A’s have signed a binding agreement to purchase land for a future ballpark in Las Vegas.

Sandwich Pick

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Because their constituents don't want to hear reasons (it's ALWAYS a total rip off for the city/state), they just know on Sundays (or weeknights) when it's time to watch Palookaville Palm Trees action, they're now playing in Albuquerque and that sucks. It's such an easy scare tactic for owners to use, which is weird because there's probably more non-sports fans (or fans that aren't as fanatical) than there are fans who live and die with the team. I mean if you can tune out the people who want to spend every dime on making the latest and greatest sports palace and just speak to the more moderate voter, that politician would win every time.

But politicians are afraid of talking to their constituents as adults and explaining things like this to them--and TBH, I don't blame them.

Oakland isn't going to fall into the sea because they don't have the A's any more. People will get over it and live their lives, but owners don't focus on that. If were an A's fan, what's better having this shitbrick team that's probably going to win 40 games if they're lucky or nothing?

And BTW, Vegas is about to get an NBA team and it can get as hot as 115 degrees in the desert sun. The A's are going to be an afterthought within five years. You can argue about moving the franchise, but having them move to Las Vegas is dumb with a capital D.
A franchise also doesn't want to set the precedent that they can pay for their own stadium and that they can be told "no" by a city and/or state.

This is true both within a team's league and their own city.
 

Section15Box113

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More on the A’s and Vegas, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal this week:

“The agreement is for 49 acres at Dean Martin Drive and Tropicana Avenue, owned by Red Rock Resorts, parent company of Station Casinos.”

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“The deal is for the land only, with the A’s having an option to purchase an additional 8 acres at a later date. Kaval said a $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat, partially retractable roof stadium would be built on the site, and that ancillary development, including but not limited to food and beverage establishments and even an amphitheater, are also in the cards.”
 

E5 Yaz

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I'm sure it's in here somewhere, but team officials say they are keeping the A's/Athletics name
 

Al Zarilla

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Chicago's population is a lot bigger but the White Sox have the same problem as the A's do - they are in the bad side of town.
The Oakland Coliseum is right on the freeway (880) though, so there is no need to drive through Oakland unless you live there or in a suburb north of it. Oakland gets no respect though, does it?

My son and his family are avid A's fans (l failed :(). Even before this Las Vegas thing came out, my grandsons were saying are they supposed to root for the Giants now? I tell them the Red Sox are right there.
 

DanoooME

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Fortunately for the A's and that site, the state and city have already committed to improving infrastructure in that area that should be complete (mid-2025) before the stadium is opened. They are rebuilding Tropicana and I-15 which is desperately needed.
 

cannonball 1729

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how long is MLB going to let them pull this shitshow before they force a sale like with McCourt
According to the CBA, if the A's don't have a new stadium deal in place somewhere by January 15, 2024, they lose access to revenue sharing. Ironically, they just got access back in the new CBA (they'd been phased out previously, since they're in a top media market), but that access came with the new stadium caveat. That's one of the reasons they're trying to move quickly.

The a’s may have the most incompetent ownership in all of sports. And thats saying something
The kicker is that they already went through this once: they announced in 2017 that they were going to build a new stadium near Laney College, except that they forgot to get the trustees of the college on board and were then "shocked" when the college pulled out of negotiations.

Or as Carl Steward of the Bay Area News Group said at the time:

"In announcing the Peralta site near Laney College as their No. 1 preference, the A’s picked the location with the greatest obstacles, the loudest opposition, the least amount of parking and the longest period of development to completion. Excellent!"
 
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8slim

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View: https://twitter.com/thenvindy/status/1655755331744722944?s=61&t=f8bVH4yHeR-BZNXUJhsokg

A's starting to look at backup sites in Vegas as support for public money for the original plan seems soft in the NV legislature.
"However, they also confirmed the A’s reached back out to ownership of the Rio Hotel & Casino, which offered the team 22 acres of the resort’s 90-acre site, for just $1. The A’s had rejected the deal that could have greatly reduced some of the costs associated with the land acquisition because the team was concerned about traffic access."

Of course. Why develop land that costs nothing when you can try to get a half-billion dollar handout from taxpayers.

All pro sports owners are bastards, and the As may be among the worst.

