Like so many other Las Vegas visitors, the Oakland Athletics are reportedly changing plans after re-evaluating their financial circumstances.
The club entered into a new agreement with casino operator Bally Corporation to build a $1.5 billion stadium on the current site of the Tropicana Las Vegas casino. according to the nevada independent,
The deal would reportedly see Bali demolish the Tropicana and allow the A's to build a 35,000-seat, retractable-roof stadium on nine acres of a 34-acre site located on the Las Vegas Strip. Meanwhile, Bally would build a 1,500-room hotel and casino separate from the ballpark, separate from the stadium.
As reported, the settlement would reportedly undo a “binding” agreement announced three weeks earlier that required the club to buy 49 acres near the Strip from Red Rock Resorts.
The Tropicana Las Vegas has been an institution on the Strip since its opening in 1957, with the Rat Pack and scenes filmed in “Diamonds Are Forever” and “The Godfather,” but it has faced tough times recently. It was sold last year to Bally's for $148 million, but Penn national Gaming still owns and leases the land through a spinoff company.
That's probably not how Rob Manfred wanted MLB to play a role in demolishing something with “Tropicana” in its name, but he'll probably take anything at this point if it means the A's have a new stadium.
Why are the A's changing course with their own Vegas stadium?
The original Red Rocks deal represented the death knell for any chance of the club remaining in Oakland, but it apparently had problems of its own. Most notably, the A's fought to get a motion before the Nevada legislature to approve a tax bill that would have given the team a $500 million tax credit.
The team is still facing the clock ticking, as the legislative session is set to end on June 5.
This new deal will reportedly reduce the $500 million tax bill to $395 million. It also reportedly means that the A's no longer plan to build an entertainment district around their new stadium, an idea that has become increasingly popular among sports teams looking to benefit from areas outside a stadium. want to do
While the site and scope of the athletics stadium plans are changing, their timeline still calls for breaking ground in 2024, with a planned opening date in 2027 or 2028, depending on the construction timeline.