How technology will shape fan experiences at the A's Las Vegas ballpark

Mick Akers, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Oct 28, 2026

Published in Baseball

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LAS VEGAS — After helping open T-Mobile Arena and Allegiant Stadium, Vikrant Bodalia is excited about the use of technology in stadiums and how that will translate to the Athletics’ Las Vegas ballpark.

Hired by the A’s last October as senior vice president of technology, Bodalia has been guiding what technologies will be included in the team’s $2.1 billion, 33,000-fan capacity stadium being built on the south Strip.

Seat at the table

Technology has undergone a noticeable shift in importance since T-Mobile Arena opened a decade ago, and that has Bodalia excited about the opening of the A’s ballpark in 2028.

“When I was part of the opening in 2015 at T-Mobile Arena, technology did not have a seat at the table,” Bodalia told the Review-Journal at last week’s annual Tech Summit.

Now, Bodalia said, the sports and entertainment industry has evolved to where he was one of the A’s first hires in Las Vegas, talked with working on ways to integrate technology into the experience.

”We bring in different events, concerts, conferences and baseball games,” he said. “The cornerstone pillar is the technology and how it weaves the whole fabric together from ticketing — we have gone to paperless tickets — to now frictionless markets.”

Tech enhancement

Bodalia also said fans can expect technology to help create memorable experiences at the A’s ballpark when it opens in about 16 months, especially in premium hospitality areas to enhance higher-level fan spaces.

He said frictionless transactions will also be key as the team works to eliminate pain points for fans throughout the stadium, from when they enter the building with paperless tickets to when they make use of grab-and-go transactions for food and beverages.

“We are designing not to have any traditional concession stands,” Bodalia said. “Everything is going to be some sort of a grab-and-go market style, even for hot and cold items.”

Cinematic experience

The A’s will look to increase the entertainment value of baseball games or other events at the ballpark by adding immersive elements for all fans with top-notch acoustics and video boards.

“The (video) boards are going to be designed so that when fans are leaving home, you’re going to feel like you’re watching all those Avengers movies where you just feel emotions and drama and entertainment,” Bodalia said. “So, it’s not about just the win or loss on the field — those are going to happen — but when fans come in, we want to have them leave with that cinematic, immersive experience and go home energized and say, ‘Holy crap, that was one of the best experiences I’ve had.’ ”

Entertainment value

Fans attending games in Las Vegas expect an element of in-game entertainment, as seen with the Golden Knights’ award-winning game presentation at T-Mobile and the Raiders’ pregame and halftime shows at Allegiant Stadium. The experience at the A’s ballpark will be no different, Bodalia said.

“A lot of people are spending a lot of money,” he said. “They’re trying to turn it into a weekend or a week getaway. … It’s an entire entertainment package. Again, like when you watch one of those movies where it’s action, it’s drama, it’s emotions, it’s effects. And we’re going to have to weave that together in how we put our products on the field when we get into our ballpark.”

Player draw

Newly hired A’s president of baseball operations Taylor Smith said the ballpark is not only going to cater to the fans, it should also appeal to players in free agency or those looking to be traded.

“I do think it will become a very compelling destination for players,” Smith said. “I think it will be a really strong selling point for the ability to live here year-round. The golf scene, I think there’s a lot of things that make it a very attractive spot.”