The Oakland Athletics unveiled the design of their new Las Vegas ballpark Tuesday, and baseball fans overwhelmingly gave it a thumbs down, ridiculing it in a barrage of memes.
The design’s unveiling itself began with a bad omen, as BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group and HNT, the firm that will design the stadium, sent out images of the ballpark, then minutes later, said the information needed to be embargoed, or held, until Wednesday.
By then, a reporter with The Athletic had already tweeted the images. The Athletics then posted images of the stadium about 45 minutes later.
Together with @BIG_Architects and @HNTBCorp, we have unveiled the design for our new ballpark project in Las Vegas on the Tropicana site. BIG will serve as the design lead and HNTB as the sports/hospitality designer and architect of record.
Images by Negativ pic.twitter.com/mvpiCBXD54
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) March 5, 2024
The images quickly went viral on X/Twitter. Fans compared the stadium design to the famous Sydney Opera House, and not in favorable terms. Others pointed out that building an open-air ballpark in Las Vegas, where summer temperatures routinely approach 120 degrees, is not a good idea.
Other fans pointed out other oddities, such as the white roof, which might make it difficult for players to track baseballs. And some noted that none of the fans in the illustration appeared to be wearing Athletics apparel.
One fan had a particularly critical response, calling out A’s owner John Fisher and saying, “WTF is this? All Oakland Fans wanted was a basic stadium. **** your opera house. What is wrong with you? Everything John Fisher touches turns to ****.”
WTF is this? All Oakland Fans wanted was a basic stadium. Fuck your opera house. What is wrong with you?#SummerOfBoycott #SellTheTeam @MLB @DaveKaval Everything John Fisher touches turns to shit. https://t.co/fByla1iIoO pic.twitter.com/MunYghgPSE
— Relvis Resley (@RelvisResley) March 5, 2024
Other fans were also ruthless in their reactions.
The A's are a joke. They announced a stadium design and had to turn off the replies because they know they're gonna get torched.
Never thought I could stop rooting for a team. The A's have done it until Fisher sells, at the minimum. He's a disgrace. https://t.co/trOL9Qhxyc
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) March 5, 2024
Baseball in Australia? They should sign Greg bird. Feel right at home. https://t.co/zzxy3IkzHl pic.twitter.com/s1wHcJa1pn
— Ray C (@EvrybdyLuvs_Ray) March 5, 2024
“What if we take the Sydney Opera House and move it over here to Vegas” https://t.co/X23QdHxZ0Y pic.twitter.com/3Av8Jks1wA
— D (@dsherm_) March 5, 2024
Live look at the A’s Vegas ballpark when winds creep over 20mph… https://t.co/wP48cElp44 pic.twitter.com/lSNrrOYYTK
— OaklandStadiumWatch (@OakStadiumWatch) March 5, 2024
The As are gonna go all season with their comments off https://t.co/1xesReB0aO pic.twitter.com/PbNB7XGjZ0
— Karl Lindsey (@KarlLindsey7) March 5, 2024
Spending $1.5B on a stadium for a relocating team with a disgruntled fanbase… can’t see this going wrong at all https://t.co/5sgGzsS69z
— maddy 🍉 (@phxsunz25) March 6, 2024
MLB owners voted in November to approve the Athletics’ relocation to Las Vegas. The team is set to play this season in the Oakland Coliseum, then play at other TBD sites before moving into the new $1.5 billion stadium on the Las Vegas strip in 2028.
[Oakland Athletics; Photo Credit: BIG, HNTB, Negativ]
