For the second time in a month, the Athletics have reached an agreement on a potential new stadium site in Las Vegas. According to the Nevada Independent, the A's have a deal in place with Bally's Corporation to build a "$1.5 billion stadium on a portion of the Tropicana Las Vegas site." As part of the arrangement, Bally's would demolish the Tropicana and build a new hotel-casino across from the stadium.
The A's, for their part, are slated to reduce their desired public funding bill from $500 million to $395 million by pursuing this deal instead of their previous agreement. Although that prior pact was said to be binding, it was later revealed to be contingent on the A's securing the public financing needed to proceed. The A's have yet to present Las Vegas lawmakers with a "concrete" proposal, thus delaying their clearing of that hurdle.
The Nevada Independent's report notes that the A's intend to to begin construction on their new stadium sometime next year. That would put the stadium in line to be opened in 2027, although construction delays could push that to 2028. Should that come to pass, it would mark the completion of the A's seemingly never-ending journey to land a new ballpark.
The A's lease at the Oakland Coliseum expires after the 2024 season, suggesting that the franchise could relocate to Las Vegas before the new stadium is completed. Under such a scenario, the A's would likely play their home games at a minor-league ballpark, particularly their own Triple-A stadium in Sin City.
The A's are set to become just the second Major League Baseball team in recent times to move across state lines, joining the Montreal Expos. The Expos, of course, relocated to Washington, D.C. ahead of the 2005 season.
