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While waiting on approval from Major League Baseball (MLB) to move to Las Vegas, the Oakland A’s moved closer to an official timeline. Russ Edwards, senior vice president of operations at Mortenson McCarthy recently presented an update during a meeting with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority.
The current plan is to begin construction on a Vegas Strip baseball stadium in 2025. Work will be completed in time for the 2028 MLB season.
The A’s selected Mortenson McCarthy to oversee the development of its Las Vegas stadium earlier this year. This is the same team behind the building of Allegiant Stadium.
Construction cannot begin until 2025 because the A’s are required to give Bally’s a 12-month notice before starting construction. This will give the Tropicana casino operator time to devise a plan before the 33,000-capacity retractable roof stadium is built on nine of the 35 acres of land the casino and hotel currently occupy.
If the A’s receive approval to move from Oakland to Las Vegas by MLB as expected, the team can begin to finalize this timeline. Bally’s could potentially devise a schedule to move on from the Tropicana as we know it by late 2024 or early 2025.
It’s expected that Bally’s will implode the Tropicana and replace it with a new casino and hotel. Bally’s has not announced a specific plan for the future of the Tropicana.
The Tropicana opened in 1957. It’s currently the second oldest casino on the Vegas Strip. Only Flamingo is older having opened in 1946.
The A’s will provide another update after receiving approval to move by MLB in November. Perhaps the team will be able to offer an accurate rendering of the new stadium instead of continuing to use an outdated image.
The first meeting since SB1 approval offers more information
The Oct. 25 meeting of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority was the first since Nevada lawmakers authorized SB1. The bill approved up to $380 million in public financing for the stadium.
Numerous items still have to be negotiated as part of the stadium lease agreement between the A’s and the stadium authority. Under the agreement, the A’s won’t pay rent on the stadium.
The team is committing to play in Las Vegas for 30 years and is responsible for repairs to the stadium. If the team chooses it can buy the stadium after 30 years.
Much like Allegiant Stadium and The Sphere parking at this stadium will be limited. There will be some parking on site but not enough for all visitors.
Similar to the other new venues, visitors can park at numerous nearby casinos. Some Las Vegas casinos within walking distance of the stadium include:
- MGM Grand
- Excalibur
- New York-New York
- Park MGM
- Luxor
- Mandalay Bay
Visitors parking at Luxor and Mandalay Bay can take a complimentary monorail to Excalibur and cross the street to the stadium.
