Oakland A’s Already Changing Vegas Stadium Plans Despite Previous Binding Agreement

The Oakland A’s have already altered their Las Vegas stadium plans, just a few weeks after the initial announcement.

In late April, the A’s organization announced they’d reached a binding agreement to purchase a parcel of land in Las Vegas to build a new stadium.

READ: OAKLAND A’S REACH AGREEMENT TO BUY LAND IN LAS VEGAS

The agreement with Red Rock Casinos would require somewhere around $500 million in public funds to complete a 35,000 seat, retractable roof stadium.

The initial location was west of I-15, across from the strip, relatively close to the Las Vegas Raiders stadium.

But apparently those plans have already changed, in dramatic fashion.

The Nevada Independent reported Tuesday that the A’s have now pivoted to an entirely separate site, with an entirely new partner.

According to sources quoted by the Independent, the A’s now have an agreement with the Bally Corporation to build a stadium on land currently occupied by the Tropicana Hotel. Directly on the southern part of the strip.

Oakland A’s New Plan Could Be An Improvement

This new agreement with Bally could potentially lower the amount of public funds the team is requesting.

Initially, estimates placed the number at over $500 million, but this project could reduce that to “just” $395 million.

That figure still would be an incredibly poor investment for the city, considering that profits for the A’s ballpark would go exclusively to the A’s. But it does lessen the blow and make legislative approval a bit more likely.

A source told the Independent that the initial deal with Red Rocks is apparently dead. “This is now the deal. This is what we’re working on,” the source said.

That happened incredibly quickly!

It’s unclear how the A’s will maneuver their way out of the previous “binding agreement.” But assuming that hurdle is cleared, this would seem to be a better stadium solution.

Being directly on the Strip would likely open the team up for further tourism attendance opportunities. Especially since the new plan reportedly involves a new 1,500 room casino-hotel on the property.

Having the stadium walking distance from huge hotels including the MGM Grand and New York, New York would be quite valuable.

The reduced public funding requirement could also be easier to acquire for the team.

None of this will be much comfort to Oakland fans, who are losing yet another franchise. But the A’s seem intent on moving to Vegas, and that became a bit more likely today.