Paul Szydelko
Las Vegas is poised for another professional sports team to move from Oakland, Calif.
Four years after the NFL's Oakland Raiders moved into Allegiant Stadium, the Oakland A's have signed a binding agreement to purchase 49 acres just northwest of Tropicana Avenue and Interstate 15 to build a $1.5 billion stadium.
The Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel, which was closed in 2022 and demolished, was on the site owned by Red Rock Resorts. Terms of the deal were not announced, but JMP Securities gaming analyst Jordan Bender suggested the sale price was as much as $150 million, according to the Nevada Independent. Red Rock Resorts still owns about 50 acres of the parcel.
Plans for a ballpark
The A's envision a stadium with a retractable roof and a capacity of 30,000 to 35,000, but no other architectural plans or renderings have been released. The site would also include an entertainment district with restaurants, shops and other attractions.
"Welcoming the A's to Las Vegas would be great news for Southern Nevada as well as our entire state," Gov. Joe Lombardo told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "The prospect of bringing new jobs, more economic development and a historic MLB franchise to Las Vegas is exciting on many levels. As we continue to navigate this opportunity, I'm in regular communication with the A's, Major League Baseball, legislative leadership and local and state stakeholders."
The team is reportedly seeking $500 million in tax breaks from Clark County and Nevada to build the stadium in time for the 2027 season. The Nevada Legislature would have to approve the tax package, which would allow sales and other taxes associated with the stadium and entertainment district to pay off public bonds used for the stadium construction through transferable tax credits.
The A's have been seeking a new home for years to replace the antiquated Oakland Coliseum, which has been their home since moving to the city in 1968. The team reportedly looked at sites near Resorts World on the Strip, another site where Tropicana now stands, and near the Rio just west of the Strip.
"We're turning our full attention to Las Vegas," team president Dave Kaval said. "We were on parallel paths [with Oakland] before. But we're focused really on Las Vegas as our path to find a future home for the A's."
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said in December that the A's would not have to pay a relocation fee if the team moved to Las Vegas, but 75% of the league's 30 owners would have to approve the move.
Sharing a home
Many other details still must be worked out, including where the team would play while the stadium is constructed.
The A's lease at the Coliseum expires after the 2024 season. The Las Vegas Aviators, the A's Triple-A Minor League Baseball affiliate, play at the 10,000-seat Las Vegas Ballpark, an open-air venue in Summerlin, west of the Las Vegas Strip.
The Aviators would need to sign off on sharing the market, Aviators president Don Logan told the Las Vegas Sun.
"Major League Baseball always takes precedence," Logan said. "The fact that the A's are our affiliate makes it pretty simple. We're all on the same team. We all want the best for the A's organization because getting the right kind of stadium where they can generate the appropriate revenues to be able to compete for better players, from a dollars-and-cents standpoint, is going to make us better."
Logan said Las Vegas Ballpark could be modified for the increased use. Changing the field from natural grass to artificial turf, adding new locker rooms and improving the stadium lighting would make it MLB-ready and accommodate both teams on an interim basis.
What can't be changed is the city's scorching summer weather that inhibits daytime games and scheduling headaches with MLB and Triple-A's Pacific Coast League.