A’s detail how the new Las Vegas stadium will be financed

The A’s have released details about how they plan to finance a new baseball stadium in Las Vegas. (Image: Shutterstock.com)

Only a fraction of the total costs

With half a season left in Oakland, executives from Major League Baseball’s Athletics have provided clarity on the financing of the franchise’s future stadium on the Las Vegas Strip. Of the $380 million in public funding approved for the project, A’s executive Sandy Dean told the Las Vegas Stadium Authority on Thursday that the team expects to use only $350 million.

That leaves $1.15 billion of the $1.5 billion budget. $300 million, Dean said, will come from debt financing, while the remaining $850 million will be private equity from the family of owner John Fisher. The A’s will seek local investors in Las Vegas, who would take minority stakes, to reduce the $850 million the Fisher family would otherwise contribute.

something we have been working on for a long time”

While no backers have yet been found for the $300 million, Dean is confident the A’s will have no problems in that area. He says, “We’ve had strong interest from a number of companies that want to participate in that part of the project,” adding that it’s “something we’ve been working on for a long time.”

Swap the Trop for the stadium

The A’s stadium will be built on the site of the former Tropicana on the south side of the Strip. Demolition of the Tropicana, which closed April 2, is underway, with the implosion of the two hotel towers scheduled for October.

Bally’s, which owns the Tropicana, and Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (GLPI), which owns the land, have negotiated a deal for the A’s to use nine acres of the site for their 33,000-seat stadium. Where the facility will actually be built on the land has not yet been determined.

The A’s stadium would be the smallest in Major League Baseball if it existed today; the current smallest venue is the Cleveland Guardians’ Progressive Field, which seats 34,830. On Thursday, the Tampa Bay Rays did better (or worse?) than the A’s, winning approval for plans for a stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida, that will seat just 30,000.

Construction is expected to begin in April 2025 and be completed in early 2028, in time for the 2028 baseball season.

Team without a real home

Meanwhile, the A’s need a place to play after this season, when they end their 57-year run in Oakland. In April, the organization announced it would play three seasons — possibly four if construction on the stadium takes longer than expected — at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento.

audition for the city if MLB ever expands

Sutter Health Park, which seats 10,624 to 14,014, depending on lawn and standing room usage, is home to the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats. The minor league team is owned by Vivek Ranadivé, owner of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings and a friend of A’s owner John Fisher. Many believe Ranadivé is seizing the opportunity to audition for the city if MLB ever expands, or if the A’s move to Las Vegas falls through.

The A’s and the city have a draft of a 30-year non-relocation agreement, but nothing has been finalized. Part of that agreement would include up to seven “home” games every two years — and no more than four per year — in other countries or at special, one-time sites in the U.S. The original number, agreed upon in May, was seven games per season.

During the games in Sacramento, the team will simply be called “Athletics,” with no geographic designation.