Las Vegas is closer to getting its own “Field of Dreams.” After decades of trying to lure Major League Baseball to Southern Nevada, the Oakland Athletics have struck a deal to build a new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip.
The A’s have committed to relocate to Las Vegas and build a $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat stadium on at least nine acres on the site of the Tropicana hotel. That site is 35 acres in total.
Bally’s, which owns the Tropicana, has offered the A’s the nine acres for free. That planned stadium land is worth $180 million. Bally’s, which also owns Gaming and Leisure, Inc., has given the A’s the additional option of more land for a retractable roof.
In June, the Nevada Legislature passed Senate Bill 1, which would allow for $380 million of public funds to go to the A’s planned stadium. Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed the bill into law the same month.
The A’s organization is planning to have the new Las Vegas ballpark opened by 2028. Construction would begin by 2025. While the A’s will play in Oakland through the 2024 season, the team has not determined where they will play the three seasons after that – and prior to the Las Vegas’ ballpark’s 2028 opening – according to the Athletics organization.
Why Las Vegas?
Las Vegas has become a boom town for professional sports with the NHL expansion of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, followed by the NFL’s Raiders arrival in 2020. The Raiders also departed Oakland for Las Vegas. Add to that the Super Bowl coming to Las Vegas in February, along with the Formula 1 race in November, and Las Vegas has become “a sports and entertainment capital of the world,” the Athletics’ organization says.
Major League Baseball, or MLB, also gave the A’s a push toward a Vegas relocation after two years of talks in Oakland, according to the baseball club.
“At the same time, MLB asked us to consider a new venue in the alternate market of Las Vegas,” the Athletics state. “The MLB and the (Major League Baseball Players Association) imposed a deadline of January 2024 to secure a binding agreement for a new ballpark.”
The lack of a deal in Oakland, combined with the Bally’s land offer, made Las Vegas the frontrunner for the A’s new ballpark, the A’s organization maintains. The passage of SB 1 for the $380 million in public funding solidified the move to Las Vegas.
The economic impact of the A’s move to Las Vegas is estimated to be $1.3 billion, including stadium construction jobs, the Athletics state.
Stephen Miller, the director of the UNLV Center for Business and Economic Research, has studied sports and their economic impact on Las Vegas. He says there is still a lot that is unknown about the impact of the A’s big league move to Las Vegas. This makes it hard for him to determine what kind of money having the team in Las Vegas will bring in – once the stadium construction is complete.
“Do attendees substitute buying A’s tickets for some other recreational expenditure, such as a round of golf or dinner and a movie? If so, then it may be a zero-sum game,” Miller says. “Also, the stadium is small at 30,000-plus (seats), but it does fit into the range of seating venues in Las Vegas.”
“Finally, will the A’s attract visitors to Vegas to attend games and stay around for a few days?” Miller asks. “If ‘yes,’ then that is a boost to Vegas’ number one industry, tourism.”
Valerie Miller is a Las Vegas Valley-based award-winning journalist. She can be reached at (702) 683-3986 or [email protected].
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