ESPN news service3 minute read
of oakland athletics Team president Dave Caval signed a binding agreement Wednesday night to purchase land on which a major league ballpark will be built near the Las Vegas Strip.
The deal concerns a 49-acre property owned by Red Rock Resorts, the parent company of Station Casinos.
Kaval said Las Vegas Review Journal A $1.5 billion, 35,000-seat stadium with a partially retractable roof will be built on the site, he adds, with other developments under consideration, including restaurants and an amphitheater.
The A’s is working with the State of Nevada and Clark County in a public-private partnership to fund the stadium. Kaval hopes A’s will break ground by next year and move into their new home by 2027.
“For a while we were on parallel paths. [with Oakland] But we set our sights on Las Vegas, where we landed an A deal and found a long-term home,” Kaval tells the Review-Journal. He feels he needs to complete this 20-year story, and he has a way to make it happen here in Southern Nevada. “
The A’s had been looking for a new home for years to replace the antiquated and dilapidated Oakland Coliseum where the team had played since arriving from Kansas City in the 1968 season. They sought to build stadiums on the Oakland waterfront, then Fremont and San Jose before shifting their attention to Las Vegas. A’s lease at the Coliseum expires after the 2024 season.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has expressed support for the purchase agreement and A’s move to Las Vegas.
Manfred told the Review-Journal:
Auckland Mayor Sheng Thao criticized the announcement, saying the city was “halting negotiations and moving on to other options”.
In a statement, Thao said, “I am deeply disappointed that A has chosen not to negotiate with the City of Auckland as a true partner in a way that respects the long relationship between the fans, City and the team.” It’s clear that A has no intention of staying in Oakland and they’re just using this process to try and get a better deal out of Las Vegas I’m not interested in continuing that game the fans and us The inhabitants of
According to the Review-Journal, the purchase agreement is for land only, with A having the option to purchase an additional eight acres at a later date. This location is about a mile north of Allegiant Stadium, where the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders play, and about a mile west of his T-Mobile Arena, where the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights play.
“Having a site is really exciting,” Kaval said. “We spent almost two years doing due diligence and working with community leaders, elected officials and everyone in town to really determine where we could win, not just for A, but for the community and public officials. “
Las Vegas has been home to a Triple-A team since 1983, and today the club is an affiliate of the Athletics.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
