UNLV Rebels football team
Who occupied Cashman Field from 1968 to 1970?
Cashman Field Cashman Field is a soccer stadium in Downtown Las Vegas , Nevada . It is primarily used for soccer as the home field of Las Vegas Lights FC of the USL Championship . It was formerly the home of the Las Vegas 51s Minor League Baseball team of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League . The field is adjacent to Cashman Center , an exhibit hall and theater operated by the City of Las Vegas . The complex is named for James Big Jim Cashman and his family , who have been Las Vegas entrepreneurs for several generations . Baseball beginnings . Cashman Field opened in 1983 as the home field of the new Las Vegas Stars , the former Spokane Indians of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League , who had relocated to Las Vegas following the 1982 season . The symmetrical field boasted dimensions of down the left and right field foul lines , feet to center field , and feet to the power alleys in right-center and left-center fields . The ballpark opened with a maximum seating capacity of 9,334 . Its first professional baseball game was a Major League Baseball ( MLB ) exhibition held on April 1 , 1983 , in which the San Diego Padres faced the Seattle Mariners in front of 13,878 fans . The Cashman Field attendance record of 15,025 was set on April 3 , 1993 , for an exhibition game between the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs . The ballpark played host the 1990 Triple-A All-Star Game which saw the team of National League-affiliated All-Stars defeat the team of American League-affiliated All-Stars , 8–5 . Las Vegas Eddie Williams was selected as the PCL MVP . In further interleague play , Cashman Field hosted the Triple-A World Series from 1998 until 2000 . Its final professional baseball game was played on September 3 , 2018 . With the 51s trailing 3–2 in the bottom of the ninth inning and a runner on base , first baseman Peter Alonso hit a walk-off home run to left field giving Las Vegas a 4–3 win over the Sacramento River Cats . The 51s ( renamed the Aviators ) moved to Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin in 2019 . Soccer . In July 2017 , Las Vegas Lights FC , a team in the league then known as the United Soccer League and now as the USL Championship , was announced to begin playing at Cashman Field in 2018 . Lights FC played their first game on February 10 , 2018 , an exhibition match against the Montreal Impact of Major League Soccer ( MLS ) in front of a crowd of 10,383 people . Cashman Field previously hosted MLS exhibition games between the LA Galaxy and San Jose Earthquakes , dubbed the California Clasico in 2016 and 2017 . The original configuration of Cashman Field is more suited for soccer than other former baseball parks . With center field at a right angle and all the foul territory behind first and third base at equal distance , the field is in a square shape and seats are close to the field for soccer . The Lights began renovations to make Cashman Field a soccer-specific stadium in April 2019 after the Aviators baseball team formally gave their 60-day lease termination notice that made the Lights the primary tenant . Other events . Other baseball events . In addition to Triple-A baseball , the stadium hosted the Oakland Athletics first six home games of the 1996 season due to renovations taking place at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum . From 2001 to 2003 , the field hosted the Big League Challenge , a home run derby for star Major Leaguers after the conclusion of the MLB season . Cashman Field hosted at least one Major League Baseball spring training game annually , dubbed Big League Weekend . The Cubs appeared in the game 13 consecutive times , with their final appearance in 2018 . In 2017 , the stadium hosted the Mexican Baseball Fiesta , a series of two games between the Naranjeros de Hermosillo and the Águilas de Mexicali of the Mexican Pacific League . Cashman Field had been suggested as a temporary stadium in the citys efforts to woo either a Major League Baseball expansion team , or an existing team desiring to move . The stadium would have served as home field until a permanent facility could be built . It had come up in the citys talks to lure the former Montreal Expos , Florida Marlins , and Oakland Athletics . However , the park would have needed considerable expansion , particularly in seating capacity , in order to host a team . The substantial costs which would be incurred in expansion and construction of a new stadium , as well as MLB concerns over Las Vegas legalized gambling , have so far kept the citys proposals from achieving success . Football . Though the original Cashman Field hosted several American football teams in the 1960s ( including the UNLV Rebels football team , the Las Vegas Cowboys of the Continental Football League in 1969 and at least one American Football League exhibition ) , it ceased doing so around 1971 with the opening of Sam Boyd Stadium , which was designed for football . In 1964 , the field was re-organized for an AFL charity game where the Oakland Raiders had played the Houston Oilers , in a game that the Raiders won 53 to 49 . The stadium was also considered for use as the home stadium for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League starting in 2011 ; however , the team remained at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney for that seasons only home game . The team again announced negotiations with Cashman for the 2012 season but decided again to remain at Sam Boyd for at least the first two games of the season . The league ceased operations before the seasons other two home games , which Sam Boyd had not yet agreed to host , could take place . Rugby . Cashman Field was named the temporary home of Major League Rugbys San Diego Legion for the 2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and scheduling issues at their normal home venue . Concerts . Several concerts were held at the field such as Jerry Cantrell and Metallica on September 12 , 1998 . Other concerts have included The Beach Boys , Earth , Wind & Fire and The Doobie Brothers Problems and criticism . During the last years of the 51s stay at Cashman Field , players and staff from both the 51s and visiting teams criticized the facility . While it had been state-of-the-art when it opened , by the turn of the millennium it was considered far behind the times . Players complained that the field was hard on their backs and knees . The bullpens and clubhouse were also considered second-class . 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 . It was a single lane , which was only accessible by walking out of the clubhouse to the parking lot . Johnny Monell described the cage as one likely to be found at a high school facility 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 officer Don Logan said , Its 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 . Its 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 that ensuring that the upgrades necessary to keep Cashman at something approaching Triple-A standards would require spending many tens of millions of dollars that would still not be enough to make the stadium an optimal long-term solution . He also added that Cashmans days of useful life were well behind it , and that most MLB teams opted to place their top affiliations in far less appropriate markets than Las Vegas rather than deal with Cashmans shortcomings . In 2019 , Cashman was replaced as a baseball park by Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin . Redevelopment and the future of Cashman Field . In 2017 , the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority , which had been the primary operators of Cashman Center and Cashman Field , turned over all operations to the City of Las Vegas . Since that time , the city has attempted to redevelop and revitalize the site , even soliciting ideas from the public . In 2018 , the site was considered for a proposed stadium for the National Football Leagues Oakland Raiders during the teams relocation bid , however it was beat out by a larger site closer to the Las Vegas Strip . The city , so far , has been unsuccessful in its attempt to redevelop the site , with the convention halls and theater remaining closed , and only Cashman Field hosting events . On June 5 , 2019 , the Las Vegas City Council voted to begin negotiations with the Renaissance Group to redevelop the Cashman Center and adjacent land also owned by the city to feature a new 25,000-seat soccer stadium as well as retail , hotels and residences . If an agreement is reached within the 180 day time limit ( expiring on December 3 , 2019 ) , Lights FC owner Brett Lashbrook has agreed to sell the team to Boston-based Baupost Group in effort to make the Lights a Major League Soccer expansion franchise . Under the Renaissance Groups proposal , Cashman Fields current playing field would remain as a practice field for the Lights FC . Original Cashman Field . The original Cashman Field was built in 1947 on a site at Las Vegas Boulevard and Bonanza Avenue . The stadium was used for football and rodeos before the first baseball game was held on May 21 , 1948 . The stadium was designed primarily for football , rodeo , concerts and boxing with one large grandstand . For baseball this meant all the seats were along first base line . The stadium was home to the Las Vegas Wranglers from 1947 to 1952 and again from 1957 to 1958 . Boxing matches were also held at the facility . The first professional football game in Las Vegas was held at the stadium in 1964 when the American Football League then-Oakland Raiders played the then-Houston Oilers .