Stadium Plazas Become Newsy Items In Las Vegas; A’s Stadium Plaza Should Be Ready For 2028 Opening, Las Vegas Stadium Board Is Told

By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Stadium plazas have become newsy topics for big league stadiums in Las Vegas.

First, the NFL Las Vegas Raiders said they are planning a $158 million plaza entrance project on Allegiant Stadium’s north side next to Hacienda Avenue. That $158 million includes $75 million in public dollars from a public fund of extra money collected from hotel room charges. The $75 million in public money is on top of the $750 million Southern Nevada contributed to help build the NFL stadium.

Now, the MLB Athletics, along with their stadium partners, developer Bally’s Corporation and land owner Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (GLPI) met the Las Vegas Stadium Board Wednesday to make sure the three parties were on the same page about building a stadium plaza from Las Vegas Boulevard to the A’s stadium on the Strip at the Tropicana Avenue intersection. The $2 billion, 33,000-fan ballpark is planned for the southeast corner of Las Vegas Blvd and Tropicana Ave.

Stadium board member Tommy White,  the Laborers Local 872 business manager secretary treasurer, said Las Vegas does not want “egg on our face” for opening  project late.

“We don’t fall behind projects in Las Vegas,” White told representatives of the A’s, Bally’s and GLPI during the 1 PM stadium board meeting.

Laborers 872’s Tommy White

Stadium board chairman Steve Hill, the LVCVA CEO/president, said it’s Bally’s job to build the plaza, which, he noted, is planned for 900 parking spots below the plaza deck.

GLPI, the landowner of the location’s 35 acres, plans to spend about $250 million on the stadium site. Representing GLPI was Brandon Moore, senior vice president and general counsel. GLPI is “advancing some funds to keep this moving,” Moore told the stadium board.

Bally’s representative Nick Tomasino, senior vice president of construction and development, estimated it would take 12 months to build the plaza.

Sandy Dean at A’s stadium site

Meanwhile, A’s executive Sandy Dean told Hill and the board that, “The ballpark is on time” and that he was, “Feeling very good about the progress of the ballpark.”

Dean noted the parking garage on the site’s southeast corner will have 1,500 stalls and that work has started. Dean said there has been some excavation for the parking garage and that building permits are expected in either late November or early December.

Dean said there will also be a power plant on the site.

The domed stadium is expected to be open for the 2028 season. The A’s will be playing at a Triple-A ballpark in Sacramento in 2027 — if there is no work stoppage.

A’s stadium under construction

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Alan Snel

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.