A new development has occurred regarding the future of the Tropicana Las Vegas resort, as Major League Baseball’s 30 owners have unanimously approved the Oakland Athletics’ move to the city.
Back in May, Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc, Bally’s Corporation and Oakland A’s owner Athletics Holdings LLC entered into a binding letter of intent to develop a Las Vegas stadium as a new home of the A’s on the site of the current Tropicana – which is owned indirectly by GLPI through its indirect subsidiary Tropicana Land LLC and leased to Bally’s.
The stadium will reportedly complement a casino resort development at the 35-acre property, with the A’s to be granted fee ownership of approximately nine acres of the site for construction of the stadium.
“Today’s approval from Major League Baseball represents an important milestone in the collective effort to bring the Athletics’ franchise to Las Vegas,” commented GLPI.
“We are excited about the opportunity to work with our partners to develop and construct an entertainment and casino resort integrated with the new A’s stadium on Gaming and Leisure Properties’ property to reinvent the site on the south end of the iconic Las Vegas Strip.
“The arrival of the A’s as well as the new stadium and adjacent entertainment and casino resort, both of which are expected to open in 2028, represents a transformational project for Las Vegas, baseball fans, the local community and local employment, which will build on the city’s reputation for delivering unrivalled world-class entertainment options.”
Bally’s and GLPI will transfer the stadium site after various conditions have been fulfilled, in exchange for the benefits that the build is expected to bring to a new integrated casino and entertainment resort that will be developed at the site, Las Vegas, and surrounding areas.
The A’s will assume all associated design, development, and construction of the stadium costs, while Bally’s will pay all expenses for the entertainment and casino resort and hotel.
Expected to open in 2028, the $1.5bn 30,000-seat ballpark will feature a partially retractable roof and an outfield playing surface that opens to the corner of Tropicana and Las Vegas Boulevard for a view of the Strip.
John Fisher, Owner and Managing Partner of the Athletics, told MLB.com that the team plans to keep the A’s name following the move to Vegas, but he understands the disappointment for the team’s fans in Oakland.
“I understand the grief and anger and disappointment and sadness that our fans have. We’ve been in Oakland for a very long time, since 1968, and we have very passionate fans. This is a really difficult day for those fans. I think, as the Commissioner said, we felt we had no choice.
“We had to have a new home for the Coliseum, which is the fourth-oldest ballpark in baseball. For the last 20 years, it has shown its age. Up until a couple of years ago, we were focusing exclusively on Oakland to try and find a solution. We started looking at Las Vegas after having conversations with the Commissioner about the need to move the process along faster.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity in Vegas. The fans there are terrific, the success of the Raiders and the Golden Knights as well as our own Triple-A team, the Aviators, has shown just how successful professional sports can be in that market. We really look forward to opening day in 2028 and bringing some of the historical success of the A’s to Las Vegas.”
The A’s will continue playing their home games in Oakland until the end of the 2024 season when their lease at their current home, the Oakland Coliseum, expires. The team will then play at a temporary home between 2025 and 2027 before moving to their new stadium in Vegas in 2028.
