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# Circa Named Las Vegas Athletics' First Founding Partner
- URL: https://www.igamingnews.biz/circa-sports-athletics-founding-partner/
- Published: 2026-09-23T10:32:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-23T10:34:33.000Z
- Description: Circa Resort & Casino and Circa Sports became the Las Vegas Athletics' first Founding Partner on September 18, ahead of the club's 2028 ballpark opening.
- Author: iGamingNews Editorial Desk
- Tags: Sports Betting, Sponsorship

*Image credit: Source: Circa Resort & Casino and Las Vegas Athletics press release. Never imply stock depicts the actual event.*

**The Las Vegas Athletics named Circa Resort & Casino and Circa Sports as the club's first Official Founding Partner on September 18, a multi-year deal that makes Circa the Official Resort and Sportsbook of the team and its future ballpark.** The Athletics announced the agreement on social media on September 17, with a formal release the next day, well ahead of the ballpark's scheduled 2028 opening on the Las Vegas Strip.

The deal centers on the Circa Dugout Box, a premium hospitality space next to the A's dugout, and "Time of Your Life" seats that bundle a stay at Circa's downtown Las Vegas resort with a night at the ballpark. Neither side disclosed the contract's length or value. Further details on both offerings will follow closer to the 2028 opening, the companies said.

Las Vegas already has three major pro franchises with a sportsbook partner, and all three, the Raiders, the Golden Knights and the Aces, are paired with BetMGM. The Athletics broke that pattern, picking a Nevada-only operator with no national mobile app over the market leader that already owns the rest of the city's sports calendar. It is also the first sponsorship of this kind signed years before the building it covers has a roof, giving Circa exclusive positioning through the entire construction phase rather than buying in after opening day.

Circa built its reputation on retail sportsbooks at Circa Resort, The D and Golden Gate, and on taking bigger bets at sharper odds than the mobile-first majors. Its state footprint has grown deliberately rather than fast: Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, [Missouri in December 2025](https://www.igamingnews.biz/missouri-online-sports-betting-live/) and [Arizona in July 2026](https://www.igamingnews.biz/circa-sports-arizona-license-seventh-state/). The Athletics deal does not add a new licensed state, but it plants Circa's flag in a market it already dominates just as that market gains a fourth major league tenant.

"Circa represents so much of what makes Las Vegas special, its energy, its commitment to creating unforgettable experiences and its deep connection to the sports community," said Marc Badain, president of the Athletics. "Derek Stevens and the Circa team have been great partners to the A's, supporting the Club in West Sacramento during our time there, and we're excited to build on that relationship."

Derek Stevens, CEO of Circa and Circa Sports, said he has believed for years that Major League Baseball belonged in Las Vegas and called becoming the A's first Founding Partner "incredibly special."

## A city of sportsbook-branded franchises picks a fourth operator

The arrangement fits a broader pattern of [tribal and independent sportsbooks buying into stadium real estate](https://www.igamingnews.biz/tribal-sportsbooks-nfl-stadium-sponsorship/) that national mobile brands would once have won by default. Circa is not chasing new bettors through a national ad campaign, the [approach that cost ESPN Bet roughly $1 billion for a 3% market share](https://www.igamingnews.biz/sports-betting-audience-acquisition/) before Penn shut it down. It is buying permanent, physical proximity to a fan base in the one city where its retail brand already carries weight.

For the Athletics, the deal locks in a Vegas-rooted partner before construction generates its own headlines, and gives the club a hospitality product to sell well ahead of the 2028 opener. For Circa, it is a bet that owning the dugout box next to a new MLB franchise matters more, in its home market, than adding another state to its license count.

## A sportsbook sponsorship signed before the stadium has a roof

No launch date has been set for the Circa Dugout Box or the Time of Your Life packages, and neither company has said whether the partnership includes in-app or in-stadium betting integration once the ballpark opens. Both companies said more details would come as the 2028 opening approaches, leaving Circa locked in as the Athletics' betting and hospitality partner for a building that does not yet exist.