I'm far from a Vegas traffic expert, but it looks to me that the parcel of land at the Rio is right off an exit of I-15. "Traffic access".
 

joe dokes

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Of course. Why develop land that costs nothing when you can try to get a half-billion dollar handout from taxpayers.
All pro sports owners are bastards, and the As may be among the worst.
Handouts? How dare you. He worked very hard to remain alive until his father died! Fisher's always been a trust fund dipshit billionaire who couldn't run a hot dog stand. And now he's decided not to hide it any longer. His final act will be to claim victimhood if he's forced to sell the team.
 

nattysez

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The A’s have a new deal.

They’ll demolish the Tropicana and build a $1.5 billion stadium in its place on the Vegas Strip, Bally’s is helping offset the cost so they won’t need as much public funding.

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/as-pivot-to-new-site-for-vegas-baseball-stadium-lowering-public-funding-request
This makes a ton of sense, especially if the stadium they build can be a concert venue in the winter.

I wonder if the OYO hotel gets torn down as part of this as well.
 

YTF

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8slim

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The A’s have a new deal.

They’ll demolish the Tropicana and build a $1.5 billion stadium in its place on the Vegas Strip, Bally’s is helping offset the cost so they won’t need as much public funding.

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/as-pivot-to-new-site-for-vegas-baseball-stadium-lowering-public-funding-request
Oh this is definitely better than the 20 acres for one dollar deal they had earlier. ONLY $400 million for taxpayers, instead of zero.
 

AlNipper49

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It's about time to start upgrading the casinos at that end of the strip. Luxor is a complete pile of shit. Make it become the best sports book ever.
 

Hoya81

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There’s only about 30 days left in the current NV legislative session and the reps there say they would need concrete plans by next week in order for a vote to happen before they go on recess.

AFAIK, there’s no stadium or rendering for the new site. The original site was supposed to have room for retail/office usage as additional revenue for the team, while this seems to be a much smaller footprint, about the size of Fenway. I also imagine that demolishing the Tropicana will be no small undertaking. Best guess is that they remain in Oakland through at least the ‘26 season.
 

nattysez

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There’s only about 30 days left in the current NV legislative session and the reps there say they would need concrete plans by next week in order for a vote to happen before they go on recess.

AFAIK, there’s no stadium or rendering for the new site. The original site was supposed to have room for retail/office usage as additional revenue for the team, while this seems to be a much smaller footprint, about the size of Fenway. I also imagine that demolishing the Tropicana will be no small undertaking. Best guess is that they remain in Oakland through at least the ‘26 season.
It is really hard to imagine what the game experience will be like in Oakland in 2025.

I also have to wonder what value anyone is going to place on the broadcast and radio rights to this team. They are going to go to Vegas with nearly no fanbase and a long history of sucking. MLB may have to produce their game coverage.
 

Humphrey

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Oh this is definitely better than the 20 acres for one dollar deal they had earlier. ONLY $400 million for taxpayers, instead of zero.
Someone in the comments pointed out that Fenway sits on 10 acres; Yankee Stadium on 13; this only allows for 9. Seems like they're pushing the envelope a bit here.
 

Saints Rest

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It is really hard to imagine what the game experience will be like in Oakland in 2025.

I also have to wonder what value anyone is going to place on the broadcast and radio rights to this team. They are going to go to Vegas with nearly no fanbase and a long history of sucking. MLB may have to produce their game coverage.
It will be like Tampa where many of their home games have more fans of the opposing teams than their own.
OTOH, it will be a great way to spend 3 hours during a Vegas trip.
I love how the Knights, the Raiders, and the As (presumably) will be super close to each other. (I love that about Seattle)
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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I’m really hoping that Fisher fucks this up and he ends up selling to a local group. There’s a few contingencies that need you break his way for this to work.

I’m hoping they all don’t (which means that they will).
 

Ale Xander

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It will be like Tampa where many of their home games have more fans of the opposing teams than their own.
OTOH, it will be a great way to spend 3 hours during a Vegas trip.
I love how the Knights, the Raiders, and the As (presumably) will be super close to each other. (I love that about Seattle)
Not as "good" as South Philly though.

