Agreements reached on Las Vegas ballpark

Article posted by Coliseum, January 3^rd, 2025

Image: Bjarke Ingels Group and Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics’ relocation to Las Vegas has moved a step closer with the approval of a trio of agreements required for ballpark construction to begin.

The Review Journal said the Las Vegas Stadium Authority approved the development, non-relocation and lease agreements for the A’s planned $1.75 billion ballpark.

The agreements detail how the planned Strip stadium will be built and how the team’s tenure in Las Vegas will be regulated.

The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the ‘A’s’) are an American professional baseball team based in West Sacramento, California (US). The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division.

The team will play its home games at the 14,014-capacity Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento for the 2025-2027 seasons before its permanent move to Las Vegas.

The 33,000-capacity New Las Vegas Stadium is a future fixed roof ballpark to be built on the site of the former Tropicana Las Vegas (a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It operated from 1957 to 2024) on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada (US). Once the A’s start playing in the Vegas ballpark they will be known as the Las Vegas Athletics.

Las Vegas Stadium Authority Chairman Steve Hill said after the approvals were given, “It’s a really significant day for Las Vegas, for Nevada.

“There will be more of that. We’ll have the ground-breaking, we’re going to have a (stadium) topping off party and were going to have Opening Day. We’re going to have many years of Major League Baseball.”

The Review Journal further stated that the lease and non-relocation agreements are for an initial term of 30 years, with the ability to extend the lease multiple times, up to 99 years.

There are stipulations to what occurs if the A’s try to relocate before the lease is up or if the stadium becomes unplayable for a variety of reasons and what the team could do during that time.

Costs for stadium construction are estimated at $1.75 billion, which is a $250 million increase from the initial estimate of $1.5 billion.

A’s owner John Fisher and his family will be responsible for $1.4 billion of the cost. The remaining $350 million will be covered by public funding that was signed into law by Senate Bill 1 in Nevada in 2023.

The cost increase accounts for 70,000 square feet of additional programming, including:

Fan amenities spaces, including additional club spaces and additional suites and unique GA experiences to provide an exceptional experience across all price points.
Facilitating a split lower bowl to have seats be as close to the field as possible.
Operational spaces, including additions to player amenities that are intended to be among the best in baseball.
Spaces for public and private events beyond baseball games.
Under seat cooling (a first in an MLB ballpark) for maximum fan comfort, in addition to the design that will maximize natural light while protecting fans from the direct sun with a north orientation and covered roof.
Additional audio-visual investment.
Acoustic improvements in support of the ballpark being available as a premier concert venue.

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