Manfred ‘confident' A's Vegas stadium will be ready for 2028 season

Rob Manfred is not concerned about the Athletics' move to Las Vegas, and he believes it will happen on time for the 2028 season.

Speaking to reporters at a spring training press conference on Thursday in Tampa, Fla., the MLB commissioner explained that he is confident the team and the city of Las Vegas will be able to iron out the details of the team's new stadium on the Vegas Strip.

“The reality of the situation is that whenever you’re leaving a market where you’ve been for decades, and you’re going to make a move to a different city where there’s not a stadium, that’s a really difficult undertaking, and it’s not going to be seamless, smooth -- there are going to be bumps along the road,” Manfred said. “I am confident that the deal in Las Vegas is solid, that the A’s will build a stadium in Las Vegas and play there in 2028.” (h/t The Athletic's Evan Drellich)

The soon-to-be Las Vegas A’s are set to build their new, $1.5 billion 33,000-seat ballpark on the site of the former Tropicana Hotel, but the team and Tropicana owner Bally Corp. have yet to release any renderings of the new stadium. Although the likes of MGM Resorts owner Bill Hornbuckle have seen renderings of at least three different configurations for the ballpark and an adjacent hotel/resort.

Demolition at the former Tropicana site is set for April and the area will need to be clear of all debris before stadium construction can begin in time to complete the project before the start of the 2028 MLB season.

The A’s were supposed to unveil renderings of the new stadium in December, but pushed back that timeframe due to multiple delays.

The team still is in limbo with the city of Oakland, as their lease at the Oakland Coliseum expires at the end of the 2024 season, leaving the team without a home until the new stadium is finished. While Oakland and the A’s have been in talks to extend the lease, nothing has been set in stone.