If you are an A's fan planning your first trip to Las Vegas -- whether to watch games at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento and then fly back through Vegas, or to scout the city before the stadium opens in 2028 -- this guide is for you. Las Vegas is not a difficult city to navigate once you know the basics. Here is what you need to know to do it right.
Where to Stay: Strip vs. Off-Strip
The divide between Strip hotels and off-Strip options is the most important decision you make when booking a Las Vegas trip. Strip hotels are convenient, entertaining, and expensive. Off-Strip hotels offer significantly better value but require a rideshare or short drive to get to the Strip corridor where most of the action happens.
For A's fans who want to maximize the baseball-and-Vegas experience when the stadium opens in 2028, staying at a property within walking distance of the new ballpark makes sense. The MGM Grand, New York-New York, Excalibur, and Luxor are all within a short walk of the stadium site at the former Tropicana location. These mid-range Strip properties offer the convenience of walking to games without the premium pricing of the Bellagio or Cosmopolitan tier.
For value-focused fans, the Rio on Flamingo Road is ten minutes from the stadium by rideshare and offers some of the best room rates per square foot on the Strip. The Palms, recently renovated, is a similar distance and a similar value proposition. Both properties have the amenities you expect from a Las Vegas hotel at prices that leave room in the budget for actual baseball tickets.
"The best thing about Las Vegas is that the hotel is part of the experience. Don't just find a bed -- find the right property for what you're trying to do."
Where to Eat: From Budget to Blow-Out
Las Vegas has the most diverse restaurant scene per capita of any city in America. You can spend $15 on a meal or $500 on a meal, and both options will be genuinely excellent. For A's fans on a game-day budget, here are the options that deliver quality without destroying your wallet.
In-N-Out Burger has multiple Las Vegas locations and is the single best fast-food option in the city. If you have never had In-N-Out, a Las Vegas trip is the opportunity. The Animal Style double-double is one of the great value propositions in American food.
Beerhaus at The Park, the outdoor entertainment district between New York-New York and the T-Mobile Arena, serves solid food in an outdoor setting that captures the Las Vegas sports bar energy. It is right near the stadium site and will become a natural pre-game gathering spot once the A's are playing on the Strip.
For a proper sit-down pre-game meal, Scarpetta at the Cosmopolitan makes one of the best pasta dishes in the city. Earl of Sandwich in the Planet Hollywood food court is underrated, affordable, and quick. Joe's Seafood at the Forum Shops at Caesars is the choice for traveling fans who want to splurge on the meal before the game.
Sports Bars: Where to Watch the Games Now
While the stadium is still under construction, watching A's games in Las Vegas means finding the right sports bar. The city has genuinely excellent options for this.
The sports books at Station Casinos -- Red Rock, Green Valley Ranch, Sunset Station -- are the best venues in the valley for watching any sporting event. The screens are massive, the seating is comfortable, and the per-seat experience beats most traditional sports bars. Green Valley Ranch in Henderson is particularly strong for baseball, with a dedicated sports book area and food options that are above average for the genre.
PT's Pub is the neighborhood sports bar chain that Las Vegas does better than anywhere else. Multiple valley locations, reasonable beer prices, and screens throughout. Find your nearest PT's and make it your regular gameday spot. The atmosphere is genuine local energy rather than tourist spectacle.
Yard House at Town Square in the southwest valley has the best combination of beer selection, screen coverage, and food quality of any chain sports bar in Las Vegas. For west valley residents, it is the go-to for A's games that are not being shown at the Station properties.
Getting Around: The Basics
Rideshare is the right answer for most Strip-area movement. Uber and Lyft operate heavily throughout Las Vegas and the pricing is reasonable for intra-Strip trips. The Las Vegas Monorail runs along the east side of the Strip and makes stops at several major hotel properties -- useful for getting between the north and south Strip without fighting car traffic.
Renting a car makes sense if you plan to spend time in Henderson, Summerlin, or the outer valley. For a trip focused on the Strip and the stadium area, a car is more trouble than it is worth given the parking costs and traffic conditions on game days.
The Las Vegas Baseball Experience: What to Expect
Las Vegas baseball in 2028 is going to be unlike any other baseball experience in the country. The combination of the Strip location, the tourist infrastructure, and the 33,000-seat intimate stadium will create something genuinely new. Visitors from opposing team cities will find that Las Vegas is a destination trip in a way that visiting Oakland or Sacramento never was.
Plan your trip early. Buy tickets early. Book the hotel early. When the A's are playing in Las Vegas, the city is going to make every game feel like an event. This is what baseball on the Strip looks like. Welcome to it.