TODAY: The LVSA board approved the three agreements, Akers writes. With this hurdle jumped, the Athletics now meet with Clark County officials to hammer out “a separate ballpark development agreement” and other issues before construction can begin. “We’re at the early stages with Clark County, but we’ve had several meetings and those have been really constructive. Clark County has been really receptive to wanting to work with us and meet the timelines that are necessary for us to open in April of ’28,” Dean said.
DECEMBER 1: The Las Vegas Stadium Authority Board is set to meet on Thursday, and several important elements of the Athletics’ plans to build a new ballpark in Vegas for the 2028 season will be addressed at the sessions. Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (two links) has the details of the ballpark-related matters on the agenda, including letters regarding the financing of the project — the four letters are from the A’s themselves, owner John Fisher regarding his family’s investment, U.S. Bank regarding the Fisher family’s finances and ability to meet their agreements, plus a letter from both U.S. Bank and Goldman Sachs in regards to their $300MM loan to the A’s to help fund construction of the new stadium.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway is that the price tag of the project is going up, from $1.5 billion to $1.75 billion. The increase wasn’t a surprise, and A’s executive Sandy Dean says the extra money is necessary “is due to combination of adding a variety of features to the ballpark along with general increases in construction costs.” The new features include upgrades to the suites and general admissions areas, an audio and visual system that can make the venue capable of hosting concerts, and the unique element of seat-cooling system.
The costing breakdown will see up to $380MM covered by Clark County and the state of Nevada, $300MM covered by the U.S. Bank/Goldman Sachs loan, and the rest (including the additional $250MM in new costs) will be paid for by the Fisher family and the Athletics. The Fishers’ stake could be reduced if minority owners are found, as those new partners would take on part of the construction costs in exchange for a small share in the franchise. Akers notes that the A’s will be responsible for any further increases in the project’s budget, and Dean said that the Athletics’ outline still accounts for spending only $350MM of the $380MM committed by civic officials.
Three key agreements will be decided at Thursday’s meeting, covering the matters of not just the ballpark’s construction, but also such elements as the length of the first lease (initially set for 30 years) and what would happen if the Athletics tried to leave down by those 30 years were up. These particular elements make this meeting “the most important to date” in the Athletics’ quest to get the project officially underway, Akers writes.
If all goes to plan, construction will officially begin this spring, with an eye towards the ballpark being ready for Opening Day 2028. In the interim, the A’s will be playing at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento for the 2025-27 seasons.
Boondoggle.
Appropriately, the Las Vegas monorail is slated to shut down a year from now!
No, it’s really not.
ktnv.com/news/whats-next-for-the-las-vegas-monorai…
wayne – jimt just made an odd comment on an Angels article and when I responded to it he ignored me. He seems like one of those guys that says stuff just to get a reaction without any desire to engage in logical conversation.
Article doesn’t say that. It says it should be operable and not obsolete, not that it WILL be OPERATING. The obsolesce of the system is entirely true but buries the lede – that it’s a boondoggle that needs outside money or some way to upgrade or justify funding specific to it. Ultimately, it’s an insurance issue, and we all pay insurance for something I’m sure so on some level we all understand that what is not getting insured will incur costs that would be unreasonable for Clark County, and yet in the end they were only able to agree to a one year extension that expires by the end of 2025. Never mind the liability issues that would inundate the city, would you ride on the monorails without insurance, even if it operated? The system is the Disney system at its heart and it might as well be the North Ogdenville system at this point without upgrades.
There are a lot of pipe dreams about the monorail, but the fact that it runs as far as it does – and it does effectively reach the stadium site – is already its own small miracle. Except it ain’t gonna keep on chugging. Costs go up, maintenance goes up, is John Fisher going to step in with money he can’t secure? You can’t issue bonds without a constitutional amendment in this state. With the Raiders one still active there’s little political appetite for more bond measures. Even Fisher knows this – his lawyers didn’t even propose that this time round because it’d handcuff the state. But costs just went up from 1.5 to 1.75 billion dollars and you have the same parcel of land and temperatures hit 120 for weeks as late as 5-6pm, during the baseball season. You have height restrictions anyway due to the airport and by placing it on the strip the message is “park somewhere else”. Did they find some sort of wormhole because there’s a lot of stuff they want but practically speaking can’t be achieved.
And it’s not time yet but the poison pill in the bill regarding the prohibition of the property for hotel and/or gaming purposes and the added prohibition to remove said condition during the 30 years will be litigated immediately as soon as they actually try to start building. You can plan out all the pie in the sky stuff you want, but black letter law got passed on the emergency docket and the land size is constrained and if Bally’s or John Fisher’s lawyers try to pull a fast one there will be litigation, because Vegas isn’t short on lawyers and this being a federal matter (diversity jurisdiction) the whole ‘no reciprocity with any state’ issue wouldn’t matter, and plenty of people have standing. I hope Fisher at least has money set aside for that, but ultimately this is going to be a rotten investment. People don’t last long in Vegas without being sharps at something.
reviewjournal.com/business/tourism/las-vegas-monor…
I have been unable to locate said article/comment. Can you please point me in the right direction so that I may judge it in an impartial manner. Many, many thanks.
