With Opening Night a few weeks away, the new Las Vegas Aviators are just about set for their April 9 debut. After selling out Opening Night in less than 10 minutes, anticipation is building for the former Las Vegas 51s-turned-Aviators. The sod has been laid, the state-of-the-art scoreboard installed, and even the parking plan is in place — it’s just about showtime for the team’s inaugural season as the Aviators and as the Oakland Athletics’ triple-A franchise.
The team has started to announce its seasonal promotions, which include $2 Beer Nights and a return to Minor League Baseball’s Copa de la Diversión, the centerpiece of MiLB’s “Es Divertido Ser Un Fan” (“It’s Fun to be A Fan”) Hispanic fan engagement initiative. The Aviators will once again transform into the Las Vegas Reyes de Plata, or Silver Kings.
The Las Vegas Ballpark is located in Downtown Summerlin, just south of (more like up against) City National Arena, the practice facility of the Vegas Golden Knights. It will provide a wide range of seating options, including 22 suites, club seats, berm seating, party zones and decks, picnic tables, kids’ zone, bars and even a pool beyond the outfield wall.
The ridiculous scoreboard will also turn quite a few heads. One of the largest in North America at 3,930 square feet, it features a 13HD pixel layout and measures approximately 31 feet high by 126 feet wide, meaning somebody will inevitably play a few games of Mario Kart once things settle down.
Needless to say, the new stadium and season are set to add a great deal more to the summer nights in Summerlin. Parking was a question mark early on but the team from Howard Hughes Corp., as well as Summerlin and Metro, has completed a parking plan for the area.
“We have worked diligently with all teams to develop a comprehensive traffic plan that will include Metro monitoring traffic control points within the area to ensure traffic flow, similar to other major venues in the valley,” said Kevin T. Orrock, President of Summerlin.
The plan was devised by a combination of personnel from Metro and Parking and Transportation Group-Las Vegas (PATG-LV), a third-party vendor working for Las Vegas Ballpark.
According to the Aviators’ release, there will be three designated lots immediately adjacent to the ballpark, located to the east, southeast and south, and have an estimated capacity of more than 2,500 vehicles. The Downtown Summerlin valet will be featured the official Rideshare location for the Las Vegas Ballpark and guests who use Rideshare services will be directed to the Dining Arroyo at Downtown Summerlin to be picked up after an event. Overflow surface lot parking will be located on the west side of Downtown Summerlin’s retail area.
Traffic control personnel will be in place to assist with crossing Pavilion Center Drive before, during and after Las Vegas Ballpark events while an RTC Transit Center is located directly in front of the Ballpark along Pavilion Center Drive.
The Aviators open their season April 4 at El Paso but return home for Opening Night and a six-game home stand on April 9. Fore more information or for tickets, see the Aviators’ web site at www.milb.com/las-vegas.
Until then, here is the first month at a glance.
