Diamond Destinations: Las Vegas — Where Baseball Meets the Bright Lights

Las Vegas has always been a city where bigger is better.

Bigger hotels. Bigger shows. Bigger jackpots. Bigger buffets. Bigger promises that this time you are absolutely, positively going to beat the house.

Now, apparently, bigger baseball.

With the Athletics preparing to make Las Vegas their permanent home in 2028, Major League Baseball is about to become another attraction on a Strip that already has more sports and entertainment options than most cities could fit into a small country.

And after just spending two days in Las Vegas, I can tell you something I already suspected: the A’s may be moving to Las Vegas, but baseball is only the beginning of the story.

This is a Diamond Destination.

And perhaps more than any other destination we have visited in this series, Las Vegas proves that going to a baseball game can be only one part of the trip.

The Athletics broke ground on their new Las Vegas ballpark in June 2025, with the stadium scheduled to open for the 2028 season. The $2 billion project is being built on the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue, the former site of the Tropicana.

The new stadium is expected to seat roughly 33,000 fans and will feature a retractable roof, making it possible to play baseball in the middle of the Nevada desert without making the players wish they never moved from Oakland.

Until then, the Athletics are playing their home games in West Sacramento.

But baseball is hardly a new attraction in Las Vegas.

The Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators already call the city home, giving baseball fans the opportunity to see future major leaguers in a much more intimate setting. And that fits perfectly with the Las Vegas experience.

Because just as there is something special about seeing a top prospect play in a minor league ballpark before he becomes a household name, there is something special about seeing a great entertainer in one of Las Vegas' smaller venues before everyone discovers him.

More on that in a minute.

First, let's talk about the major leagues.

The Athletics will join a sports landscape that has changed dramatically in just a few years.

The NFL's Raiders officially became the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020 after relocating from Oakland.

The NHL's Vegas Golden Knights arrived as an expansion franchise in 2017 and wasted very little time getting comfortable. In their sixth season, they won the 2023 Stanley Cup, defeating the Florida Panthers four games to one.

So when the Athletics finally arrive, Las Vegas won't be trying to convince anyone that it is a sports town.

It already is one.

And if you're a baseball fan, the timing couldn't be better for a visit.

Because while you're waiting for the A's stadium to rise from the old Tropicana site, there is an entirely different attraction already dominating the skyline.

The Sphere.

If You Build It, They Will Come

There are buildings.

And then there is the Sphere.

You can see it before you get anywhere near it. You can see it from the Strip. You can see it from your hotel room. You can see it while wondering why the giant eyeball outside your window appears to be staring directly at you.

And then you walk inside.

The Sphere seats 17,385 people and surrounds them with a 160,000-square-foot interior LED display that wraps up, over and around the audience. Its audio system uses 167,000 programmable speakers, while haptic seats and 4D effects add wind, scent, fog, temperature changes and other physical sensations to the experience.

We had the opportunity to experience the Sphere twice on this trip.

Once with Dorothy.

And once with the Eagles.

Both were unforgettable for completely different reasons.

The Wizard of Oz

I have probably seen The Wizard of Oz a hundred times.

Maybe more.

I know the movie. I know the songs. I know the tornado. I know the flying monkeys. I know that if Toto starts barking, somebody is about to have a very bad day.

But I had never seen The Wizard of Oz like this.

The Sphere's version is a 75-minute immersive experience that essentially puts you inside the movie. The massive screen surrounds you, the sound seems to come from everywhere, and the 4D effects turn the audience into participants rather than spectators.

When the tornado comes, you don't simply watch it.

You feel it.

There is wind. There is fog. There are scents. There are haptic effects in the seats. There are falling apples. There are images moving around you that make you forget, at least for a little while, that you are sitting in a building in the middle of Las Vegas.

And that's the thing about the Sphere.

You don't leave wondering whether you enjoyed the movie.

You leave wondering what movie they should do next.

Sphere has already announced The Rocky Horror Picture Show for 2027, using the venue's technology to reimagine the 1975 cult classic.

Personally, I'm not sure that would have been my first choice.

Give me It's a Wonderful Life.

Give me Gone with the Wind.

But that's the fun of the Sphere. You start imagining the possibilities before you've even left the building.

Then came the Eagles.

Hotel California — In Las Vegas

If The Wizard of Oz showed me what the Sphere could do with a movie, the Eagles showed me what it can do with a concert.

And they started with Hotel California.

That's not exactly easing into the evening.

The Eagles opened the September 19th show with "Hotel California," followed by "One of These Nights," "Lyin' Eyes," "Take It to the Limit," "Witchy Woman" and "Peaceful Easy Feeling."

The 22-song performance eventually included "New Kid in Town," "Life's Been Good," "The Boys of Summer," "Life in the Fast Lane," "Take It Easy," "Desperado" and "Heartache Tonight."

The set list was basically a two-hour tour through the Eagles' catalog. If you're an Eagles fan, you know the songs. What you may forget is just how many of them there are. The Sphere provided a pretty good reminder.

And then there was Joe Walsh.

Still electric.

Still Joe Walsh.

His guitar playing was every bit as entertaining as you would hope, while the visuals surrounding the band made songs like "Hotel California" and "Life in the Fast Lane" feel as though they had been written specifically for this building.

The sound was remarkable.

Clear. Powerful. Immersive.

And the visuals were mesmerizing.

You don't simply watch the Eagles at the Sphere.

You watch the Eagles while the world around them becomes part of the performance.

That may be the most important thing I took away from the experience.

Concerts are going to be different from this point forward.

The Eagles lineup also provides an interesting connection between the band's past and present.