That’s because Phil Hartman is no longer with us to run it. Lyle Lanley, gone but never forgotten.
A few extra delays is A-ok for Sacramento Athletics baseball!⚾️
*West Sacramento!
Lindor
Only if you call them the Santa Clara 49ers and the Inglewood Rams, since those stadiums are also slightly outside the larger adjacent cities.
Yay, Sacramento A’s!
*Flushing Mets!?
Public funds for schools are being redirected to build a park for Fisher.
That’s Nevada’s call. They can vote people out if they want (they won’t).
The electorate has never been smarter than asphalt. Voting for schools over entertainment does not happen in this boy’s America.
Why can’t they have both? The LV voters can petition for higher property taxes to pay for higher teachers’ salaries.
Wonder if the stadium will have enough seats for all of their fans … hope they both have enough leg room.
Don’t you worry. We’ll bring our own camp chairs if they don’t. Sacramento A’s, SAY IT!
What’s worse? The Tampa Bay situation or MLB allowing the A’s to run off to Las Vegas?
They’re equal opportunity messes brought to you by Manfred and the suits at MLB.
The A’s in Vegas allows MLB to grow the game considering the massive amount of international travelers. Also, the state of the art venue should draw more fans, concerts and events which will grow the A’s income, payroll, and brand. It’s a no brainer for MLB and the A’s. Nor Cal still has the Giants, So Cal has three teams. Everything is good.
Thats funny. Las Vegas couldn’t sell out the F1 event and that is a sport followed around the world. Baseball? Not going to happen.
Baseball gets paid from media. That is why the LA and NY teams have such hugh revenue advantages. Las Vegas is a miniscule media market.
F1 isn’t even in the same stratosphere as MLB in the United States.
OP: “The A’s in Vegas allows MLB to grow the game considering the massive amount of international travelers.”
F1 is among international travelers. It is far more popular. What isn’t popular is sports among travelers from the US or abroad in Las Vegas. That is not why you go there. Even if you go for a austensibly for a convention, that is not the real reason.
Las Vegas is a gambling and partying destination.
I went to a Mets Phillies game in London. It was packed. Baseball unlike football and other sports is easy to follow. Most people don’t go to Vegas just to gamble and drink. They go for shows and entertainment. If the seats are priced right they will have zero problem filling a baseball stadium. There is a difference with a couple hundred dollar tickets for football and 20 dollars for a baseball game.
If the seats are priced right they will have zero problem filling a baseball stadium.
==========================
I’m looking forward to catching RS games there.
I definitely would fly in for a Mets series. Go to a game, play some blackjack, catch a show. People are always looking for reasons to visit Vegas.
The only remotely plausible argument I’ve heard from the A’s about why Vegas could possibly make sense is that even at above MLB average ticket prices, a baseball game will still be cheaper than every other entertainment option. If you look at say shows at the Sphere or something like Santana’s residency seats start at $300 or more. If you’re in Vegas for a few nights and looking for a break from losing your shirt at the tables maybe killing a few hours in a $150 seat in that weird futuristic ballpark down the street suddenly looks like a semi-affordable option?
@leftfield… Is that why the Golden Knights failed so spectacularly?
Oh, wait….
The Vegas knights is a big hit in Vegas. That place is always packed. There’s more than gambling and partying to the city. There’s shows, just watch the scenery ( people watching on the strip is entertaining enough), go downtown you got Fremont experience, you got roller coasters on stratosphere and other places, there’s awesome buffets, etc. There’s a lot to do in Vegas. Rent a car and see Hoover dam, lake mead, mountains etc.
Bigger than Oakland. So is Sacramento come to think of it. Come on. The whole A’s in Oakland thing was a total fluke to begin with (Charlie Finley got his bluff called and so had to move from Kansas City). This is good for baseball. Bad for the 10,000 A’s fans in No Cal. Sorry.
You do realize that you can do that in many MLB cities. Casinos are pretty much everywhere today.
No one is doing traveling to Vegas for Raiders games now. Why would people do that 81 games per year for the A’s? Tourism is not going to fill a park there and putting it on the Strip guarantees that locals won’t.
If the A’s had 10,000 fans they wouldn’t be moving to Vegas. Ahahahaha!
metsin4
I definitely would fly in for a Mets series.
=====================
This is so obvious that I do not understand why people would bother to argue against it. There are probably millions of fans out there that have moved away from their team’s city and would like to see a game.
If they are LV types, they will travel to LV to catch a game instead of Boston, for example.
More like 8M+ potential customers in SF Bay Area for A’s baseball. When former owner, who cared and spent money on the team, drew record fans at the Coliseum for the A’s in pennant races and the playoffs not too long ago.
So, your statement is just not true.
Oakland is part of the Bay Area. Which is a bigger market. Both Sacramento and Las Vegas are bigger than San Francisco. Are you trying to say San Francisco is a fluke?
You went to one game in London, not 81 in Las Vegas in the summer. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority 82% of visitor money spent in Las Vegas was in casinos and the casino’s hotels and restaurants. Even people coming for conventions are spending their money in the casinos.
