(Athletics new Las Vegas Ballpark rendering per Oakland Athletics)
I was hoping to be writing today about a visit to Joseph P. Riley Park in Charleston, but alas the weather was working against us on a family vacation this past week, so unfortunately I did not get to go. So what better topic to talk about in a pinch than the baseball story that has been in the news all year - the pending Athletics move to Las Vegas.
Just about all of the logistics of the proposed new A's ballpark and move have changed over the last 3 months, including the site, the timetable, the financing, and the design. Here is a brief timetable of what has transpired so far:
- April 20: Athletics announce a "binding agreement" to purchase 49 acres of land for a $1.5B stadium on the site of the former Wild Wild West Casino, across the interstate from T-Mobile Arena, which I wrote about in May. The A's would own all 49 acres and develop a "ballpark district."
- May 4: Governor Lombardo announces legislative package for said ballpark with intent of getting the legislation passed during the regular Nevada state legislative session. The public financing portion at this time was proposed to be $500M.
- May 9: Athletics shift proposal to a site on the Strip, at the current home of the Tropicana. The plans would call for Bally's (owner of Tropicana) to demolish the current casino, lease 9 acres to the A's to build a 30,000 seat ballpark, and maintain the rest for a new casino/hotel.
- May 26: Preliminary renderings released by Schrock KC Architecture
- Memorial Day Weekend: A's officials in town to discuss ballpark package
- May 29: New financing legislation introduced, this time for about $380M. A's are a no-show at a joint committee meeting of Senate and Assembly members.
- May 30: New ballpark opening announced to be no sooner than 2028 (originally 2027)
- June 6: Financing package is not voted on during regular legislative session as the state budget was deemed to be a priority over ballpark financing, of which some polls reported up to 80% of citizens were against. At this time, the state leadership announces no intention of bringing this to a vote in a special session.
- June 7: Governor Lombardo calls for a special session to reconsider ballpark funding
- June 15: Legislation passes in a special session and is signed into law by the governor
It was surely a grind for all parties just to get to this point, and arguably the public subsidy is going to be the easiest part of all of this. Now the Athletics have to basically start all over with a ballpark design (which includes how to magically fit a stadium and a roof on 9 acres), find a shady financial institution that will finance John Fisher's portion of the ballpark, gain all necessary building approvals, and not to mention convince 23 of the other owners to approve this move - which, for how much shared revenue the A's have been gobbling up the last few years, is anything but a slam dunk. There is also the matter of finding a suitable temporary home for the A's for at least the 2025-27 seasons after their lease at the Oakland Coliseum expires. The Las Vegas Aviators ballpark has been floated a lot and seems to make the most sense since they are the current A's AAA affiliate and they do not intend to move their AAA team from Las Vegas even after the major league team moves there. However, it also regularly hits triple-digit temps during summers in Las Vegas and this is not a covered stadium, and it obviously does not currently meet MLB standards, so the MLBPA would surely have a say in any move to a non-MLB ballpark. All bridges might be burned to do something as simple as extending a lease at the Coliseum. So this will definitely be a significant hurdle.
Commissioner Manfred has publicly stated that the A's will cease receiving shared revenue payments if a concrete plan is not in place by January 1st, 2024. So the clock is ticking and this saga is far from over. As I have stated before and I'll state again - I will not believe this move is actually happening until all financing is in place and there is a shovel in the ground.
STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 7/10/23:
Brewers 49-42, -1.0, -0.5 WC; 3 @ Reds
Twins 45-46, -0.5, -5.0 WC; 3 @ Athletics
2023 GAMES ATTENDED:
Erik - 1
Peter - 11
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
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