The decision to build a new stadium for the team, then known as the 51s, came on the back of many issues both the 51s and Minor League Baseball had with the team's previous stadium, Cashman Field. Players and staff criticized the facility noting poor conditions in the playing surface, bullpens, and clubhouse. The weight room was smaller when compared to other Triple-A stadiums, with infielder Ty Kelly calling it "basically just a room... not an actual weight room". The batting cage was also a point of concern for the players as it was a single lane and only accessible by walking out of the clubhouse to the parking lot. Johnny Monell described the cage as making him feel like he was "back in high school again" and not up to par for a Triple-A stadium. During a 51s game on August 22, 2015, the stadium sewage system backed up, causing raw sewage to flow into the dugouts. The smell was so strong that players were forced to watch the rest of the game from chairs on the field. Team president and chief operating officerDon Logan said, "It's disappointing that Vegas has the worst facility in our league when we have such a great town with the greatest hotels, the greatest dining, the greatest shopping. It's not becoming of this community to have a place like this." Pacific Coast League commissioner Branch Barrett Rickey expressed his concerns about the feasibility of the continuous usage of Cashman Field as a Triple-A ballpark. In a letter to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority which owned and operated the facility, he wrote: "It needs to be faced that Cashman's days of reliable use are well behind it, a conclusion not limited to experts in Las Vegas. The baseball community also knows it and to such a degree that the big league teams in proximity to Las Vegas have opted for Triple-A affiliations in far less appropriate markets." Partly due to the condition of Cashman field, Las Vegas was considered an affiliate of last resort for most MLB teams, something Las Vegas Ballpark sought to fix.
Approval and groundbreaking
In April 2013, the team was purchased by Summerlin Las Vegas Baseball Club LLC, a joint venture of Howard Hughes Corp. and Play Ball Owners Group, including investors Steve Mack, Bart Wear and Chris Kaempfer, with intentions of moving it to a new stadium in Summerlin. In October 2017, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority approved a 20-year, $80 million naming rights agreement to help pay for a new $150 million 10,000-seat ballpark. The official groundbreaking was held on February 13, 2018. By April 2018, excavation was 85 percent complete with nearby grading for parking lots about 90 percent complete. By June 2018, it was on schedule to be completed before the 2019 season.
Opening
Reservations for tickets began in July 2018. The schedule was announced in August 2018, with the home opener on April 9, 2019. On April 6, the stadium had a soft opening hosting a NIAASunset 4A Region high school baseball game between Palo Verde High School and Centennial. The Aviators formally opened the ballpark with a 10–2 win against the Sacramento River Cats on April 9 before a sellout crowd of 11,036. Las Vegas secured the win with a five-run second inning in which Skye Bolt scored the eventual winning run when he came home on a fielding error. Aviators pitchers Chris Bassitt and Daniel Mengden combined to strikeout 14 Sacramento batters. The first home run in ballpark history was hit by Zach Green of the Sacramento River Cats on April 11 in the top of the eighth inning. In the same game, Sean Murphy hit the first Aviators' home run in ballpark history in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Amenities and layout
Las Vegas Ballpark includes 22 suites, 400 club-level seats and 350 party deck seats, a center field pool, kids' zone, and several bars. The ballpark features 4Topps Premium Seating breathable mesh seats, with 8,200 seats installed it is the first stadium in sports history with all seats made from breathable mesh. The ballpark's total seating capacity is 10,000. There is a concourse that wraps around the playing field. The field is recessed below the street-level concourse so it can be viewed from the entrances and seats. Las Vegas Ballpark has the largest video board in minor league baseball at. The Daktronics video board is high by wide and features a 13 HD pixel layout. There are LED ribbon boards installed on the facings of each side of the upper deck; these are used to display the inning, score, count, and advertisements. The stadium also has indoor batting cages, a weight room and a rehabilitation center. The bullpen for each team is in right field. The park dimensions are to right and left field, and to left-center and to center. The home run wall, with the exception of left field where the wall is high, is high.