Not sure where you are going to baseball games because there are no $20 tickets anymore. To achieve the $2.25 million ticket revenue projection the A’s gave the commission on Thursday, average ticket prices have be in the $75-80 range with a sell out every game.
The Golden Knights are during the winter, only have to sell 17500 seats, and had a winning team on the ice out the gate.
The Golden Knights are also a homegrown team. They didn’t move to Las Vegas from some other city. Locals pack the house, its not tourists at those games. Go to a few and find out.
The problem is sporting events aren’t on the typical tourist’s itinerary. If the Raiders didn’t bring and established, loyal fan base with them to Vegas Football would likely be a failed experiment in Vegas. The A’s do not bring fans along and the schedule makers are going to have to give them prime weekened match-ups (Red Sox, Yankees, Cubs, Dodgers, Mets, Phillies) to draw those fans out. Because weekends against the Angels aren’t going to fill the place
Ahh, but sporting events are high on the gambling crowds itinerary. I’ll bet there’s tons of sports fans that check and see when their team is playing in Las Vegas to tie a trip in with going to a football/hockey/baseball game. Granted, it is more for people coming for the warmer climes in the winter, but I’d imagine Vegas would get a lot of early season (Mar/Apr/May) crowds from out of town, when attendance is typically poor with weather/school being in, in a lot of the northern cities.
The big hotels and casinos will probably buy up a quarter of the tickets and comp them to guests, whether or not those tickets get used and people go to the games is yet to be seen but the locals will be fans, and Vegas is a big city, they should be able to sell enough tickets to draw decent crowds between the two populations, tourists and locals, and the high speed rail should bring in fans from California. As long as there is water flowing in the desert that is.
If you have gone to a Raiders home game in Vegas, you would see that the crowd is split 50/50 for home and visiting team fans. Always.
The Raiders are terrible this year and still sell out every game because of traveling fans. The same will apply to the A’s games if they can address the heat issue of playing summer ball in the desert.
Not at all. Watch. They’ll double Oakland attendance easy. Triple at first.
The Raiders are near the bottom of the NFL in both attendance and percentage of capacity. The salient point is the Raiders are at the bottom in out-of-state ticket sales. Which you would think would be the opposite since their fan base was in California.
Tourists don’t go to sporting events in Las Vegas in enough numbers to fill a stadium 9 times per year.
The other major issue is that casinos are the largest industry in Nevada and they are prohibited by state gaming law from advertising with teams, buying sponsorships, and buying tickets or luxury boxes.
Jb, not many. The NFL says that the Raiders sell the fewest out-of-state tickets.
See, the Raiders are 31st in attendance and 30th in percentage of capacity. Last season was the same. They are not selling our games.
I took my son to the Patriots game there for his birthday in October last year and there were 4-5k empty seats.
All the Patriots fans I talked to were Vegas residents like my son, not people that traveled there like me.
Seam, they can’t triple it. If it’s ever built, the ballpark in Las Vegas will only seat 30k. The A’s averaged 20.6k in 2019 before Fisher started dismantling the team and closing off sections of the stadium while simultaneously increasing ticket prices. I doubt Las Vegas will see attendance over that with the exception of the inaugural season.
Last season the A’s had 7 games with larger attendance than will be possible in Las Vegas and that was with 18k seats tarped off at the Coliseum. The last game had 48k and it could have been 56k if Fisher had allowed them to open Mt. Davis.
Raiders don’t draw fans from out of state. That is exactly why their attendance is at the bottom of the NFL and they can’t sell out the stadium. Go to a few games and see what I mean. Always 4-5,000 empty seats.
VegasSDfan, will the public be getting its cut of the A’s increased revenue from concerts?
Strikes me that Vegas might not need to publicly fund more entertainment venues, but perhaps that is its secret?
Why do you think ownership is going to change its business approach just because they’re moving a team? It’s still the same guy in charge…your best hope is that he spends to build value in order to sell. Which is the most likely scenario.
Not convinced “international” travelers go to Vegas to watch a baseball game. They’ll need Vegas residents to embrace the team. Will 15k+ attend per night?
They can’t, because Vegas still runs on hospitality which runs the railroad 3 shift system (and hence, why there are 11pm traffic jams). Vegas residents typically don’t live on the strip (there are some weirdos who have condos there I know, they’re nice, but inconvenient and mispriced, need a license to be airbnb-ed, and casinos are limiting the patrons who have the most reason to live there – the sharper bettors who make EV+ bets in volume and live off the winnings. I got limited by every sportsbook but 2 after half a spring training. I haven’t stopped wagering, but just not in Vegas. My family lives here and so that’s reason enough for me to be here, but the money – or really, liquidity, which is what’s needed, was misspent on advertising and they took an approach that worsened the situation.
