific Coast League’s Pacific Northern division, along with the Reno Aces, who are affiliated with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Sacramento (Giants), Tacoma (Mariners) and Fresno (Astros). Las Vegas and Reno will play each other 16 times in 2019.
Las Vegas has had a PCL team for 36 years, and its most recent MLB affiliate was the New York Mets, who are moving their Triple-A team to Syracuse, New York.
Oakland signed a two-year deal with Las Vegas, which will open a new $150 million stadium– Las Vegas Ballpark, located 13 miles from the Strip at Summerlin — in time for the start of the 2019 season.
The announcement was made Monday by MiLB.com.
A two-year agreement is interesting because the Oakland Raiders will move to Las Vegas in 2020 and will play in a new domed facility that’s under construction. Perhaps the city known for gambling is betting on a two-of-a-kind deal with the Raiders and A’s. Earlier this year, Arizona announced it was extending its player development contract with the Reno Aces through 2020.
Not to drone on, but Area 51 is a highly classified remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base. Aliens? Probably not. Radioactively hot? Perhaps.
— Tim Parsons
One Response
The new stadium here in Vegas will get a new team and a new name. The 51’s nickname is going away. The new name has not been announced yet