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The Oakland Athletics have signed another agreement to advance their plans to move to Las Vegas and build a new stadium.
Bally’s Corporation announced Monday that it has reached an agreement with the A’s for the project, which would see a 30,000-seat stadium built on the site that housed the Tropicana.
Mick Akers @mickakers
The chairman of Bally’s Corp. that Soo Kim said the A’s ballpark will be built on 9 acres of the 35-acre Tropicana site. Build in the southeast corner of the lot where the circle is below. #vegas #athletics #mlb https://t.co/K7xMYOT6Bx pic.twitter.com/oNscByy20r
Bally’s president George Papanier said in a statement:
“We are honored to have been chosen to partner with the Oakland Athletics on this huge step to help bring Major League Baseball to the great city of Las Vegas, and to be part of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to own a professional baseball team. located within a short walk of the Las Vegas Strip.”
One major obstacle remains, however.
While it’s safe to assume that MLB will officially approved the A’s move in time, Monday’s announcement acknowledged that the stadium plan “is subject to the passage of legislation for public financing and related agreements.”
The Nevada Independent’s Howard Stutz reports that the area plan carries a price tag of $1.5 billion with $395 million in public financing. The latter figure was reduced from the $500 million in the original outline.
Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft rejected the initial projection.
“That’s something they’ve done,” he said in April. “You don’t always get what you want. And I think that’s probably what happens with $500 million.”
Naft also suggested local politicians may be in a position of strength because there doesn’t seem to be an available alternative for the Athletics in Oakland.
The Speaker of the Nevada Assembly, Steve Yeager, told the Nevada Independent that the team could leave some time to get the necessary legislative approval.
“No concrete plan has been presented to the legislature,” he said. “And I also read the media, and it seems like every story talks about it in a different way. So I think, until there’s some kind of concrete question, it’s not really talked about much.”
What the Athletics want is clear, and Monday represents another step toward achieving their goals. But playing Sin City—at least within the presented vision—remains far from reality.