In a sense professional gamblers are part of the local scene and more or less “work” at the casinos, and they are really the only locals who work around hospitality on regular schedules because they get to choose how long they work. Otherwise, the shifts go 7-3, 3-11, 11-7, +- 30 min for pit bosses. At least, this is current as of earlier this year, but it’s unlikely to suddenly change, and applies to Caesars, Wynn, Boyd, and MGM properties at least. I don’t know about the schedules of the others, but they aren’t likely to deviate too much since casino workers have a transferrable skill that is difficult enough to learn so that they are always in demand, but also, most have settled and have gotten used to the schedules. Do you catch an A’s game before work? Or 4 hours after work? And of course, hospitality doesn’t make for most of the employment, just an outsized chunk, but a lot of businesses cater to that outsized chunk, meaning that the oddball schedule is in effect for more locals than what official numbers indicate.
Also, public transit isn’t great and if they don’t submit proposals as to how to expand the 15/Tropicana interchange there won’t be time or resources to do so. But I get the message. You put the ballpark on the strip not to attract locals but to deter them. The Raiders at least play on the side of the freeway with parking and accessible by more than one freeway. The Golden Knights play in a smaller arena and with private funding they have leeway without asking for permission if parking ever becomes an issue. So far it haven’t. They also play half as many games and win frequently and don’t play in the summer. The A’s are basically challenging ever single issue that can be an issue in drawing a local crowd for some reason. I might buy a seat license and season ticket package, go to the Angels games (if Arte isn’t in charge anymore), and sell the rest as an investment. You can’t possibly count that as “attracting local fans”., but I bet that they’ll put out some report to that effect.
Easily. Double that.
Okay, bot. None of that is true.
The A’s themselves “ran off” from Kansas City a few decades before.
They also ran off from Philadelphia to Kansas City.
Great! Then the Las Vegas Nomads it is.
Should never have left Kansas City. That was all about Charlie Finley and his Magnificent Ego.
Three consecutive World Series titles. Finley was better for baseball in his time where MLB, no matter who’s running the show, can’t get out if it’s own way.
BS! A’s had a great run in the SF Bay Area.
especially when the Haas Family owned the A’s
and spent the money on players, a contending team, ads to attract fans, promos etc.
Fischer and Selig’s fraternity brother should have never been allowed to purchase the A’s
There were so many better options.
With Finley you had to take the good with the bad. Nevertheless, he was remarkably prescient with where MLB was headed financially. His worst fears have become fully realized in the modern game (for better or worse).
LV deserves a team. This is going to work out very well.
You are 100% correct – this move is going to bring the A’s a ton of cash flow.
The only people who lose in this situation are the residents of LV and the surrounding cities, like Henderson. Property values will skyrocket again and there isn’t enough infrastructure to support the population growth.
And as the Mayor of LV stated:
The A’s should stay in Oakland.
LV should be awarded an expansion team.
Yeah regarding TB stadium I thought I read on here that there was supposed to be a vote by the city (that was delayed) due to hurricane
Did it happen or maybe it is going down next week?
Sounded like the team owner was ready to throw in the towel and start entertaining ideas for a new city to move to.
Maybe I read it wrong.
A major league team has to play three years at a triple A ballpark. Robby the robot really abused the pooch on this one…and apparently the Rays situation too from the sound of it.
Of course, when you only really care about a third of the teams in baseball because they are your masters, that’s what you get.
It’s not about support, because fans came out for a sub .500 team. It all about the big disparity in local TV revenues. It’s not even about just the Reds. Far from it. Reading is a skill.
Maybe you need to understand more about the business of baseball before spouting off to protect your large market team’s advantage over two thirds of baseball teams.
But I doubt that will happen
Reds fans are loyal fans.
@stop. Not a Reds fan, but Cincinnati supports the Reds better than most metro areas support baseball. Cincinnati metro has over 2.2 million people. Last year, the Reds drew over 2 million, impressive market penetration. (Over 90%) On the other hand, NYC metro is over 19.5 million but the Yankees and Mets draw 5.6 million. Pretty poor market penetration (less than 30%). luckily they have a large base to work with. Give the Cincinnati organization and fans some respect.
I’m intrigued by this seat cooling system
By the time construction rolls around it’ll be 3 holes drilled in the back of each seat for “state of the art ventilation”.
Construction starts in like 6 months.
The Las Vegas Athletics’ ballpark plan is a billion-dollar corporate greed grab, gift-wrapped in nostalgia for the good ol’ days of public fleecing!
I think rays & As should join forces
Become 1 tm & play in vegas
Kill 2 birds with 1 stone
Las Vegas R-A’s???
Vegas Rats!
The A’s-Rays
if i was “commish for the day”, i’d take it a step further. contract a’s, rays, and marlins to one team and move this new team to Brooklyn (yes, possibly angering the three current teams close by). Brooklyn Blue Sox? Brooklyn Titans?
Because the Nets have done so well there
The construction costs went up by 250 million in a couple months? Seems Fishery
They added seat coolers because you know it might be hot. How long until those get broken. You would think each seat would have controls. I might want mine on but someone else might want theirs off. Oh they made the suites nicer for the rich people and corporations that buy them. Does any of the Casinos have suites for the Raiders? Would think that would be a great thing for high rollers to feel better about losing more money than the suite is worth. Or get some celebrity to come to their Casino.
You sound like a fun person to hang out with.
