Las Vegas Aviators® open 39th season of professional baseball in the Silver State on Thursday, May 6 vs. Sacramento at Las Vegas Ballpark®
(Las Vegas, NV) – May 3, 2021 – The Las Vegas Aviators® professional baseball team of Triple-A West (formerly the Pacific Coast League, PCL), Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, will host the Sacramento River Cats, Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, in the 39th season of professional baseball
(Las Vegas, NV) – May 3, 2021 – The Las Vegas Aviators® professional baseball team of Triple-A West (formerly the Pacific Coast League, PCL), Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, will host the Sacramento River Cats, Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, in the 39th season of professional baseball in the Silver State, on Thursday, May 6 at 7:05 p.m. at Las Vegas Ballpark®. The first homestand will consist of the six-game series against the River Cats from Thursday through Tuesday, May 6-11. All games will begin at 7:05 p.m. except for Sunday, May 9 (Mother’s Day) at 12:05 p.m.
The season and home opener on Thursday, May 6 will feature the first of 10 games broadcast live on YurView on Cox Channel 14 and 1014 in high-definition.
The Aviators will return to the field for the first time in nearly 20 months. The last Triple-A game that was played at Las Vegas Ballpark was on Sunday, September 8, 2019. Sacramento defeated Las Vegas, 7-3, in the deciding game of the best-of-five PCL Conference Championship series.
The 2021 season will feature six-game series against opponents from Thursday-Tuesday and off days on Wednesday for a total of 120 games (60-home; 60-away).
The Aviators are in their 39th season of professional baseball in the Silver State and have the proud distinction of being the longest enduring franchise in the history of professional sports in the state of Nevada.
TRIPLE-A WEST: Formerly the Pacific Coast League (118 years, 1903-2020), Triple-A West will consist of two divisions for a total of 10 teams. Western Division: Las Vegas Aviators, Reno Aces, Sacramento River Cats, Salt Lake Bees, Tacoma Rainiers; Eastern Division: Albuquerque Isotopes, El Paso Chihuahuas, Oklahoma City Dodgers, Round Rock Express, Sugar Land Skeeters.
FIRST HOMESTAND PROMOTIONS:
Friday, May 7: Postgame FIREWORKS show!
Tuesday, May 11: Las Vegas Reyes de Plata (“Silver Kings”)
LAS VEGAS AVIATORS LEAD 2019 MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL IN HOME ATTENDANCE:
The Aviators led Triple-A baseball (30 teams: 16 in PCL; 14 in International League) and all minor league baseball in total home attendance (650,934) and average (9,299 in 70 dates).
The Columbus Clippers, Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, led the IL in total home attendance and average (590,504 – 8,684 average in 68 dates).
2019 LAS VEGAS BALLPARK ATTENDANCE: In 70 dates, Las Vegas total was 650,934 for an average of 9,299
(47 sellouts). The Las Vegas franchise has reached the 300,000 plateau in “home” attendance in all 37 seasons (1983-2019; 2020 season canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic). The all-time attendance total now stands at 12,651,945.
In 36 seasons at Cashman Field (1983-2016), the attendance total was 12,001,011.
Copa de la Diversión, MiLB’s season-long “Fun Cup” celebration of Hispanic communities across the baseball landscape, returns in 2021 with its most packed itinerary yet. Nearly two-thirds of Minor League teams will participate in the initiative this year -- the largest percentage of clubs in the five-year history of the program -- and the logos, uniforms and identities are as vibrant than ever.
Las Vegas Reyes de Plata (“Silver Kings’’): The Aviators will transform to Reyes de Plata and will take the field celebrating the city and state’s pioneering history at the forefront of the precious metal mining business that continues to define the Silver State today.
Minor League Baseball announced on Feb. 18, 2019 the second annual Copa de la Diversión® (Fun Cup™) event series that took place during the 2019 campaign. MiLB, on July 24, 2017, launched Es Divertido Ser Un Fan, a new multi-cultural fan engagement platform aimed at specifically connecting with Hispanic/Latino baseball fans in 160 markets throughout the U.S. and Canada. The program debuted in August 2017 in select MiLB markets, including Las Vegas, Charlotte, North Carolina; Kane County, Illinois; and Visalia, California, with national expansion implemented in the 2018 season.
