Fishers to make $1bn contribution to A’s Vegas ballpark

Up to $1bn (£770.8m/€920.8m) will be invested by owner John Fisher and his family in the construction of MLB franchise the Athletics’ new stadium in Las Vegas.

The financing plan for the 33,000-capacity ballpark was disclosed by Athletics executive Sandy Dean during a special meeting of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority board yesterday (Thursday). Along with the equity contribution from the Fisher family, a $300m construction loan commitment letter has been put forward from U.S. Bank and Goldman Sachs.

The contributions from the Fisher family and U.S. Bank/Goldman Sachs will be part of four letters that are due to be presented at an Authority meeting scheduled for December 5. At this meeting, it is expected that final approvals will be granted for the project to start construction. “We feel like we’re on the right path and it will become clearer in the months ahead,” Dean said, according to the Associated Press.

The latest news comes after the first details were revealed last month behind the planned integrated resort that will be part of the ballpark scheme. The stadium will be constructed on the site of the Nevada city’s iconic former casino-resort, Tropicana Las Vegas. In May 2023, the A’s reached a binding agreement with Bally’s and Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc. (GLPI) to build a new ballpark on the site.

Some $380m of public funding is expected to be made available for the project, construction of which is due to begin in the spring ahead of a targeted opening for the 2028 MLB season. Dean said Fisher is still seeking partners in the Las Vegas area who can purchase stakes in the franchise, proceeds from which will go toward paying for the stadium.

“We’ve been consistent in saying it would be good coming to Las Vegas to have outside partners from Las Vegas,” Dean said. “That process has just begun. The ability to finance the stadium is independent of that.”

The project currently has a price tag of $1.5bn. Dean said an updated construction budget will be presented at next month’s meeting, acknowledging the final cost will likely rise “by something.”

In November 2023, the A’s received the green light from Major League Baseball (MLB) to relocate from Oakland to Las Vegas. The team has played out its final season at the Oakland Coliseum and is now set to head to Sutter Health Park in Sacramento for the 2025-2027 campaigns prior to the move to Vegas in 2028.

The A’s yesterday announced that the first pitch of its inaugural game at Sutter Health Park will take place at 7:05pm local time on March 31, as the Athletics take on the Chicago Cubs.

Across the 81-game home slate, the A’s will play 60 night games, including 25 of their 28 games in June and July when temperatures in Sacramento can often hit 100 degrees or 37.8 Celsius. Eleven of the A’s 21 total day games will be played in April and May, with only six Sunday day games scheduled from June through August. Night games will begin at 7:05pm.

St. Petersburg moves to protect Tropicana Field

In other MLB news, St. Petersburg City Council has approved the award of $6.4m in contracts for initial repair work to Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Hurricane Milton last month caused major damage to Tropicana Field, with the storm blowing large parts of the stadium’s roof away. This has subsequently created a dilemma for both the Rays and the City as to where the team will play during the 2025 season.

In July, the City approved the $6.5bn Historic Gas Plant District Redevelopment scheme which is set to incorporate a new $1.3bn stadium for the Rays. With this in mind, the City will be seeking to avoid the significant cost of making major renovations to Tropicana Field when the new ballpark is in the pipeline for delivery in 2028.

Tropicana Field’s ultimate future is set to be decided soon, but in the meantime the City Council has agreed to an initial $6.4m outlay for mitigation efforts that will create a temporary drainage system and waterproof the facility’s electrical system, offices, concessions and other exposed areas.

The move has been made in an effort to protect both the stadium and the City’s insurance claims, with the work able to halted, thereby avoiding some of the costs, should the stadium be deemed unrecoverable in the coming days.

“We have filed an insurance claim for Tropicana Field’s damages,” said Blaise Mazzola, the city’s risk management expert, according to the Tampa Bay Times. “As a policy holder, as the insured, it is critical that we mitigate our losses.

“Our policy has duties… and one of them reads ‘take reasonable steps to protect any covered property from future damages.’ By doing the work outlined, we are ensuring that we are able to protect the structure from future damage. If you don’t do this, it could potentially be very problematic for the claim. We could have issues with coverage.”