They also are upgrading the GA seats as well, and the seat cooling is a feature no one expected them to do that they are doing on their dime. Most of the features seem intended to generate more revenue across the board, but you seem to think them generating revenue is inherently a bad thing for some reason.
Casinos can’t have suites or buy tickets. Its against Nevada gaming laws.
Stupidest rule ever. Every casino should own multiple season tickets. I don’t spend enough to get freebies, but it would be nice if I could choose an add-on for RS tickets at cost. Heck, I’d gladly pay 10% over cost just for the convenience and probably better location.
Don’t worry. If you are one of the few people that actually travel to Las Vegas for a game you will have no problem getting tickets.
Sounds like David Puddy adding a few items to the car he was selling Jerry I Seinfeld.
PUDDY: (While punching up numbers on a calculator) That chick’s whacked. We’re history. (Back to the transaction) I just left out a couple of things:
rust-proofing..
JERRY: “Rust-proofing”?
PUDDY: (Reading off what he’s adding up on the calculator) Transport charge, storage surcharge, additional overcharge, finder’s fee
JERRY: “Finder’s fee”? It was on the lot!
PUDDY: Yeah, that’s right. (Continues reading off) Floor mats, keys..
JERRY: ‘Keys”?!
PUDDY: How ya gonna start it?
In the case of the stadium one could say, keys?
How are you going to open it?
TWIX!!!!!!!!!!
Was that before or after “Rustproofing? We don’t even know what that is”
A’s Owner is a terrible business man.
$380MM covered by Clark County and the state of Nevada, 250 mil from the oligarchs who control the team and blackmail cities and fans. No writer here ever asks: Is this crazy? Why do the rich few get MILLIONS+ from TAXPAYERS (not the state, or county like it is some bank) who then don’t own ANY of the team? No more socialism for the rich! If taxpayer money goes to a rich “family” of oligarchs the taxpayers own all or a piece of the team. This will stop team oligarchs from blackmailing cities, regions, states, TAXPAYERS ever again. Aren’t MLB fans — and taxpayers who don’t even follow baseball — sick of being suckers? O’s used to be fan owned; packers are. Countless soccer clubs are. Let’s take back our teams and end free cash for Russian-style oligarchs!
The thought process…or lack thereof behind the project as a whole is maddening. The parking situation is going to be a nightmare. They are planning on forcing existing hotel/casinos such as Luxor and Excalibur to use existing parking lots to ease stadium parking issues. The hotels can charge what they desire for the spots, but to add that much more traffic in and around the Strip on a somewhat nightly basis is insane.
As someone who used to make the trek in nightly for work, I really feel for the Vegas residents…and now as a frequent visitor, I feel for the visiting traffic trying to navigate an already overcrowded Strip.
Well, IF people actually go to the games.
380 million of taxpayer cash and not one person says: wait! Taxpayers give a few oligarchs millions and then they own nothing? Imagine if this 380 mil went to building affordable housing for workers. What would people be saying then? You sure know.
Bread and circuses. There’s not much left of an intelligent engaged America anymore but I’ll play fantasy baseball.
Yea people have been having these debates on rich and poor in our politics since the beginning of baseball. The presidential election of 1896 was very much the rich corporate supported McKinley winning. The only decrease that I’ve seen in intelligence is in our politicians and mainstream media as well.
@soso This is literally what the Wizard of Oz is about.
The stadium will generate a lot of tax revenue. Whether it will break even for the government I don’t know (they usually don’t) but to say it will “cost” the taxpayers $380m is just horse hockey.
Its also a stepping stone for the city to grow larger, which means more future tax payers. When choosing to move to a different city, professional sports can be a deciding factor.
“The stadium will generate a lot of tax revenue. ”
Even if this is true, Fisher *chose* Las Vegas. If the local government told him ‘no’, what is he going to do? Move them back to Oakland? Or somewhere else? Las Vegas holds the leverage here because Fisher wants to be in Vegas.
Portland, Nashville, Montreal, Salt Lake City, and even Mexico City all want a MLB team. If Vegas said no, they would all come running to the A’s.
Vegas skipped to the head of the line by recruiting the A’s, and they will be better off in the long run by having a MLB team.
Portland will NEVER get a team for obvious reasons.
Better off, maybe. Poorer, almost certainly.
“Vegas skipped to the head of the line by recruiting the A’s,”
*Fischer* chose Vegas. Not the other way around. Fischer adamantly wants Vegas. I can’t imagine him wanting to go to Portland (small market) or Montreal (not even sure MLB would allow Montreal at this point or why Fischer would be interested). Mexico City is unrealistic at this point. Maybe Nashville or SLC, but again, Fischer’s #1 choice was Vegas. He threw this whole plan in motion with Vegas in mind. Fischer holds no leverage here.
What obvious reason?
The stadium will generate a lot of tax revenue.
============================
Of course. The Far Left posters don’t ever consider tax revenue in their calculation. Folks use to complain about government money used for Yankee Stadium. I’d bet serious money that NYS/NYC made back their investment many times over.
Joe,
It’s not a Far Left vs. Far Right argument. It’s self interest vs. unbiased.
Several independent studies have shown public stadium funding rarely, if ever, fully pays for itself, let alone generates a profit for the city/county/whatever that ponies up the money.
