A Major League Baseball stadium project for the Oakland Athletics at the Tropicana Las Vegas is still being considered for the new owner of the Strip Hotel-Casino. Lee Fenton, CEO of Bally’s Corp., said recently the company, which closed on its $308 million acquisition of the 65-year-old, 1,467-room resort on Sept. 26, is continuing talks with the Oakland A's. “Obviously, they (the A’s) have got to make some decisions and some choices, but we’ve been in discussions and discussions with other partners as well,” Fenton said in response to a question on whether Bally’s was still pursuing placing a baseball stadium on Tropicana’s 35-acre site. While Bally’s is focusing most of its attention on developing a $1.7 billion resort at the former Chicago Tribune site on the Chicago River, Fenton said the Tropicana is still in the mix for a stadium. “We’re very much looking at the long-term plan for the Tropicana property, and that includes whether or not we could put a diamond in the middle,” he said. The A’s continue to have “a very strong interest” in the Tropicana. A sweetheart deal similar to the Deal the Oakland Raiders worked placing some of the re-location cost on the backs of the taxpayers seems unlikely. Since the arrival of the Raiders and the billion-dollar stadium Las Vegas has become the leading "US Sports Destination." The prospect of the A’s moving from Oakland to Las Vegas grew recently when MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said he is growing pessimistic about the likelihood that the A’s can salvage a deal for a 35,000-seat, $1 billion stadium at Oakland’s Howard Terminal. The A’s reportedly are floating prospective stadium deals with Bally’s and billionaire Phil Ruffin, owner of Treasure Island and Circus Circus, to use the Las Vegas Festival Grounds at Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue as a potential stadium site. There appears to be no appetite by State or Local Governments to help with the financing.
A’s President Dave Kaval has previously talked about the possibility of the A’s and Aviators coexisting in Las Vegas, noting benefits of having the two teams within miles of each other. It’s highly likely the A’s would play at the Aviators Stadium while waiting for the completion of their stadium Las Vegas Ballpark, a $150 million facility that seats 10,000, features multiple seating options including 22 suites, 400 club-level seats and hundreds of party deck seats, in addition to its signature outfield pool area and a grass berm adjacent to that. I find it highly unlikely that Las Vegas could support 2 Baseball Teams.
