Despite ongoing speculation about the sustainability of the Athletics' pending move to Las Vegas, the powers at be insist everything remains on track for the ambitious relocation project.
In an exclusive interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Mick Akers, A's president Dave Kaval provided an optimistic update about the franchises ongoing efforts to meet the ballpark's estimated completion.
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“Things are moving forward,” Kaval told the Review-Journal. “We’re crossing off a lot of the tasks necessary to get this done. We just keep working, day-in-and-day-out, working toward that 2025 groundbreaking and the 2028 opening. We’re very excited about all the progress that has been made in a year.”
The proposed stadium is set to be built on the site of the Tropicana hotel, which began to be demolished in April to clear the path for the A's ballpark. Soo Kim, chairman of Bally's Corp. -- owners of the historic hotel site -- echoed Kaval's sentiment about remaining on schedule with the demolition.
“Everything is on track, and it’s supposed to come down by October,” Kim said in an email to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The plan is for the hotel site to be cleared in time for the A's to begin construction on the ballpark in 2025. Despite all the moving parts, Las Vegas Stadium Authority chairman Steve Hill -- who helped oversee the construction of the Raiders home, Allegiant Stadium -- shared he believes the A's proposed stadium is coming along at an adequate pace.
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“The time frames that we anticipated when that bill was written and then passed in the Legislature are the timeframes that we’re on,” Hill told Akers. “Things are proceeding as we anticipated them to and things seem to be working well.”
Clark County comissioner Michael Naft shared that due to the complicated nature of the proposed ballpark, local legislation will not be rushed while due diligence is done regarding the project. However, Naft remains optimistic things can remain on schedule for the proposed April 2025 groundbreaking.
“The country is not going to be put in a position to rush anything,” Naft told Akers. “The county has to do its due diligence. It’s a complicated project, and there are things that the county and locals will demand and need from this project. But I think that timeline makes sense, as long as it doesn’t put Clark County in the back seat. There are a whole variety of land use related issues that will need to be examined and evaluated from the country’s perspective and there needs to be an opportunity to do that.”
As the A's wrap up what is expected to be their final season in Oakland, all eyes will be on the next steps in the bold relocation move that will place the franchise in the Nevada desert.