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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher/Writer
Oakland Athletics President Dave Kaval told LVSportsBiz.com he hopes to apply to Major League Baseball as early as August for the A’s relocation to Las Vegas and aims to have MLB approve the move in the fall so that there is a ballpark groundbreaking in 2024 for a venue opening in 2027.
Kaval said he needs public-private partnership and stadium funding plans in place before the Athletics franchise can ask MLB for its blessing on the A’s leaving Oakland for Las Vegas.
The ballpark would cost $1.5 billion and the Oakland Athletics are asking for $500 million in public money toward the stadium of 30,000 to 32,000 seats, LVSportsBiz.com has learned.
Kaval said the A’s have purchased 49 acre at the old Wild Wild West casino location off Tropicana Avenue, just west of Interstate 15 and the Strip. The ballpark site is close enough to the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium and the Vegas Golden Knights’ T-Mobile Arena to form a sports entertainment triangle along the Strip corridor, he said.
The ballpark location will be convenient for locals because it’s west of Interstate 15 but also easily accessible to tourists on the Strip, Kaval said.
“We see a path into Nevada,” Kaval said. “We’re turning our full attention to Las Vegas.”
That means Kaval and Athletics lobbyists are talking with Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, Clark County Commission Chairman Jim Gibson and state legislative leaders Nicole Cannizzaro and Steve Yeager about that public-private deal.
LVSportsBiz.com asked Kaval directly if the A’s are definitely moving to Las Vegas and his response was, “We achieved a major milestone” in buying the 49 acres in Las Vegas. “We love that location.”
Is the door shut on Oakland, we asked Kaval. His response: “We’re always open to dialogue.”
It should be noted that the Nevada Department of Transportation is working on an Interstate 15-Tropicana Avenue interchange project and Tropicana Avenue is under construction.
Kaval quipped to LVSportsBiz.com about the Tropicana Avenue road construction, “By the time (the ballpark opens in 2027), they better have it done.”
Kaval said there will be bars and restaurants built near the ballpark in Las Vegas. “This can be a major attraction for Las Vegas beyond just the baseball games,” he said.
Keep in mind the A’s lease expires at the Coliseum after next season in 2024. Where would the Athletics play before 2027 when a ballpark would open in Las Vegas?
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The A’s proposed a plan to build a waterfront baseball park in Oakland, but could not reach an agreement with the city of Oakland on a funding plan for the venue.
The A’s said their current stadium, the Coliseum, is too old to be a MLB venue. The Coliseum was also used by the NFL Raiders before the team moved to a publicly-subsidized domed football stadium in Las Vegas in 2020.
Here’s a photo showing both the A’s infield and the Raiders field at the Coliseum.
So, the Oakland baseball franchise set sight on Las Vegas even though there are no civic or community organizations calling for Las Vegas to host a Major League Baseball team here. Typically, baseball fans in a city will form an organization to support an MLB team if a community desires to host a big league team.
In addition, there are no elected officials who have supported using new taxes to help build a baseball stadium for the Oakland team. What’s interesting is that the Oakland Athletics already have their Triple-A team here in Las Vegas at an attractive 10,000-seat ballpark in suburban Summerlin about 12 miles west of the Strip.
Kaval said the Triple-A Aviators are “staying if we move.” And Kaval noted the Aviators and Athletics in the same market would be like the Henderson Silver Knights and Vegas Golden Knights in hockey.
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The land purchased by the Oakland Athletics is in Clark County. The site is about a mile north of Allegiant Stadium and less than a mile west of T-Mobile Arena, where the NHL Vegas Golden Knights play.
The county issued a statement. It said, in part: “Clark County looks forward to welcoming the A’s to our region, and we are in full support of adding Major League Baseball to our growing sports brand . . . We welcome the opportunity to more robustly engage in a public dialogue about this project. We are hopeful that the outcome of current and future discussions is a deal that protects taxpayer interest and dollars while fostering important community and workforce development initiatives into the future.”
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The A’s do not have a baseball park rendering for the Las Vegas site. The team has also not picked a design architect for the ballpark in Las Vegas, Kaval said.
Kaval said the ballpark would need to be climate-controlled because of the Las Vegas’ hot summers, so a retractable roof is being considered.
He added the Las Vegas venue for the A’s would not “feel cavernous” like the Coliseum, where attendance is the lowest in the 30-team majors with about 11,000 fans a game.
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Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft said Thursday said he will continue to “meet with the A’s, MLB, and all stakeholders to make sure our local perspective and priorities are represented at the table.”
He also said of the A’s move to Las Vegas, “I will continue to demand that it be in the best interest of those who live here.”
Lombardo has said the state does not have any special new taxes planned to help build an Athletics baseball stadium, but the team is free to use any existing economic development programs to help construct a baseball venue.
“Welcoming the A’s to Las Vegas would be great news for Southern Nevada as well as our entire state. The prospect of bringing new jobs, more economic development, and an exceptional MLB team to Las Vegas is exciting on many levels,” Lombardo said in a statement. “As we continue to navigate this opportunity, I’m in regular communication with the A’s, Major League Baseball, legislative leadership, and local and state stakeholders.”
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has supported the A’s moving to Las Vegas.