Athletics Celebrate Groundbreaking of $1.75 Billion Stadium in Las Vegas

Everybody from Little Leaguers to Baseball Hall of Famers were on hand in Las Vegas on Monday as the Athletics started the groundbreaking of a $1.75 billion, 33,000-person capacity ballpark that is expected to be finished in time for the 2028 season.

The stadium will be built on nine acres of the 35-acre site owned by Bally’s on the corner of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. The Tropicana’s resort towers were destroyed in an overnight demolition in October to clear the way for the ballpark.

Nevada and Clark County have approved up to $380 million in public funds for the project. The Las Vegas Stadium Authority in December approved lease, non-relocation and development documents, the last major steps for the A’s to eventually become Las Vegas’ team.

“I have no doubt this is done in 2028,” Athletics President Marc Badain said. “You know the workforce here; they’re all here and ready to get going. It’s nice to see the validation a day like today brings and what the next three years will mean for the community and for the construction project and the jobs and everything else that you’re going to see as this building comes out of the ground starting as early as tonight.”

The A’s are playing the first of at least three years in Sacramento, California, while they await their move to Las Vegas. Each A’s player wears a patch of Sacramento’s Tower Bridge on one sleeve and a Las Vegas logo on the other as part of a three-year sponsorship with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Artist renderings show a stadium with its five overlapping layers that bears a resemblance to Australia’s Sydney Opera House. A glass window beyond the outfield provides an outdoor feel with views of the Las Vegas Strip. Rather than a centralized cooling system, air conditioning will be distributed through the seats.

The A’s are set to become the fourth major professional team in Las Vegas, joining the Raiders, NHL’s Golden Knights and WNBA’s Aces.

“I think that the demographics, the success that other sports have had, and the amount of tourism here, those three legs of the stool make this an ideal market for us,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “I have no doubt that this team is going to be really successful in Vegas.”