(Las Vegas) The Oakland Athletics have reached an agreement with Bally’s and Gaming & Leisure Properties to build a potential stadium on the site of the Tropicana Hotel along the Las Vegas Strip.
Bally’s Corporation announced on Monday that it would build a 30,000-seat stadium on the 35-acre site. The project is expected to cost about $1.5 billion and the Athletics are asking for nearly $400 million in public support from the Nevada legislature, which could vote on a proposal this week.
Athletics had already signed an agreement to build a stadium also on Avenida Tropicana, but on the other side of Route 15, which runs along the “Strip”. They were to ask the legislature for 500 million public funds for the 49-acre site, which would include much more than a stadium.
The new deal is a scaled-down proposition, but the location is closer on foot for fans staying in hotels on the southern end of the “Strip”.
“We are excited about the potential to bring Major League Baseball to this iconic location,” Athletics President Dave Kaval said in a statement. We are excited to be working alongside Bally’s and Gaming & Leisure Properties, and look forward to finalizing plans to bring Athletics to Southern Nevada. »
Kaval said he hopes to open the doors next year and open the stadium in time for the 2027 season. 2026 at the Las Vegas Ballpark, the home of his AAA-level farm club.
“We are honored to have been selected to partner with the Oakland Athletics in their monumental step to help bring Major League Baseball to the great city of Las Vegas and to be part of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a professional baseball team just a few steps away. steps. of the “Strip”, underlined in a press release George Papanier, the president of Bally’s. The Tropicana has been a Las Vegas landmark for generations and this development will enhance this iconic location for generations to come. »
The Athletics had been looking for a new home for years to replace the Oakland Coliseum, where the team had played since arriving from Kansas City for the 1968 season. The team averaged less than 9,500 fans this season, by far the lowest total among Top 30 teams in League Baseball.
The team was in talks with the city of Oakland to build a stadium on the beach, but focused entirely on Las Vegas last month. The Athletics’ exclusive negotiating rights agreement with the Port of Oakland for the Howard Terminal site expired last Friday, allowing the port to negotiate with other interested parties for the use of the site.
