The Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team is hoping to begin work on a new ballpark in Las Vegas in April 2025, with a view to completing the project in January 2028.
Mortenson-McCarthy, which was selected as the construction manager for the proposed new 30,000-capacity ballpark back in August, disclosed the tentative timeline during a meeting with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority yesterday (Wednesday).
A’s owner John Fisher confirmed in August that the team had submitted its application to relocate to Las Vegas. The relocation still requires approval from MLB.
In June, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo signed off on a bill that will provide up to $380m (£314m/€361m) in public funding for the stadium, setting up what will likely be a months-long process for MLB to approve the franchise’s relocation.
The total cost of the project is set to be around $1.5bn. Previous reports have suggested that the A’s would look to break ground on the project next year, with a view to opening the stadium in time for the 2027 MLB season, but this timeline could now be pushed back a year.
Mortenson-McCarthy also built Allegiant Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, which opened in 2020. The Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper reports that the company’s presentation to the stadium authority yesterday also included its plans to engage local companies and individuals in the A’s project.
The report states that 15% of construction work on the ballpark will be carried out by small local businesses. The stadium authority has also approved a payment of $1m to two law firms, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, to handle negotiations with the A’s.
The report adds that the A’s will have the right to extend the initial 30-year lease with four 15-year extensions and one nine-year extension. After the initial 30-year lease expires, the team will be able to purchase the stadium.
The first renderings of the team’s Las Vegas ballpark were unveiled in May. The team has since clarified that these renderings are conceptual and do not necessarily represent its final vision for the stadium.
The stadium will be located on the nine-acre Tropicana hotel site on the Las Vegas Strip and will feature a retractable roof. In May, the A’s reached a binding agreement with Bally’s Corporation and Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc. (GLPI) to build the ballpark on the site.
