A’s ballpark agreements nearing final form as meeting looms

Three crucial Oakland Athletics’ ballpark agreements with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority are nearing finalization and are expected to be presented next month.

The near-completion versions of the development, nonrelocation and lease agreements tied to the A’s planned Las Vegas ballpark are slated to be shown at the Oct. 17 stadium authority meeting, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO and President Steve Hill said during a board meeting of the tourism agency. Hill also serves as chairman of the stadium authority.

Three of the four agreements still need to be approved by the stadium authority before the up to $380 million in public money can be made available for ballpark construction. The stadium authority earlier this year approved the community benefits agreement.

Although the agreements will be presented at next month’s meeting, the three agreements won’t be up for approval until a planned Dec. 5 stadium authority meeting. The gap of time between the presentation and approval will give the public ample time to review the documents and pose any questions they might have at the December meeting, during the public comment period.

“It’s not necessary that we get done in December with the development agreement and the lease, if we combine them we can push that deadline back to May,” Hill told the Review-Journal following the LVCVA meeting.

Hill said it’s likely the development and lease will be finalized by early December.

“There’s just not that many open items and at times, it’s just, ‘Let’s have a deadline between us. Let’s make sure to get it done by then, so we don’t simply go back and forth on the open issues,’” he said. “Sometimes you just need a deadline.”

A’s stadium construction finances

As part of the development agreement, the A’s are required to provide a detailed breakdown of how they plan to finance the $1.5 billion, 33,000-capacity ballpark, to be built on 9 acres of the 35-acre Tropicana site. The A’s haven’t updated Hill on their financial plans just yet, but he expects there will be new information provided at next month’s stadium authority meeting.

A’s executive Sandy Dean has previously stated he expects the ballpark to be paid for by a combination of up to $850 million from team owner John Fisher’s family, $350 million of the $380 million available in public funding and $300 million in debt financing, to be borrowed by the team.

The A’s are also pursuing local investors, who would each receive a minority ownership stake in the team for contributing to the stadium’s construction costs. That would in turn lower the equity contribution by the Fisher family.

Tossed lawsuit

The lawsuit by the Nevada State Education Association union’s political action committee, Strong Public Schools, being tossed out Friday by a Carson City judge, was not a surprise to Hill.

Strong Public Schools challenged Senate Bill 1, the public funding mechanism for the A’s ballpark, calling portions of it unconstitutional. District Judge Kristin Luis said in her motion to dismiss that the group’s claims lacked standing that portions of the bill were unconstitutional and would divert money away from public education.

Strong Public Schools spokesman Alexander Marks said they are considering their options, including a potential ballot initiative push for 2026. Nonetheless, Hill isn’t concerned about that possibility in relation to A’s public funding.

“The law is in place and once you contract based on the law that is in place, the law can change in the future, but it won’t change the deal that’s already been contracted,” Hill said. “It would affect the next baseball stadium, I guess. But not this one.”

Hill said he wouldn’t even consider the tossed lawsuit a bump in the road since it never posed a real threat to the process with the A’s.

“Obviously we had to pay a little money to respond to the lawsuit, but it went down the path that we expected and that’s not really a focus for the board at all,” Hill said.

Tropicana implosion

The skeletons of the Tropicana’s hotel towers are planned to be brought down via implosion on Oct. 9.

The occasion marking the end of one era and the beginning of another will include a fireworks and drone show, with the A’s and Tropicana owner Bally’s Corp. participating in the early morning event.

The event will highlight what the Rat Pack era Tropicana has meant to Las Vegas over the last several decades, Hill said.

“It’s been an iconic property,” Hill said. “The fact that something new and iconic is going to be built on it is great. You see the continued evolution of our city and it’s a part of what makes Las Vegas the sports and entertainment capital of the world.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.