Second time's the charm?
Bally's Corporation announced Monday, in conjunction with Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc., that they have reached a binding agreement with the Oakland Athletics to build the franchise's new ballpark on a portion of the current Tropicana property on the southern end of The Strip in Las Vegas.
"We are excited about the potential to bring Major League Baseball to this iconic location," A's president Dave Kaval said in a statement. "We are thrilled to work alongside Bally's and GLPI, and look forward to finalizing plans to bring the Athletics to Southern Nevada."
The Nevada Independent first reported news of the A's new deal with Bally's and GLPI.
The formal deal is the second such agreement the A's have entered in the last month, first making plans to construct a new stadium on 49 acres of Las Vegas land owned by Red Rock Resorts. But as that process lagged -- partly because of the $500 million in public funding that the proposed $1 billion project required -- the A's reportedly began to reach out to the owners of other potential sites last week.
The new agreement undoes the A's previous deal with Red Rock Resorts, per The Nevada Independent, and now, the process has begun to build a new MLB stadium on nine acres of the 35-acre site located on Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue.
Plans are contingent on the Nevada Legislature approving a nine-figure tax package to assist with the new stadium's construction, though GLPI has agreed to fund up to $175 million toward "certain shared improvements within the future development in exchange for a commensurate rent increase," the announcement said. MLB also must approve the A's relocation from Oakland to Las Vegas.
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"We are honored to have been selected to partner with the Oakland Athletics on this monumental step in helping to bring Major League Baseball to the great city of Las Vegas, and to be a part of the once in a generation opportunity of having a professional baseball team located within a short walk of the Las Vegas Strip," Bally's president George Papanier said in a statement. "The Tropicana has been a landmark of Las Vegas for generations, and this development will enhance this iconic site for generations to come. We are committed to ensuring that the development and ballpark built in its place will become a new landmark, paying homage to the iconic history and global appeal of Las Vegas and its nearly 50 million visitors a year."
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Bally's estimates the A's new, 30,000-seat ballpark will welcome more than 2.5 million fans and visitors annually. The Nevada Independent previously reported, citing a source, the original stadium construction timeline is still in place under the new agreement, beginning in 2024 with a planned opening date in 2027, which could be pushed to 2028 should the construction timeline change.
While it's isn't quite a done deal yet, the A's now are that much closer to officially leaving Oakland.