By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
One can only imagine what the producers of the TV show, The Office, could do if they got their hands on the rich plot line of the demolition of the Tropicana hotel-casino to make way for a MLB Athletics stadium on the Strip in 2028.
There’s not much actual, for-the-record plot to go on right now. That’s because the Athletics have not shared much information about their planned stadium for the Strip. Strange, but apparently receiving $380 million in government assistance to help build a stadium under a state bill approved more than seven months ago has not motivated the MLB team to share its stadium drawings with the public.
But there was news Monday on another front that made it look like the Athletics’ 33,000-seat baseball venue took a small step toward reality.
The owner of the Tropicana hotel-casino told its employees today that the hotel’s owner, Bally’s, is closing the 1957 facility on April 2 as part of the process to demolish all the buildings on the 35-acre site at Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. The entire site has to be clear of any buildings so that nine of the 35 acres can be used to host the footprint of the $1.5 billion A’s stadium.
Here’s the letter received by the Tropicana workers:
Sadly, the Tropicana hotel does not exactly rank up there in hotels on the Strip. So, the twist is even with the Tropicana getting demolished by the end of the year, it doesn’t necessarily mean that an Athletics stadium will happen. It could just be goodbye to an aging hotel that has been eclipsed by newer, swankier properties on the Strip.
Athletics owner John Fisher made a rare public appearance last week at the Vegas Chamber 2024 preview. He did not say anything new, except that he’s looking for local investors to help him underwrite the cost of the MLB stadium.