Following the homestand, the Aviators will embark on their first road trip of the season to Northern Nevada to face intrastate rival, Reno Aces, Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The six-game series at Greater Nevada Field will be from Thursday-Tuesday, May 13-18. The Silver State Diamond Challenge and accompanying trophy (Silver Plate Trophy) will return for the 12th season (inaugural season in 2009). In 2019, the Aviators won the series 11-games-to-5 and retained "The Silver Plate Trophy."
The Aviators will broadcast all games on Lotus Broadcasting on Raider Nation Radio AM 920, which will carry live all 120 regular season games. Also, all games will be available on the Aviators website (Major League Baseball Advanced Media, MLBAM) at www.aviatorslv.com. Russ Langer, the 10-time Nevada Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA), is in his 21st season behind the microphone calling Aviators baseball.
All Aviators games (home & away) will also be broadcast on MiLB.TV via aviatorslv.com.
Aviators Season Ticket Holders: Aviators season ticket holders were offered a presale to select seats for the reduced capacity games in May. Full season, half season and quarter season plans will be able to use their account credit as a ticket bank. These purchases will not require any additional payments. Aviators season ticket holders will log in to their Aviators Account Manager at www.aviatorslv.com/myaccount to select their seats and games. Each account will be allowed to purchase up to four tickets for each game based on availability.
VIP members, including Club seats, Home Plate Diamond, Sponsorship and Club Access accounts will be placed into a similar location to their season tickets. Games will be added to your Aviators Account Manager and rotated to ensure each account holder has a chance to attend in a similar location. Additional purchase options may be available for VIP members based on availability.
Individual Game Tickets went on sale Monday, May 3 at noon Pacific through Ticketmaster www.ticketmaster.com
The individual game tickets will have an extremely limited availability for the 12 May home games (May 6-11 vs. Sacramento & May 20-25 vs. Salt Lake).
Hospitality group areas, including suites, party decks and the pool area in right-center field are available by calling the Aviators administrative offices at (702) 943-7200.
The Aviators will begin the 2021 season with reduced capacity at Las Vegas Ballpark in accordance with State and local COVID-19 guidelines. During the season, as capacity increases, ticket policies and procedures will change, and updates will be sent out at that time.
FACE COVERINGS ARE MANADATORY AT THE LAS VEGAS BALLPARK - - Per Nevada Governor's Mask Requirement outlined in Directive 024
Official licensed Aviators team merchandise is available on the “Team Shop” section of the website at www.aviatorslv.com.
About Las Vegas Aviators®
The Las Vegas Aviators® have the proud distinction of being the longest enduring franchise in the history of professional sports in the state of Nevada. The 2021 campaign will mark the 39th season in the Silver State as a proud member of Triple-A professional baseball of Triple-A West (formerly the Pacific Coast League, PCL) and the second season in Las Vegas Ballpark (10,000). The Aviators led all minor league baseball in 2019 attendance with a total of 650,934 for an average of 9,299. Las Vegas recorded 47 sellouts and 23 crowds of 10,000+.
The Stars (1983-2000)/51s (2001-18)/Aviators (2019) have reached the 300,000 mark in “home” attendance in all 37 seasons (36 seasons at Cashman Field, 1983-2018; Las Vegas Ballpark, 2019). The Aviators are also in their second season as the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics and the franchise won the PCL championship in 1986 and 1988.
About Las Vegas Ballpark®
Las Vegas Ballpark®, located on eight acres in Downtown Summerlin® just south of City National Arena – practice facility for the Vegas Golden Knights, is the home of the Las Vegas Aviators®, the city's professional Triple-A baseball team of Triple-A West (formerly the Pacific Coast League, PCL) and affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. The team is wholly owned by The Howard Hughes Corporation®, developer of the award-winning master-planned community of Summerlin® and developer of Las Vegas Ballpark. With a wide range of seating options including 22 suites, club seats, berm seating, party zones and decks, picnic tables, kids' zone, bars and a pool beyond the outfield wall, Las Vegas Ballpark boasts a capacity of 10,000. Designed to host a variety of events in addition to baseball, the site is landscaped to complement the surrounding master-planned community. The site is easily accessed from all regions of the valley via the 215 Beltway. For more on Las Vegas Ballpark, visit www.thelvballpark.com.
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Contact:
Jim Gemma
Media Relations Director
Las Vegas Aviators, Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics
(702) 493-4510