“I don’t know” is key point. Data do know. Taxpayers lose money. Facts are hard. Remember taxpayers also pay for all the infrastructure as well: sewers, lights, water (in a desert), etc. And spending 380 million instead on housing workers will not only generate tax revenues but provide stability and stronger communities. Clearly oligarchs can get their money elsewhere — they are getting some from banks. If they can’t taxpayers get a piece or a whole of the team and then they DO get revenue from all manner of sources including TV, etc contracts. No need for a middle man like another rich oligarch blackmailer. It is really odd that in the US it is always people who self-describe as conservatives who love to give a small gang of oligarchs taxpayer cash for free. LOL Cheers. Conservative-Liberal Alliance for the End of Oligarchs in MLB
I wonder how people would react if a government tried to take a team using eminent domain.
“It’s for the greater good.”
I’m sure everything will be fine.
There’s having little to no leverage then there’s already moved out if your home having no leverage.
It’ll never happen by Opening Day 2028, if ever.
I’d bet they make it. Las Vegas almost never misses things.
They plan on breaking ground early 2025.
I’m a fan of comedy too.
They haven’t put out RFPs required by law yet. That process has to be 90+ days long.
Stadium conjectures more like.
Hire Chuck Norris. He can kill 2 stones with 1 bird.
My dad used to say that.
I used to look at him and say huh?
If it’s a dome, why do they need seat-coolers?
I bet they want it to be a multi-use stadium. I went to a 4DX theater once for a children’s short film. (“It allows films to be augmented with various practical effects, including motion-seats, wind, strobelights, simulated snow, and scents.”) Perhaps they’ll do something similar for the pricey seats for concerts and shows.
Suspect also that the stadium will not be air conditioned when it isn’t in use, and it would take a day of running the AC before a game to cool down the seating surfaces.
This meeting is informational. Nothing is getting signed. It’s Fisher handing over a letter saying “my family has money” and the LVCVA going. “Okay.”
He also has to sign over signed papers for exactly how the stadium would be financed and a check for $100 million if he wants the taxpayer money
I once went to a supermarket in Vegas and there were slot machines in the entrance. Of course they’re at the airport too. My question is will there be slots in the concourses of the new stadium? Please no but MLB is all about revenue.
@BPax
Put them in the dugouts,too!
Every business in the world is about revenue.
Probably. They just cannot be associated with any casino that takes action on sporting events.
“and what would happen if the Athletics tried to leave down by those 30 years were up. ”
What kind of gibberish is this? Do any of these writers ever reread and or spellcheck? You let stuff like that represent this site? Lol
Thanks Karen. We will correct this immediately.
~Staff
No Salary, most of the people on here are fools & clowns, first day here? Ahahaha!
Already $250 million in cost overruns. This monstrosity will cost $3 billion by the time it’s built.
And having the state Supreme Court intervene to prevent voters from having the final say via referendum is downright. Undemocratic. Then again, Fisher’s negotiations with the city of Oakland prove it his way of the highway and he’ll tell any lie necessary to get someone else to pick up the tab.
Small wonder he was forced to sign a written agreement promising to spend revenue sharing funds on payroll as a condition of re-entering the program. MLB’s administration is owner centric and even Fisher’s behavior was too egregious for the other 29 owners.
In a just world the MLB would use its authority to seize the team, without compensation.
Oh those aren’t cost overruns.
That’s just the price.
Overruns would be on top of that. This also presumes that some make believe resort is paying for a portion of the onsite infrastructure (they aren’t).
Bally’s is broke. They cannot build at the site.
Bally’s is broke, that’s a hot one. Did you look under the mattress? Ahahahaha!
Bally’s is broke. Soo Kim said they were broke That they had $3.6 billion in debt, lost $172 million in 2023, would lose more in 2024, and had to borrow $800 million from their landlord to complete a casino in Chicago that was already under construction.
The article directly states the price increased by $250 million and “is due to combination of adding a variety of features to the ballpark along with general increases in construction costs.” Increasing procurement costs are a textbook example of cost overruns. Not to mention the word “resort” is totally absent from the article.
Put down the stem before you type.
@dank, your name isn’t helping MLBTR become a drug-free zone.
Get off your high horse, and take that doobie out of his mouth!
The issue isn’t *drugs* since examples abound of functioning, productive potheads. How many crackheads can you say the same for?
I doubt crackheads are going down MLBTR, leaving comments. Unless you get paid for comments! In which case… *hand extends, palm facing up, making gimme gimme motion with fingers*
Spoken like a true adherent to the rock. Good chatting with you. /s
You’re kinda rude.
The A’s have not put out an RFP on the ballpark, so as of today they have no idea how much it will actually cost to build. They are estimating the costs and its already gone up $250 million. I expect that a project of that size will cost far more than that, especially with all the hoops you have to jump through in Nevada regarding union workers and suppliers. I have licenses there and will bid on parts of it if they open it up, but there is no way it comes in at $1.75 billion.
