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MLB franchise the Athletics has hired Oak View Group’s Marc Badain, who formerly played a key role in the relocation of the NFL’s Raiders to Allegiant Stadium, as the team’s new president, along with presenting a fresh look at its plans for a new ballpark in Las Vegas.
Badain joins the Athletics from his role as president of OVG Las Vegas – Arena and Entertainment, where he has been overseeing the planning for a multi-billion-dollar integrated resort and arena project.
Badain was appointed to this role in June 2022 having previously spent close to three decades with the Raiders, which along with the Athletics used to play at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum before relocating to Vegas.
Badain’s career with the Raiders began in 1991 as a training camp intern. Over the years, he advanced through the ranks, eventually becoming the team’s chief financial officer in 2004 and later its president, in 2015.
Sandy Dean, who was serving as interim president of the A’s following Dave Kaval’s departure in December, will now take on the role of vice-chairman. In this new position, Dean will continue to represent the ownership group in various areas and remain actively involved in plans to develop the team’s new ballpark.
The A’s believe Badain’s extensive experience in overseeing large-scale projects and steering complex organisational operations will be crucial as the franchise transitions to Vegas. A’s owner John Fisher said in a statement: “His vast experience, particularly his work on the opening of Allegiant Stadium and overseeing the Raiders’ move to Las Vegas, makes him a great addition to our team at this pivotal moment.
“His leadership, commitment to the community, and ability to oversee transformative projects will be key as we look to build a strong and successful future in Southern Nevada.”
A’s ballpark progress
The Las Vegas Stadium Authority (LVSA) in December approved a series of key agreements for the construction of the new stadium for the A’s, with chairman Steve Hill stating the decision marked a “really significant day” for the city and state.
The LVSA signed off on the development, non-relocation and lease agreements for the new 33,000-capacity ballpark, which earlier saw its budget rise to $1.75bn (£1.35bn/€1.61bn), up from the previously reported $1.5bn.
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 announced in January that all season tickets for the first season at Sutter Health Park had sold out.
In October, the first details were revealed behind the planned integrated resort that will be part of the new 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.
Addressing his new role, Badain told The Athletic: “The organisation is going to go through technically two relocations. The process in Sacramento and that program up there, and all the efforts that are being done to make that an incredible experience for the fans, and the improvements to the ballpark that are going to be done up there, that’s certainly a challenge.
“And then building the organisation in Las Vegas, and the construction process simultaneously running with the sales process, It’s something I’m obviously familiar with, but that’s a very intense period of time, and you have to be present, and you have to be at everything in this town, and you have to build something spectacular.”
A fresh look
The new ballpark images, which were presented yesterday (Thursday) during a LVSA meeting, include features that were not shown in previous renderings, such as home and visitor bullpens stacked together just beyond the left-field wall, as well as shortened foul territory that would allow for the closest seats to the field of any MLB stadium.
Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and HNTB, the A’s currently expect to break ground on the stadium during the second quarter of 2025, with June the target. The team then hopes to move into its new home in time for the start of the 2028 MLB season.
Badain said he has “no doubts on that at all” when questioned over whether the A’s will hit that target. He added: “I’ve been through it, right? I relocated a professional sports team from the old market to this market, so I obviously have all those relationships with the folks here in town and I’ve been through the process, so I can work with the staff and everybody that’s going to be making those transitions, and then have a lot of very deep and meaningful relationships with people in the community here.”
Badain departs OVG after the company was last month announced as the exclusive food and beverage provider for Allegiant Stadium. OVG’s plans for a new district in Las Vegas that would be anchored by a 20,000-seat arena were announced in March 2022, but it is yet to break ground.
OVG announced late last year that it was no longer targeting the Las Vegas Boulevard and Blue Diamond location but still had plans for an arena. It is yet to announce the new location, but the Las Vegas Review-Journal said the group is considering land at the Rio.
“The company’s pretty far along on the Vegas arena,” Badain said. “One person I would never bet against is (Oak View CEO) Tim Leiweke, and I know that arena is going to get built, and I look forward to being a patron there on opening day. And when he’s got something to announce, he’ll announce it.”
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