In a move that seems to make their desired relocation to Las Vegas more likely, the Oakland A's have struck an agreement with the Bally's Corporation to build a new baseball stadium on the Strip. The agreement, announced by Bally's on Monday, is the latest twist in the team's attempts to leave the city they've called home for more than half a century.
In April, the club entered what was characterized as a binding agreement to purchase land for a ballpark on Tropicana Avenue from Red Rocks Resorts and parent company Station Casinos. However, in early May, the club began exploring backup options to the Red Rocks property, in large measure because they had been unsuccessful in securing their desired figure of $500 million in public funding for the stadium project. Now, they've lowered their reported ask to $395 million worth of public money, likely in form of tax credits and the creation of a special taxation district to defray construction costs. That's led to them the Bally's site on the other side of Tropicana Avenue from their original target location.
The Bally's statement released on Monday reads in part:
"Bally's and GLPI will assign approximately nine acres of the 35-acre site located on Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue to the Oakland Athletics or a related stadium authority. The new ballpark will accommodate approximately 30,000 fans. This groundbreaking agreement is subject to the passing of legislation for public financing and related agreements, and approval of relocation by Major League Baseball. As part of the agreement, Bally's retains the ability to assign the rights to all aspects of this development and has received material interest from development partners."
The statement also claims that the ballpark is projected to host "more than 2.5 million fans and visitors annually." However, that figure would exceed the stadium's stated capacity of "approximately 30,000" multiplied across 81 home games for a single season.
In that same statement, A's team president Dave Kaval said:
"We are excited about the potential to bring Major League Baseball to this iconic location. We are thrilled to work alongside Bally's and GLPI, and look forward to finalizing plans to bring the Athletics to Southern Nevada."
This latest development, however, doesn't mean a move to Las Vegas is assured. The A's will likely receive approval from other MLB clubs for the move given that commissioner Rob Manfred has already expressed support for the relocation effort. The bid to secure public funding, though, could be more challenging even with the most modest goal of $395 million as a target. Clarity on that front could be forthcoming:
According to my colleagues in Carson City, NV, the hold up on the bill for the @Athletics stadium is working out the public's $395 million share of the financing, completing a transportation mobility study and figuring out parking. A draft is expected by Monday. pic.twitter.com/3jBlojK0lY
— Michael Colbruno ☮️ (@MikeOpera) May 16, 2023
Current hurdles aside, the A's aim to have a new Las Vegas stadium completed in time for the 2027 season. Their lease in Oakland runs through the 2024 season, and they may look to bridge the gap between venues by playing the 2025 and 2026 seasons at the home of their current Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas.
If the A's succeed in relocating to Las Vegas, they will become just the second Major League Baseball team in recent history to move across state lines. The most recent occurrence saw the Montreal Expos, then owned by the league, relocate to Washington, D.C. and become the Nationals. That move took place before the 2005 season.