Or when costs go up due to tariffs. I don’t think this golden age is coming with the increase in costs. Vegas is always hit hardest and fastest by market disruptions too. They will play in Sac (or somewhere else already established) for 3 years longer than anticipated
It would be in the best interest of MLB, and professional sports in general, if Fisher were to sell the Athletics to someone or some group who would keep the Athletics in Alameda County.
Wait until the tariffs kick in. There won’t be A’s baseball in Vegas until after Trump’s presidency. The cost will increase by at least 30%.
What’s gonna happen to the new Triple A Ballpark? Are the Aviators going to continue to play in Vegas after the A’s move to the strip? And why didn’t the A’s move to the new ballpark in Summerlin to develop the fan base? Maybe the thought was they could keep some of the Oakland fanbase, and they would to drive to Sacramento.
It would have been great if the Tampa would have moved to Oakland, and became the Oakland Rays.
The A’s didn’t move to Summerlin because the MLBPA nixed that as well as their spring training facility.
So about $1.3 mil of the cost, or about 80%, is being paid by the team/owners. Not sure why people are up in arms about that.
It’s weird hearing that the A’s owner is paying for things. It’s this part of it that always seemed counter-intuitive. Why pay billions of dollars to set up a smaller franchise in a desert? I understand the Oakland market has its own pitfalls but why did he buck a great deal? Even the MLB were supportive of this deal over staying in Oakland. What exactly is the motivation? Because going to Las Vegas for it’s travellers is not a good explanation, unless you are expecting us to believe the entire league is this short-sighted to give up a bigger market. There has to be some golden goose they are trying to corner, why else would they spend so much in a desert? Anyone have any ideas. Could it be tied to sports betting industry?
Much of it doesn’t make sense or add up. The common denominator is that Fisher has failed to build a new stadium after multiple plans.
You have to think outside MLB. Far more concerts happen in Vegas. And there’s way less taxes and regulation for businesses operating there.
He could be getting a payment from other California team owners also. Since they benefit from the departure of their in-market competition.
We will probably never hear about that last part as MLB generally doesn’t share those types of deals.
So mabe the giants are paying for the new stadium? This seems less plausible, the venue thing also is weird because there are a lot Vegas places to host a venue and a baseball stadium isn’t ideal for shows.
There is something to it being outside of baseball. Why are teams going to Vegas? It’s only become relevant as a place since sports betting opened up.
Vegas was hardly hurting for event locations even before The Raider Roomba, and it is true that baseball seating isn’t the best choice for concerts anyway.
Wouldn’t shock me if we find out in a couple years that the A’s never really had plans and they keep playing this game so they bounce minor league stadiums all in an effort to save money.
Both the owners of the A’s and the Angels have shown that they don’t care for the fans, the players or the game, only profits.
Two “stadiums” that won’t be able to draw one million people in a season even with every game sold out. It’s 1952 all over again.
Nothing to see here. The A’s have been nomads for their entire existence. The history is there.
The Braves are about the same, if you look are looking at moves 50-60 years ago.
So committed to Vegas that they chose to stick in CA for the interim.
screwing over a loyal fan base and soaking taxpayers to build a stadium makes this a gross enterprise but they’ll have no problem drawing fans. the town went nuts for the golden knights and that wasn’t an imported fan base like the raiders
If the team actually had a loyal fanbase they wouldn’t be moving…
A fair point, but it’s also fair to point out that the team owner is a notorious skinflint, they’ve won nothing in decades, and they played in a toilet bowl.
They were still in competitive window and won 86 games in 2021. And decided to rebuild again. No they haven’t won world series but that’s also due to cheap owner having rebuilds every 3-4 years
They haven’t won even a DS since 2006. I don’t disagree with the reason why, obviously.
A shovel will never hit the ground on this project.
You couldn’t be more wrong. In 2028 they’ll break 2.2 million in attendance easily and Fisher will be laughing and roughly 500 million dollars richer. Money speaks and he has a lot and there is WAY TOO MUCH money to be made in Vegas for it to not happen. The naivety in these chats is ridiculous.
Both the A’s & Rays should hang out a sign, “Permanently Closed, Owner is a Scum Bag!”
Complete disaster with the worst ownership in MLB. The fact MLB allowed this to happen without forcing a sale is insanity.
The Rays should make Oakland a deal they can’t refuse and get the hell out of Tampa. Then the A’s can go east to either Nashville or Charlottesville.
Owner from h!ll.
This whole story is just sad. Shame on the A’s ownership. I’m not one for the Commisioner to butt in, but this sure seems like a good time. JMO.
You mean Mannfred? He is Fishers right hand man in all of this BS
Can’t believe Las Vegas Taxpayers are buying into this. Hope Fisher and his family fall flat on their greedy lying faces #firefisher
Rebuild Connie Mack Stadium and move them back to Philadelphia.
I miss the Philadelphia Athletics.
Playing a minimum of 3-4 seasons in a minor league stadium just to move a long-standing franchise is proof MLB leadership is a joke.
