MLB News: Fresh A’s Stadium Renderings Include View of New Las Vegas Casino
The former Oakland Athletics are moving forward with their relocation to Las Vegas - slowly. The team will play out of a former Triple-A ballpark in Sacramento until the new stadium's planned opening in time for the 2028 season.
Exactly what that stadium will look like is still anyone's guess, but new ballpark renderings released Thursday offered further clues.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal , the renderings submitted to Clark County depict the $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat ballpark located near the center rear on the 35-acre site of the recently imploded Tropicana resort. New Bally's hotel towers are also planned for the northeast and southwest corners of the site.
The new renderings are the most detailed yet. But much remains unknown.
In a recent interview with the Nevada Independent , A's owner John Fisher "said the A's are working on designs for the interior of the stadium, including food and beverage outlets and club spaces."
More news: Former Players, Celebrities Speak Out About Athletics' Exit From Oakland
Even more uncertain is how Fisher will produce all the money needed to finance the project - to say nothing of bankrolling a major league payroll in the years that follow.
According to the Independent, which cited a "team source," the A's are expected to provide written confirmation of the financing for the ballpark in December. The financing needs to be in place before construction on the ballpark can begin. The site plans did not list dates when construction would begin on any of the phases of the ballpark or hotel projects, according to the Review-Journal .
Also absent from the new renderings: parking.
According to the Review-Journal , the plan calls for only 2,500 spaces of onsite parking spread among two garages and a surface lot. Of the 2,870 offsite spaces needed for event attendees (not including 1,500 ballpark employees), the report estimates that 9,328 fans will walk to the stadium from surrounding parking garages.
Since the 1990s - a time that predated Fisher's majority ownership of the franchise - the A's had sought a new ballpark in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Several suitable sites were identified, but financing and legal red tape repeatedly presented obstacles too difficult for team or civic leaders to overcome.
In 2021, Fisher explored relocation options, eventually honing in on Las Vegas. In 2023, the A's officially announced their move to a future stadium on the Tropicana site, marking a significant shift in Major League Baseball's landscape.
For more MLB news, visit Newsweek Sports .
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This story was originally published October 17, 2024, 1:46 PM.
