Las Vegas Ballpark
Las Vegas, NV
Review by Mike
Las Vegas Ballpark is the home of the Las Vegas Aviators of the AAA Pacific Coast League. Baseball in Las Vegas has an interesting history. There was the original Cashman Field, built in 1947 as a football, rodeo and concert venue, hosting minor league baseball in the 1940s and 1950s. New Cashman Field opened in 1986 and was almost immediately obsolete as the 1990s brought a revolution in minor league stadium design. By the time baseball left Cashman for the shiny, new Las Vegas Ballpark, after the 2018 season, it was considered one of the worst in the league.
Cashman’s replacement, however, is a different roll of the dice altogether. A 10,000-seat baseball palace on the western side of Las Vegas in the upscale Summerlin neighborhood, this is a really nice place to see a ballgame. Due to the extreme heat in Las Vegas, nearly all games are night games. When the sun goes down in the desert, the temperature drops with it and on the July evening I visited, a fresh breeze came in from the west to render the conditions highly agreeable.
The main seating bowl is large, wrapping from foul pole to foul pole, curling in at both poles to create a triangular section in each corner where folks can sit at long tables to enjoy their commissary fare. A grass berm offers run-around space for the kids in right and a swimming pool with an umbrella covered deck resides just the right field side of the batter’s eye. The bullpens stick out from the front of the grass berm. In consideration of the hot climate, the seats are made of mesh to allow for a little air flow while sitting, which is a nice touch.
There is no seating beyond the left field fence save for a couple of rows of bar-style seating right above the home run line, as the stadium pushes right up against a hockey arena, creating a long straight fence that is taller than the fence in right field. Above the left field fence is an arresting scoreboard / advertising structure. It’s a very large, metal latticework affair that holds the scoreboard in left center, ads towards the left field line and LAS VEGAS BALLPARK spelled out in giant letters above that. It’s a striking visual and has the effect of making the ballpark feel intimate, like the classic “band box” ballparks of the pre-1950s era.
There is an upper level with fancy clubs and suite seating. Even this has a bit of a wrinkle with the roof behind home plate curving up and then down, forming an elegant arch, making room for the press box in the 3rd level. With the glass front to keep the martini-sipping patrons refreshed in their air-conditioning, and the gentle, tapering curve, it looks to me like a giant eyeball is quietly surveying the proceedings on the field.
The concourse is too narrow for a stadium of this size, resulting in complete gridlock when trying to move from one side to the other. I also didn’t find any nods to Las Vegas baseball history other than a few small championship banners placed low on the back wall along the outfield traverse. Parking, however, was free, which is always welcome. Palm trees in the outfield, a Vegas-style neon sign above the entrance and a lively crowd made for a thoroughly wholesome experience in the City of Sin.
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2025
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