Do new agreements eliminate any chance of the A’s staying in Sacramento?
Dec 6, 2024, 11:42 AM
A sign featuring the Tropicana logo and "See You Soon!" is shown at the Tropicana Las Vegas on March 29, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The hotel-casino opened in 1957 and will close on April 2, 2024, to make way for a planned USD 1.5 billion, 33,000-seat domed stadium for Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics and a related resort development by Bally's and Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. MLB owners approved the team's relocation to Nevada in November and the A's hope to move into the ballpark, which will occupy nine acres of the 35-acre site, in 2028. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
(Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
On Thursday, the city of Las Vegas stadium authority approved a trio of agreements needed to greenlight construction on the A’s new home ballpark, which will be built on the Strip. Construction is expected to start in the spring of 2025.
Allen Stiles was joined by Mick Akers, sports reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the one who broke the news, to discuss the timing of their agreement and what it could mean for any hopes of the A’s remaining in Sacramento after their currently planned three-year layover in California’s capital.
The guys talked about that, along with the recent franchise-record signing of starting pitcher Luis Severino to a three-year, $67-million deal, with reports that the team hopes to take their league-lowest payroll into the $100-million range as soon as this coming season.
Other topics discussed included:
- What these agreements mean for the A’s potentially staying in Sacramento long-term
- The specifics of the stadium building agreements
- How the city of Las Vegas has embraced the Golden Knights and Raiders since their moves
- Are there concerns about attendance being mainly fans of the away team?
- Akers provides insight into some conversations he’s had with A’s owner John Fisher
- Will Las Vegas fans pay attention while the team is temporarily based in Sacramento?
- And PLENTY more!
The full interview is available on the Sactown Sports 1140 YouTube channel or by clicking the link above.
More on the A’s Las Vegas ballpark plans
Under the development agreement, the A’s must shoulder the first $100 million of the stadium’s cost before public funds can be used. The team has already spent $40 million on the project, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Both the lease and the non-relocation agreements can be extended more than once and can last up to 99 years. The agreements lay out what the A’s can do if the stadium becomes unplayable or if the team attempts to relocate before the lease expires.
The stadium authority also approved stadium construction financing. The A’s new ballpark will cost $250 million more than originally projected, but team owner John Fisher is still expected to foot his share of the bill.
In a letter presented earlier this week to the stadium authority, U.S. Bank senior vice president Stephen Vogel wrote that Fisher, whose net worth is an estimated $3.2 billion, and his family can comfortably afford the $1.75 billion project.
“We conclude that the Fisher family and their related entities have financial assets (excluding their interest in the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise) more than sufficient to fund the equity portion of the proposed capital structure for the Athletics’ Las Vegas ballpark,” Vogel wrote.
U.S. Bank and Goldman Sachs are loaning Fisher $300 million for construction costs, while the public sector is chipping in $380 million, per Front Office Sports. Fisher has said he and his family will contribute as much as $1.1 billion.
That leaves $1.37 billion for Fisher to raise himself. He is still recruiting minority equity investors but has not yet given a clear picture on how he will fund the rest of the project.
The ballpark was originally slated to cost $1.5 billion, but improvements to fan and player amenities — including suite spaces — have raised the bill.
The A’s hope their new home will be ready for Opening Day 2028. Until then, the team will play its home games at Sutter Health Park, a minor league stadium in Sacramento, Calif., that seats about 14,000 fans.
The A’s had called Oakland home from 1968 to 2024, but Fisher elected to move the team after failing to agree with the city on terms for building a new stadium in the Bay Area.
–Field Level Media
More A’s coverage from Sactown Sports
The A’s were rumored to be more involved in the free agent market this offseason, and in the days leading into the Winter Meetings in Texas, they have made a head-turning acquisition.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Athletics have signed right-handed starting pitcher Luis Severino to a three-year, $67 million deal–the largest guarantee in the history of the A’s franchise, surpassing a six-year, $66 million extension for Eric Chavez that was signed in 2004.
The deal includes an opt-out following the 2026 season.
Severino, 30, went 11-7 with a 3.91 ERA and 161 strikeouts over 182 innings pitched during the 2024 season with the New York Mets.
Read more below:
Upcoming 2024-25 MLB Offseason Dates
- MLB free agency begins the day after the final World Series game
- Players can sign contracts with new teams five days after the final World Series game
- December 8-11th – MLB Winter Meetings in Dallas, TX
- February TBD – Pitchers & catchers report for Spring Training
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