The Athletics New Stadium In Las Vegas Is Already In Serious Financial Trouble

The team formerly known as the Oakland Athletics is set to play the 2025-2027 seasons in Sacramento. The expectation has been that at the start of the 2028 season, the team will move to Las Vegas to play in a brand-new stadium built directly on the Strip.

In support of the move, Nevada agreed to give hundreds of millions of dollars to the organization and team owner John Fisher to build on the site of the former Tropicana hotel, across from the MGM Grand.

And as recently as late-2024, it seemed like the Athletics, Vegas, and Fisher had cleared the remaining political hurdles required for construction.

READ: A’s Stadium In Las Vegas Clears Final Major Hurdle

Turns out, that might not be quite true.

Sutter Health Park. Photo: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Major Problems Popping Up For Athletics New Stadium In Vegas

In late-June, the Athletics held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the first steps in constructing their new home. Attended by Fisher, as well as Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, it seemed to indicate that progress was being made toward finally making the move a reality.

Turns out, the construction equipment behind Fisher at the groundbreaking were actually rented props that will not be used.

That's not what you want to hear. 

A lengthy new report from The Guardian went into detail on the financial challenges that Fisher and his team will have to figure out before they can complete the new stadium. One economist they spoke to, JC Bradbury, who focuses on sports venues, has no idea what the next step actually is.  

"It’s unclear what the endgame of John Fisher is," Bradbury said. "Whether he miscalculated, doesn’t understand, doesn’t care about money, or there’s something I’m just totally missing in all of this"

Initial estimates were that the stadium would cost around $1.5 billion to build. That number rose to $1.75 billion by the end of 2024. With inflation and ever-increasing construction costs, it's possible that total expenditures could reach $2 billion. And Fisher almost certainly doesn't have the money or financing to pay it.

Currently, it's estimated that between loans and public money, Fisher has roughly $855 million in confirmed financing for the new stadium. While his net worth is around $3 billion, it's unlikely he'd be willing to pour 35 percent to 40 percent of his personal fortune into finishing construction. But if he doesn't, where does the money come from?

Fisher is trying to sell the San Jose Earthquakes MLS team, which could bring in $500-600 million. But he'd still be well short of the $2 billion target. And that's assuming there aren't any more increases. 

There's the potential for outside investment, but little in the way of signed documents on when construction will happen, and how it will be paid for. All of this hassle too, for a city that has no connection to the A's, and isn't guaranteed to fill up a 33,000 seat stadium 81 times per year for a bad team. 

If Fisher can't get this situation figured out, and quickly, the Athletics might be on the lookout for a new owner. And another new destination. Salt Lake City, Portland, Nashville, Austin…come on down.