A’s Vegas ballpark funding plans set out

Article posted by Coliseum, July 23^rd, 2024

Image: Oakland Athletics

Details have been revealed of Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics draft development agreement with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority for their new $1.5 billion Las Vegas Strip ballpark.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal said the 90-page development agreement, detailed during a Las Vegas Stadium Authority meeting, sets out how the stadium will be funded.

The ballpark will be financed by a combination of up to $380 million in public funds, along with $300 million in debt financing to be taken on by the A’s and $850 million in equity from team owner John Fisher’s family.

The 33,000-capacity New Las Vegas Stadium will be a fixed roof ballpark to be built on the site of the now-closed Tropicana Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada (US).

It is planned as the new home stadium of the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB), when the team relocates from Oakland to Las Vegas.

It is proposed to open for the 2028 MLB season after the ‘A’s’ spend three seasons at West Sacramento’s 14,014-capacity Sutter Health Park.

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) is the design lead, with HNTB serving as the sports/hospitality designer and the Architect of Record on the new ballpark project.

Tropicana’s owner, Bally’s Corp., is in the process of demolishing the former Rat Pack-era resort.

The A’s plan to begin construction on the ballpark in April, with the facility scheduled to be completed in early 2028, to be ready for that year’s MLB season.

The A’s financing plan was reviewed as part of the relocation process with MLB, which saw unanimous approval by team owners late last year. It was not included in the development agreement.

The team will still pursue potential local investors to fund a portion of the project, which would reduce the equity contribution required from the Fisher family. Those potential investors would be given a minority ownership stake in the team, Sandy Dean, a Fisher family representative said.

The A’s were waiting for the draft development agreement to be introduced and for the stadium design process to be further along before gauging interest from potential investors.

Stadium Authority Chairman, Steve Hill, said the board is confident in the team’s financing plan.

As set forth by Senate Bill 1, the A’s must spend the first $100 million on the stadium project in order to unlock the up to $380 million in public funding. Additionally, the last $50 million in public money to be used will be reserved for closing out the project.

Non-relocation update

The Las Vegas Review-Journal further stated that the A’s draft non-relocation agreement was also updated at the meeting, slashing the number of out-of-market “home” games the team could play away from Las Vegas.

When introduced in May, the maximum number was set at seven games per MLB season. The updated figure is now up to seven games every two years, not to exceed four games in a season.

Such games would include international or one-off games such as the Field of Dreams games the league has been hosting over the past few years.

With the amount of time, effort and money being put into the ballpark project, the A’s are looking to maximize the use of the stadium.

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