Will Athletics actually bring stars to Las Vegas? 'We won't have trouble recruiting'

LAS VEGAS — I’m walking around in the desert heat with a hard hat on my head, boots on my feet, gloves on my hands, sunglasses on my face, looking out at 600 construction workers roaming nine acres of dirt with 350,000-pound beams hanging overhead, and seeing the Athletics’ future on the Las Vegas strip.This is the site of the Athletics’ new home in Vegas that could be completed next summer, well ahead of their move-in date in 2028, and it will be a ballpark like no other. It’s shaped like an indoor amphitheater with a towering glass curtain wall with gorgeous views of the Strip, along with the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in the distance.

It will be a fully enclosed dome without a retractable roof, where baseballs will have normal carry in the climate-controlled conditions, unlike playing outdoors in Summerlin, Nevada, where routine fly balls became moon shots this past week. The ballpark is located on the most populated intersection on the Strip – the southeast corner of Las Vegas Blvd. and Tropicana Blvd.

There will be air conditioning circulating underneath each seat, and the intimacy of a 30,000-seat arena – the smallest ballpark in MLB.There will be 44 luxury suites, including two that are adjacent to the dugouts, close enough where you could whisper your thoughts on late-game strategy and pitching changes to the manager at the end of the bench.There will be celebrities, entertainers and high-rollers in the stands, a young, entertaining team on the field, resurrecting memories of the days of Rickey, Reggie, Stew, Rollie, Catfish, Big Mac and Eck.

This $2 billion joint will be surrounded by an entertainment district along with a Bally’s resort and casino. It should immediately become the ultimate destination for the game’s marquee free agents, with players on opposing teams already telling A’s players to pass the word they want to come.“Let’s just say," A’s president Marc Badain tells USA TODAY Sports, “we won’t have trouble recruiting."

The A’s may