A’s set to play two in Vegas

LAS VEGAS — The Oakland Athletics return to Las Vegas this weekend for exhibition games against Milwaukee, their first appearance there since announcing the relocation to what the team envisions as its future home city.

The games at Las Vegas Ballpark, home of the franchise’s Triple-A Aviators, feature an A’s team planning a new regularseason ballpark on the Strip it hopes will open in 2028. The Nevada Legislature last June enacted $380 million in funding for a $1.5 billion stadium, and MLB team owners unanimously approved the relocation in November.

Close to a sellout crowd is expected in the 10,000-seat capacity ballpark for the Saturday afternoon game, but breezy temperatures that will drop into the 50s could depress attendance Friday night.

Las Vegas has hosted spring training games since at least 1983, and the A’s played their first six regular-season games in 1996 at Cashman Field because of renovations at the Oakland Coliseum. Because of the planned permanent move, this weekend’s game create an unusual dynamic for players, who will return to Oakland and a fan base irate at owner John Fisher.

“Being from the Bay Area, it kind of sucks, just the fan base and the community that’s in Oakland,” right-handed pitcher Paul Blackburn said. “I grew up going to A’s games, watching their teams in the early 2000s, the ‘Moneyball’ year (2002). They lose a big part of (the community). But on the other side, you’ve got a community that’s been looking for a big-league team. For the people in Vegas, I would assume it is exciting for them to have a team to look forward to.”

The A’s released renderings for the 33,000-seat stadium on Tuesday, the latest step in the relocation process. That ballpark will be on a nine-acre segment of a 35-acre property owned by Bally’s at the corner of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.