Oakland A’s, Red Rock Resorts Close to Las Vegas MLB Stadium Pact

Posted on: April 20, 2023, 12:45h. 

Last updated on: April 20, 2023, 03:09h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

The Oakland Athletics and Red Rock Resorts are reportedly nearing an accord. That would pave the way for the construction of a $1 billion baseball stadium in Las Vegas near Allegiant Stadium.

Las Vegas Super Bowl 2024 LVCVA
Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders. A nearby site could be home to a new Major League Baseball Stadium. (Image: Getty Images)

The Nevada Independent broke the story late Thursday, reporting that Gov. Joe Lombardo (R-NV) and other high-ranking Nevada policymakers are prepared to approve the agreement because it doesn’t feature new taxes. Unidentified sources told the publication the A’s will cover the cost of the stadium, located on 100 acres near Tropicana Boulevard and Interstate 15.

The state will pitch in through the creation of a special taxation district covering the stadium site, which would allow for sales tax proceeds to be reinvested in the area, along with an allocation of transferable tax credits estimated to be worth around $500 million,” reported the Independent.

The site being referenced is something of a surprise when, for the better part of two years, the A’s Las Vegas relocation efforts focused on other areas, including the fairgrounds owned by Circus Circus and the Tropicana.

Proposed Stadium Site Has Interesting History

The site the A’s and Red Rock are supposedly close to agreeing on was originally slated to be the land used for Allegiant Stadium, home to the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.

Before that, Red Rock aimed to build a Strip-style integrated resort named Viva on the land. But the global financial crisis halted those plans. Of the 100 acres, 20 were previously occupied by Red Rock’s Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel, which the operator shuttered last September and later demolished.

Wild Wild West, located at the intersection of I-15 and Tropicana, did away with table games in 2020 owing to the coronavirus pandemic. That limited demand prompted Red Rock to reassess the venue’s future.

The Nevada Independent didn’t mention whether the A’s are buying or leasing the land from Red Rock or leasing it. If the A’s are purchasing the property, 100 acres at that location could easily carry a price tag well into the hundreds of millions of dollars, if not $1 billion.

If Red Rock does proceed with selling that land to the Major League Baseball (MLB) club, it would still own more than 300 acres across the Las Vegas Valley.

Not Official, But …

The A’s have been evaluating various sites in Las Vegas for more than two years, making the team’s potential relocation to the US casino mecca one of the most mentioned rumors in sports.

It’s not official yet, but if it gets to that point, Sin City will have its first MLB team and the third franchise from the four major North American leagues, with the NBA being the outlier. Should the deal happen, the A’s will end a tenure in Oakland that started in 1968, making the team the second to leave that city for Las Vegas, with the Raiders being the other.

The A’s current lease expires in Oakland in 2024, meaning it would be 2025 before the team could play in another city. A temporary venue would likely be needed in Las Vegas before opening a new ballpark.