A rendering of what the Oakland A’s Tropicana ballpark would look like from the outside. If the Nevada legislation approves the $395 million needed to build the ballpark construction would start as early as 2027 (photo from @SportingTrib)

Bill for A’s funding to Nevada Legislature this week

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

(Monday May 15, 2023)

OAKLAND–The Oakland Athletics and Ballys Corporation struck a deal that will enable the A’s to build a park on a portion of where the Tropicana Las Vegas property is located. That property expected to be demolished this summer.

“The Tropicana has been a landmark of Las Vegas for generations, and this development will enhance this iconic site for generations to come,” Bally’s president George Papanier stated in the news release. “We are committed to ensuring that the development and ballpark built in its place will become a new landmark, paying homage to the iconic history and global appeal of Las Vegas and its nearly 50 million visitors a year.”

The Tropicana is one of the oldest Hotel-Casinos in Las Vegas. — one of the oldest operating casinos in the city — Bally’s president hinted at demolition in his statement, calling a potential ballpark a “new landmark” that would be “built in its place”: We are excited about the potential to bring Major League Baseball to this iconic location,” Athletics President Dave Kaval stated in the prepared release. “We are thrilled to work alongside Bally’s and GLPI, and look forward to finalizing plans to bring the Athletics to Southern Nevada.”

GLPI agreed to fund up to $175 million toward “shared improvements within the future development” of the property, in exchange for a rent increase. As of September 2022, Bally’s had agreed to pay $10.5 million annually as part of a 50-year lease agreement with GLPI.

Bill to the Nevada Legislature to be introduced this week: Nevada State Sen. Scott Hammond told Channel 13 Las Vegas that he has seen language for legislation, and that the public funding portion to build a stadium would total $395 million and include a tax district.

That legislation is expected to be introduced early this week, with enough time to get a deal done during this legislative session. Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred had maintained now for over a year that a move to Las Vegas by the Oakland A’s would be satisfactory for Major League Baseball since the A’s deal with Oakland was not a success, Manfred believes the A’s needed a new state-of-the-art baseball facility.

If the bill for funding is approved, next step will be to begin the construction of the park. If it doesn’t pass, then we will have another chapter of the A’s saga, but as of today, there is little doubt that the Oakland A’s now have bet “all their chips on the table” for Las Vegas.

Where will the A’s play while their new radium, planned to be inaugurated in 2027 is under construction still not certain, and even though the A’s own 50% of the Oakland Coliseum, there is a possibility that they could begin playing at Aviators Park in Las Vegas as soon as 2025, although that remains to be determined.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the lead play by play talent on the Oakland A’s Spanish radio network on 1010 KIQI San Francisco and 990 KATD Pittsburg and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com