Las Vegas Stadium Authority Approves 30-Year Lease For Athletics’ New Stadium

The Las Vegas Stadium Authority approved a 30-year lease, non-relocation and development documents on Thursday, clearing the last major hurdle for the Oakland Athletics to construct a stadium and bring Major League Baseball to the Las Vegas Strip.

A development agreement with Clark County still needs to be worked out. Groundbreaking would likely take place with a scheduled opening for the 2028 season.

“It’s a really significant day in Las Vegas,” Steve Hill, chief executive officer and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said in his closing remarks. “Today’s a real milestone. I think we should recognize that and celebrate that.”

The cost for the A’s stadium has risen by $250 million to $1.75 billion, club executive Sandy Dean has said. Among the reasons include an under-seat cooling system and a split lower bowl to bring the crowd closer to action.

Nevada and Clark County are providing $380 million in public funds for a 30,000-seat domed stadium estimated to have a capacity of 33,000. Public financing does not begin until the A’s have spent at least $100 million. Dean said the organization already has invested $40 million, according to the Associated Press.

“Any overages are the responsibility of the A’s,” Hill said during the board meeting. “This may not be the last time the costs rise.”

It has been a bumpy road for the A’s, as the franchise has encountered many obstacles to get to this point. In May of 2023, the team signed a binding agreement with Bally’s Corporation for nine acres located on Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue.

In November 2023, Major League Baseball’s owners voted to allow the A’s to move to Las Vegas at the annual owners meetings. Throughout the process, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao urged the MLB to reject the A’s move. Thao remained adamant throughout the process that the team had been a proponent of building a stadium development at Howard Terminal in the Port of Oakland.

However, any future in the Bay Area was terminated when the team announced in April that at the conclusion of the 2024 season it would be playing at Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park — a minor league baseball stadium — starting in 2025 for at least three seasons ahead of the team’s permanent transition to Las Vegas.

In October 2024, the Tropicana Hotel was demolished, clearing the way for the new stadium to be built in its place.