The Las Vegas Athletics have a pair of new recruiting tools to retain players and attract free agents.

Their under-construction $2 billion ballpark and the team’s experience/sales center in Las Vegas have quickly become a unique way to woo both players and fans.

The stadium project can be used to show players the vision of a major-league ballpark being located on the Las Vegas Strip, while the experience center in the UnCommons mixed-use development in the southwest valley, allows the A’s to show what will be included in the stadium, which is slated for completion in 2028.

‘Best recruiting tools we have’

Having the two projects of substance in Las Vegas, where the A’s will play after two more years in Sacramento, is a huge turning point for the team, according to A’s general manager David Forst.

“I think this experience center and the site itself are the best recruiting tools we have,” Forst told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Every day that we get closer to 2028, it becomes more real for players.

“You’d be surprised by the number of players that still don’t know that we’ve broken ground and made as much progress as we’ve had. You can ask Tyler, it’s very real to him now.”

As testament to what Forst said, before outfielder Tyler Soderstrom signed his six-year, $86 million contract extension in late December at the experience center, the A’s took the 24-year-old to the ballpark which gave him a glimpse at his future home.

“The excitement of the ballpark alone, it’s going to be on the Las Vegas Strip, plenty of things to do for family and friends, kind of the overall excitement of the new stadium,” Soderstrom said. “I got to stand at home plate today. I got to stand at left field. I got to stand on this new stadium that has not been built yet, and I get to see it come to fruition.”

Attractive destination

A’s manager Mark Kotsay, who played in the majors for 17 years, including four with the A’s, is already rooting himself in Las Vegas, having purchased a home in Henderson last year. He said he can answer players’ questions on what to expect from joining the team with a young core in place and from living in Southern Nevada, including the fact that there is no state income tax, calling the area an attractive destination in many ways.

“First and foremost, it’s the nucleus of the team that you’d be joining,” Kotsay said. “Secondly, there’s a lot of monetary bonuses that come along with being here for Nevada.

“The last thing, really is the stadium itself. The venue is going to be pretty special. If you come here to the sales center and take a look, you get some sense of how dynamic this place is going to be. If you go out and walk the site you can feel the placement and how electric it is on Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana (Avenue).”

Having a home here for about half a year, Kotsay said he knows the area is more than just the Strip, and he’s been taken aback by the community support he’s received thus far.

“Once you live here and get into the community, it’s a really tight-knit, local feel, that everyone will rally around,” Kotsay said. “I think that our biggest mindset in coming here is to be a part of the community and support that lifestyle.

“There’s so much to do here outside of the Strip from a family lifestyle to a cultural lifestyle. You can use the Strip for the entertainment stuff, but you can go out 20 or 30 minutes to Red Rock and go hiking or running. Or you can get out on open highway and bike. For me there’s a lot to be attracted to.”

Dream come true

After being with the A’s organization for 25 years, Forst has seen a number of stadium proposals come and go without them being built. So seeing the Las Vegas stadium rising from the ground on the south Strip is a longtime dream for the GM finally coming to reality.

That reality also will change the way the A’s build their roster, by being able to keep budding stars and attract free agents, something that hasn’t occurred much in recent times.

“It’s really exciting,” Forst said. “When we opened this place (experience center in early December), and I stood in the cube, you have the feeling of being in the ballpark.

“It’s hard to describe how long we’ve been waiting for that and how it changes what we’re doing. We’ve always been this transactional group, where we know we have a good team but then we know we have to turn it over. To get to the point where we don’t have to operate that way, it’s kind of of the reason we do this job.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.