‘A’s’ Vegas ballpark plans focal community

Article posted by Coliseum, November 6^th, 2023

Image: Oakland Athletics

Construction on the Major League Baseball (MLB) team Oakland Athletics’ Las Vegas (US) ballpark is scheduled to begin in April 2025 and be completed in January 2028.

‘LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL’ stated that the tentative timeline was noted recently during a presentation by Mortenson-McCarthy, the ‘A’s’ ballpark Construction Manager, to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority.

The Oakland Athletics are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California (US). The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League West division. The team plays its home games at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California, US.

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The 63,000-capacity Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is a multipurpose stadium in Oakland, California, United States, and the home ballpark of the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). It is part of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent 19,200-capacity Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880.

The new Las Vegas Stadium is a planned retractable roof ballpark to be built on the site of the Tropicana Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada (US). It is planned as the new home stadium of the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB), should the team relocate from Oakland to Las Vegas.

The Mortenson-McCarthy is a joint venture company that provides construction and engineering services. The company is based in Saint Louis, Missouri, US.

Las Vegas (US)-based the Las Vegas Stadium Authority is responsible for the ownership and oversight of the National Football League (NFL) stadium project. The Stadium Authority was created by Senate Bill 1 during the 30^th Special Session of the Nevada State Legislature. The Board of Directors manages the Stadium Authority.

New York (US)-based the National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference.

‘LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL’ further stated that the presentation also included the construction group’s community engagement plan, with details of how small, local and minority-owned businesses and diverse vendors will be used during construction.

The plan calls for 51 percent of construction hours on the stadium to be carried out by a combination of women, minorities, veterans, and disabled workers, with 15 percent of the stadium construction work required to be done by the small local businesses.

The authority also approved a combined $1 million to go toward a pair of law firms that will handle the negotiations with the ‘A’s’ on various agreements. Both the firms – Hunton Andrews Kurth (an American law firm) and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck (a lobbying and law firm in the United States) previously worked with the Stadium Authority during the Board’s dealings with the NFL team Las Vegas Raiders and the 65,000-capacity Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada.

Drafts of two of the agreements the law firms will help execute with the team – the stadium lease and community benefits – were presented during the meeting. Non-relocation and development agreements will be presented at a future meeting. The non-relocation agreement would carry a 30-year clause that the team would not move from Las Vegas, the same length as the stadium lease agreement.

The community benefits agreement (CBA) includes a minimum annual financial commitment from the ‘A’s’ to the community, paying a livable wage to ballpark employees, workforce diversity requirements, community engagement, and educational programs.

The ‘A’s’ President Dave Kaval sent out a statement which read, “Whether it’s supporting the community needs or ensuring that we are addressing all questions from the policy leaders, we are committed to being a strong community partner and contributor.”

The steps being taken are similar to the early process between the Raiders and the Authority that led to the construction of the Allegiant Stadium. They are also required following the signing of Senate Bill 1 that earmarked up to $380 million in public funds to go toward the ‘A’s’ planned $1.5 billion, 33,000-seat ballpark.

The facility is planned to be constructed on at least nine acres of land where the Tropicana is located.

The Tropicana Las Vegas casino hotel site in Paradise, Nevada is planned to be the site of the new home stadium of the Oakland Athletics if the team relocates from Oakland to Las Vegas.

One aspect of the draft lease agreement that differs from the Raiders and Allegiant Stadium is what happens to the facility after the initial 30-year lease is up. The ‘A’s’ have the right to extend the lease with four 15-year extensions and one nine-year extension. The ‘A’s’ will also have a purchase option on the stadium after the initial 30-year lease expires.

The two sides are also still working on what happens in the event that the ‘A’s’ choose to relocate after the initial 30-year lease is up and if the stadium becomes an eyesore. With the ‘A’s’ ballpark planned to be built on what the Stadium Authority Chairman Steve Hill called one of the most important intersections in Las Vegas, having a decaying stadium located there would be “detrimental” to the City.

An update on that process will be presented at the December Stadium Authority meeting.

The MLB team owners still need to approve the ‘A’s’ relocation to Las Vegas. That vote is expected to take place next month at the MLB owners’ meetings in Texas.

Observed Hill, “I think this is going to be another game-changing opportunity for our City. We look forward to the vote from Major League Baseball. We hope it’s coming soon.”

New York (US)-based the Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization. One of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, the MLB comprises 30 teams, divided equally between the National League and the American League, with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada.

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