Las Vegas Stadium Authority to present updated A’s ballpark lease agreement
The public will have the chance to see an updated draft of the Oakland Athletics’ lease agreement for their planned $1.5 billion Las Vegas Strip ballpark when the Las Vegas Stadium Authority meets on Thursday.
The lease agreement was introduced last year. It and the team’s under-consideration draft non-relocation agreement will run for 30 years. The lease agreement details terms for how the A’s will play at the ballpark after the team transfers ownership of the stadium and 9 acres of land it will sit on to the stadium authority ahead of the team’s planned 2028 debut in Las Vegas.
The lease and non-relocation agreements are two of the four major agreements that must be approved before public funds can be released for the construction of the ballpark. The other two are a community benefits agreement that was approved earlier this year and a development agreement that was introduced to the stadium authority in July.
The A’s must also secure financing for the ballpark project. Financing so far includes around $300 million in debt and up to $850 million in equity from team owner John Fisher’s family. The A’s are seeking local investors, who would be given a minority stake in the team, to help fund stadium construction. Any funds from investors would lower how much the Fisher family would use toward construction.
The A’s will likely use $350 million of the $380 million in public money made available to the team via Senate Bill 1, A’s executive Sandy Dean, said last month.
Stadium authority Chairman Steve Hill said last month that the three outstanding agreements will be fine-tuned over the next few months and likely be up for approval in December.
UNLV revenue payment
The stadium authority will also vote Thursday whether to approve an almost $2.4 million payout to UNLV tied to revenue shortfall during the 2023 football season.
As laid out by Senate Bill 1 in 2016, which earmarked $750 million in public funding for the construction of the $2 billion Allegiant Stadium, UNLV is eligible for up to $3.5 million in compensation for stadium net income that fails to meet $5 million annually. The revenue shortfall payments are available for the first 10 years UNLV plays in Allegiant Stadium.
The $5 million amount was determined after examining multiple years of revenue of football and non football events held at Sam Boyd Stadium, the Rebels’ former home field.
Last year, UNLV football games at Allegiant Stadium generated just over $2.6 million in revenue, so when subtracted from the $5 million base year amount from Sam Boyd, the $2.4 million payout amount was determined.
UNLV previously received nearly $2 million from the stadium authority to make up for revenue lost during the 2022 football season.
The stadium authority will also vote to approve UNLV’s 2024 home game schedule, which include match ups against Syracuse, UNR, Boise State, San Diego State and Fresno State.
UNLV works with the Raiders and Allegiant Stadium staff to schedule home games each year around NFL games and other major events at the facility.
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.
