The Oakland A’s have not been subtle in their quest for a new stadium for over a year, with multiple Las Vegas sites being heavily rumored to be in consideration. Now, however, it appears that only the Tropicana, which was just purchased by Bally’s Corp., is the only contender still standing, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
When Major League Baseball (MLB) first granted the A’s permission to seek a new facility back in May 2021, there were as many as a half-dozen sites in consideration between Oakland and Las Vegas.
However, that was then whittled to three over the last year: a sprawling, $12 billion development centered around a $1 billion domed stadium at Howard Terminal in the Port of Oakland, the site of the Tropicana and the Las Vegas Festival Grounds, a 40-acre complex owned by casino tycoon Phill Ruffin.
Talks between the A’s and Ruffin were on-again off-again for months, but after speculation started to rekindle over the summer, it appears to have fizzled out for good. Ruffin’s assistant, Alicia Crockett, confirmed to the Review-Journal that there has been no recent contact between the two sides, and no future plans have been made.
In Oakland, prospects aren’t much more encouraging, as city officials opted to remove the Howard Terminal proposal from the ballot late last year. However, former mayor Libby Schaaf was recently ousted by the newly elected Sheng Thao, which may represent new opportunities for discussion.
However, Thao has yet to comment to the media about the Howard Terminal proposal specifically, and her previous statements have echoed Schaaf’s, in that she wants the team to stay in Oakland but will not concede public funds in order to make that happen.
With that in mind, it would appear that it’s now Tropicana-or-bust for the beleaguered franchise, which last won the World Series in 1989 and has been largely irrelevant since.
George Papanier, president of Bally’s Corp., confirmed to the Review-Journal that discussions with the A’s are in fact still ongoing. No proposals have been made, but many expect that a shiny new domed ballpark on the site would cost $1 billion at least.
Unfortunately for the team, public money for stadiums is just as big of a sticking point in Las Vegas as it is in the Bay Area–-former governor Steve Sisolak granted $750 million in public funds to help build the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium back in late 2016, which is being paid through increased hotel taxes in Clark County.
That decision was extremely unpopular at the time, and has only begun to soften now that the stadium has proved to be a financial success. Over the course of 2022, however, Sisolak made it clear that that was a one-time deal, and no more public money was to be used.
Now that Sisolak has been supplanted by former Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, it is unclear whether the message will remain the same. The Review-Journal quoted an anonymous source who confirmed that the A’s are seeking public assistance for their new home.