After Glenn Frey's death in 2016, his son Deacon Frey joined the Eagles, performing many of the songs his father originally sang. Vince Gill also joined the band in 2017, bringing his voice and guitar playing to the group rather than attempting to duplicate Glenn Frey.

Gill has become particularly important to songs such as "Lyin' Eyes," "New Kid in Town" and "Tequila Sunrise," while Deacon provides another direct connection to the band's history.

It works because the Eagles aren't trying to pretend that nothing changed.

They are celebrating what came before while continuing to perform the music.

And judging from the crowd at Sphere, there are plenty of people who are happy to keep listening.

One of the things that made my Eagles experience particularly easy was the Vibee package.

Vibee is a destination experience company founded by Live Nation, and it serves as the official hotel and concert experience partner for the Eagles' Sphere residency.

Our VIP package included transportation to and from the airport, with an Eagles soundtrack playing during the ride, a two-night suite stay at The Venetian, concert tickets, commemorative items and additional perks.

In other words, somebody else worried about the logistics.

I worried about whether I was going to miss "Desperado."

That is a pretty good vacation arrangement.

The Venetian itself is impressive.

Actually, "impressive" may be underselling it.

The place is enormous. The grounds are beautiful. The resort is directly connected to the Sphere, which makes it incredibly convenient if you're there for a show.

Would I stay there again?

I'm not sure.

The resort can be overwhelming, and getting access to one of the pools can become an adventure unless you're willing to reserve a lounge.

Considering what rooms at the resort can cost, having to pay extra to secure a place to sit by the pool felt a little like being charged admission to your own vacation.

But the partnership between Vibee and the Venetian certainly works when it comes to the Sphere.

For someone building a trip around an event, the convenience is hard to beat.

And hopefully, as Vibee continues to expand, more hotel choices will eventually become part of the package equation.

Here's where Las Vegas really won me over.

Because not everything has to be the Sphere.

Just like baseball.

Major League Baseball is wonderful.

But there is something different — and often incredibly enjoyable — about a minor league game.

You can get closer to the players. The atmosphere is more relaxed. The experience can feel more personal.

Las Vegas has the entertainment equivalent.

You can see some of the biggest stars in the world in massive venues.

Or you can walk into a smaller theater and discover a show that makes you wonder why it isn't playing in a much bigger one.

That was my experience with Piano Man at the V Theater inside Planet Hollywood.

The show is built around the music of Billy Joel and Elton John, and Matthew Banks and the band deliver exactly what you want from a tribute show — musicianship, energy and enough familiar songs to have half the audience singing along whether anyone asked them to or not.

Billy Joel classics include "Piano Man," "Uptown Girl," "We Didn't Start the Fire," "New York State of Mind" and "My Life."

Then come Elton John favorites such as "Tiny Dancer," "Rocket Man," "Bennie and the Jets," "I'm Still Standing" and "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting."

It's a lot of music.

It's a lot of fun.

And here's my official scouting report:

This show deserves a Major League setting.

Matthew Banks and the band are extremely talented, and the show is another example of why a trip to Las Vegas shouldn't be built entirely around the biggest names and biggest venues.

Sometimes the best entertainment discovery is the one you weren't expecting.

Just like finding a kid in a minor league lineup who suddenly looks like he belongs in the majors.

Then there is the food.

Las Vegas may be one of the few places where you can spend an entire day walking around looking at restaurants and still feel as though you haven't scratched the surface.

For this trip, Delilah at Wynn came highly recommended.

Getting a reservation can be difficult, so my advice is simple: if you know you're going to Las Vegas, make the reservation as soon as you know your travel dates.

Delilah is designed as a modern supper club with an unmistakable nod to classic Las Vegas. The room draws inspiration from the glamour of the city's 1950s showrooms and supper clubs while mixing in Hollywood Regency, Art Deco and other design influences.

In other words, it looks like Las Vegas.

Not the Las Vegas of today.

The Las Vegas of your imagination.

And the food was every bit as enjoyable as the surroundings.

We started with the King Crab and Endive Salad, featuring Belgian endive, caper aioli, Parmigiano Reggiano, fresh lemon and herbed breadcrumbs.

We also had the lobster rolls with brioche, pickled celery and tarragon aioli.

For dinner, I went with the burger.

My wife went with the salmon.

Everything was excellent.

And because this is Las Vegas, dinner doesn't simply feel like dinner. Delilah combines the meal with live entertainment, turning the restaurant into part supper club, part showroom and a reminder that your hometown restaurant probably isn't going to have this much production value.

That's Vegas.

There are baseball trips.

There are sports trips.

And then there are Las Vegas trips.

That's what makes Las Vegas such an interesting addition to our Diamond Destinations series.

When the Athletics open their new ballpark in 2028, fans will have another reason to come to town.

But if you're coming only for the baseball, you're missing the point.

You can watch the A's at their new home.

You can see the Aviators.

You can catch the Raiders.

You can watch the Golden Knights.

And somewhere along the way, you may walk out of the Sphere wondering how every concert venue you go to from this point forward will feel like you're watching television on a black-and-white set with rabbit ears.

You can see a blockbuster immersive movie.

You can see the Eagles perform "Hotel California" inside a building that looks like it came from the future.

You can find a terrific show at a smaller theater.

You can eat at restaurants that are as much an experience as they are a meal.

And you can do all of that without ever once having to ask, "So what are we going to do tonight?"

Because in Las Vegas, the answer is always the same.

Something.

The Athletics are coming.

But Las Vegas is already here.

And if the new ballpark is even half as impressive as the rest of the city, Major League Baseball is about to discover what everyone else has already figured out.

In Las Vegas, the game is only the beginning.