Ken Korach returns to Las Vegas for Athletics series, revisiting a 1996 homecoming

The Athletics’ trip to Las Vegas carries a familiar emotional weight for Ken Korach. The longtime broadcaster will be in the booth for the team’s current Las Vegas Series, returning to the city where, decades ago, his work with the organization started in a very different set of circumstances.

The context runs back to the Athletics’ 1996 season. With renovations continuing at the Oakland Coliseum, the club began that year with six games in Las Vegas at Cashman Field, then the city’s home for professional baseball. In that period, Korach was part of the club’s broadcasts, establishing a connection to both the franchise and its temporary foothold in the desert.

MLB’s team release frames this week’s series as a circle back for Korach, highlighting how the franchise has repeatedly navigated major changes while still trying to keep its identity intact for fans. The “return” theme is not only about geography, but also about continuity, a reminder that the Athletics have periodically adjusted their home base and routines while maintaining their baseball calendar and community ties.

At the same time, the release links the Las Vegas stop to the franchise’s broader direction, using the phrase “upcoming move.” That reference situates the series within a period when the organization’s long-term plans are again a central topic. Korach’s perspective, as described by the team, turns that business backdrop into something more human, anchored by a specific venue, a specific season, and a specific start point for his career.

For Athletics fans, that history matters because it connects today’s team to a past when the franchise was also operating in a state of transition. Cashman Field in 1996 may not be the same facility or setting fans associate with the modern Athletics, but the underlying idea is familiar: adaptation under pressure, and the effort to keep the same clubhouse narrative even when the address changes.

As the series unfolds, the most immediate “watch” element is not on-field news but tone. Korach’s return to Las Vegas is likely to come with a deeper sense of place for listeners, especially those who remember or have learned about how the Athletics filled a home schedule when Oakland could not. The broader question for the organization is how it uses these moments to sustain engagement while it continues working through its next phase.