Screenshot 2023-05-10 at 20-47-15 Google Maps.png
 

AlNipper49

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Someone in the comments pointed out that Fenway sits on 10 acres; Yankee Stadium on 13; this only allows for 9. Seems like they're pushing the envelope a bit here.
Except with Fenway you spill out to a CVS and shitty bars and restaurants. Yankees Stadium you spill out to crackheads and a 4 lane bowling alley. There may be a CVS there in Vegas, and definitely some crackheads, but lots of other stuff to do.
 

axx

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I’m really hoping that Fisher fucks this up and he ends up selling to a local group. There’s a few contingencies that need you break his way for this to work.
Selling seems very plausible but I imagine someone interested in buying the team would have a plan in place to move the team somewhere else.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

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Selling seems very plausible but I imagine someone interested in buying the team would have a plan in place to move the team somewhere else.
Supposedly there are two local ownership groups who want to buy the A's and keep them in Oakland.

Fisher's whole deal (like just about every other owners) is that he wants an area around the stadium that he can control (like the Battery in Atlanta) so he can make money all year. The best place to build a new park for Oakland is on the footprint where the stadium currently sits. The problem is that this doesn't seem like a great place to put shops and restaurants and apartments and shit like that. That's why he wants to go to Vegas, though I would suspect that the new nine acre plot of land would put a huge dent in his development plans. That's why I'm a little dubious of him ever getting to Vegas.
 

nattysez

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30k seats is going to make for a very cozy park. And that'll be the smallest park in the majors.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Drove by the spot yesterday. It looks as though ground is already being worked on. It is a really good spot. Luxor and Excalibur are kind of stranded down on that area of the strip, but this could really change that. The entire south end is now basically MGM properties. The ones north of Tropicana already have a high degree of connectivity, and this may cause expansion south of more walkways and connection.
 

staz

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I stayed at the nasty Tropicana in February, walking to New York, New York via elevated footbridges littered with folks suffering from all kinds of shit. But hey, Hilton points! Good riddance.

Parking will be an issue, but hello, air traffic? Shea West if they ever open the dome.
 

JOBU

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An on strip ballpark seems like a terrible yet intriguing idea. It’s already congested enough with people and cars. What could go wrong? I also don’t think the air traffic will be a huge issue during the games. The approach and arrival corridor will be far enough out of the way so you won’t have any planes flying overhead like you do at Shea/LGA… err Globo-Bank park or whatever it’s called.
 

Pablo's TB Lover

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"MGM GRAND" being prominent from the Bally's property seems a little odd as well. Tough to avoid it if you want some sort of city backdrop though, when flipping the park 180 your view will only be the distant mountains.
 

Max Power

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"MGM GRAND" being prominent from the Bally's property seems a little odd as well. Tough to avoid it if you want some sort of city backdrop though, when flipping the park 180 your view will only be the distant mountains.
And also against the rules if they ever want the roof open. All ballparks have to face northeast so the setting sun doesn't shine in the hitter's eyes.
 

reggiecleveland

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My best friend was married at the Tropicana.
If this does go through the A's will be the closest team to me. There are cheap direct flights to Vegas. I expect, given the popularity of the Red Sox the tickets will be pricey though. Even in Seattle, there is a huge SOx crowd that drives up the prices.
 

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I like how the render retains the massive foul territory for the worst possible proximity to the field. And simultaneously emphasizes the view of the strip then builds a multi-story outfield seating to block the view from most of the park. Like the artist was told to make a render that's connected to the A's somehow but had no idea the Coliseum is a horrible stadium.
 

joe dokes

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I like how the render retains the massive foul territory for the worst possible proximity to the field. And simultaneously emphasizes the view of the strip then builds a multi-story outfield seating to block the view from most of the park. Like the artist was told to make a render that's connected to the A's somehow but had no idea the Coliseum is a horrible stadium.
Low bidder on the art. It's still the A's.
 

Brohamer of the Gods

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I like how the render retains the massive foul territory for the worst possible proximity to the field. And simultaneously emphasizes the view of the strip then builds a multi-story outfield seating to block the view from most of the park. Like the artist was told to make a render that's connected to the A's somehow but had no idea the Coliseum is a horrible stadium.
The MGM even mimics Mount Davis looming over everything.