Hate all you want on this deal. From the get go no one took this seriously and thought Vegas was being used as leverage but this is the final straw that Oakland dropped the ball and reaps what the sew.. the A’s are coming to Vegas and the stadium albeit resembling the Sidney opera house looks amazing. Sure beats that dump coliseum that they were forced to play in I’d say easily a decade too long. The Mariners came into the league in 1977 and played in the Kingdome.. it was a cool little dome but started to fall apart and did they get forced to keep playing there? No they built Safeco (now T-Mobile) and now you can’t imagine a mariners game without that park. Oakland was way over due to give the A’s a stadium and now they have one.
“forced to play in”
The A’s could have built a stadium in Oakland using their own money, but extorting taxpayers is way more profitable.
I’m sure I read on Reddit this wasn’t going to happen. Could everyone in their moms basement be wrong?
So A’s Owner, Fischer, the former lifelong SF Giants fan and guy who had SF Giants Ownership, stock, purposefully ran the A’s franchise into the ground, (see Movie Major League). Fischer conducted multiple fire sales of players. Fischer refused to spend money to put the A’s over the top to compete for Championships, Fischer repeatedly negotiated in “bad fatih” with SF Bay Area Officials in Oakland and other SF Bay Area cities and groups. Fischer claimed he needed government bailouts and CORPORATE WELFARE for multiple viable A’s Stadium projects in the SF Bay Area.
Fischer who was turned down for financing for a much bigger deal in the Oakland Jack London Square Waterfront stadium deal on the SF Bay?!
Fisher who rejected numerous valid, well financed offers from very wealthy SF Bay Area successful businesspersons like Joe Lacob Owner of the Golden State Warriors and who build the New Chase state of the Art Basketball Arena for the Warriors in SF.
Joe Lacob offered to partner with Fischer years ago to own and build a brand new A’s Stadium in the SF Bay Area.
Fischer rejected Lacob’s offer and that of other SF Bay Area billionaires?!
Lacob went on to build A PRIVATELY FINANCED STATE OF THE ART WARRIORS NEW ARENA WITH HIS OWN PRIVATE FUNDS CASH AND CREDIT. SO DON’T LIE TO EVERYONE. IT CAN BE DONE AND IT HAS BEEN DONE REPEATEDLY.
Selig and/or Manfred could have made any one of those deals happen.
But, they did not.
Other SF Bay Area billionaires offered to buy the A’s and build a state of the Art Stadium in the SF Bay Area for the A’s.
It was all sabotaged by former Commissioner Bud, Selig.
Commissioner Manfred and A’s Owner Fischer.
And, Former Commissioner Bud Selig sabotaged Reggie Jackson legendary Hall of Famer and 3 Peat Winner of ’72-73-74 Oakland A’s World Series Championships.
Yes, legandary A’s 3X World Series Champion with the A’s Reggie Jackson claims he was blocked from buying the Oakland Athletics in 2005 by then-MLB commissioner Allan “Bud” Selig: Jackson assembled a group of business and team owners that included Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen, and John McCaw, former owner of the Vancouver Canucks.
Clearly, Major League Baseball has signaled that African Americans need not apply for Team Ownership of the A’s or other MLB teams since they do not fit into the “Old Boys Network”
that controls who can own an MLB team..
(Selig’s College fraternity brother was awarded the winning Ownership bid for the A’s at that time, Fischer came on board with Selig’s fraternity brother, took a small stake in the A’s and then was allowed to take over the A’s in a back door deal without competitive bidding or any kind of public process.
It is OK for the star African American players and other players of color from the Caribbean and S America to be the talent and stars that carry MLB to record billions in profitablity.
BUT DON’T ASK FOR A SEAT AT THE OWNERSHIP TABLE.
Now Fischer wants Las Vegas Officals to believe that he will perform on the Las Vegas deal?!
Hide the silverware.
Don’t believe anything Fischer or Manfred say.
MLB is gutless and makes many bad decisions.
MLB forced the prior sale of the Astros, Rangers, and LA Dodgers
(remember Frank LaCourt the parking lot guy who was proven in Divorce Court records to be LOOTING THE DODGERS REVENUES FOR HIS OWN PERSONAL AND FAMILY USES?!
This A’s situation was created and continued by the Bad Faith Actions
of Selig, Manfred and Fischer.
And don’t give us the complete lies that they could not make a deal for a great new state of the art baseball stadium in one of the richest, high tech metropolitan Areas in the entire United States.
That is COMPLETE BULL;SHEET AND EVERYONE KNOWS THAT YOU ARE LYING!
You probably could’ve cut out 75%,of that and posted “Fisher make money on very move”.
Can they PLEASE rename the team.. the aces are a great name and it’s an original name.. the golden knights is silly because Nevada is the silver state but still an original name.. the raiders kept theirs.. no one gives a crap about the athletics they’ve moved like 200 times in the last 100 years .. shed the name and the stigma even if only for aesthetics .. get new Jerseys and market it as if it’s a brand new thing..
There is already the Las Vegas Aces WNBA team.
Can’t wait to see Luis Severino in a Las Vegas A’s uniform. He gone b dope
He gone b dope
==========================?
I know I am not supposed to ask, but what does that mean.
There is no way this costs any less than 2.4 billion until it’s complete unless they get this started and market it hard and fast. Presell the idea and the brand and not A this up.