Las Vegas Ballpark Design Could Be Sin City’s Top Attraction
The Oakland Athletics’ quest for a new ballpark, one that started in Oakland at Howard Terminal at Jack London Square, has expanded. By all accounts, there’s a powerful chance the A’s wind up leaving Oakland for Las Vegas. The question is what will they build there? The answer may lay in the innovative, futuristic, and exciting designs of Benjamin Garcia.
If you’ve never heard of Benjamin Garcia, it’s OK That’s because he’s a young architectural designer who’s concept for a ballpark in Las Vegas and for the Oakland A’s has captured the imagination of the public. The May 2019 graduate of Woodbury University in Burbank California writes on his website that “I always loved drawing at a young age, my love for sports has inspired many of my earlier drawings. I love working on new projects and solving design problems that come up along the way. You can always find me sketching in my spare time.”
Ben has turned one of his many sketches into a Las Vegas ballpark design concept simply called “STADIUM 51” (a play on the “AREA 51” name of the highly classified United States Air Force facility near Alamo, Nevada said to house alien technology).
On his website, Ben refers to STADIUM 51 as “
Baseball Stadium with a twist. This isn’t your classic Ballpark.
Out of this world exterior with classic baseball interior.
Elegant, clean, mysterious on the outside, a wild party inside. Ready for take off!
Perfect landing spot in Las Vegas, Nevada. A great addition for a growing baseball fanbase.
You have the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, a giant Pyramid, and the Death Star….. now a Star Fighter.
Ben’s STADIUM 51 got a ton of buzz when CNBC’s Contessa Brewer announced that her source at a New Jersey convention said the Oakland A’s put an offer on the Tropicana Hotel land at the Southern part of the Las Vegas Strip. As it happened, Ben’s STADIUM 51 concept art happened to place the venue on land right next to the same Tropicana Hotel. As you can tell from the photo above, Ben’s STADIUM 51 Ballpark fits right in with the entertainment-focused designs around it. As much as the Luxor and Excalibur echo The Pyramids and The Great Castle, STADIUM 51 says “Baseball Future”. Or, to hear Ben put it, “Star Fighter”.
But what’s most newsworthy about Ben’s effort is it threatens to revolutionize baseball stadium design as much as Camden Yards did in its day. Ben’s concept recognizes that baseball has to compete for the attention of the casual fan, and especially in Las Vegas, who’s transient tourism-based population is used to businesses being the hot thing one day, then burning out the next. A baseball stadium of the future has to offer something unique that says “I want to be in there” and that’s what Ben Garcia’s STADIUM 51 Ballpark design does.
Ben Garcia’s Stadium 51 Ballpark Design Is Not Married To The Tropicana Site
STADIUM 51 is not tied just to the Tropicana land; the design concept can be employed several other sites in Las Vegas. In fact, Ben’s working on a new STADIUM 51 concept that will be presented very soon, next Thursday, December 16th 2021, and here at Zennie62 YouTube Live and Oakland News Now. Preliminarily, it can be said that his new design will alter the conversation about what’s possible in Las Vegas regarding a ballpark for the Oakland Athletics.
To see more of Ben’s work, just visit his website at https://ben-garcia.com/stadium-51
Stay tuned.