Posted: May 30, 2021 11:13 am
Last updated: May 30, 2021, 3:38 am.
Officials from the Oakland A MLB franchise recently visited Las Vegas and liked what they saw in their potential new home.
Cashman Field is north of the Las Vegas Strip and downtown Las Vegas. It’s one possible new development location the Oakland A’s should consider if the MLB team decides to come to Nevada. (Image: Wikipedia)
Athletics President Dave Kaval accompanied billionaire John Fisher to southern Nevada for several days last week. Fisher, whose fortune stems from his parents’ founding of the GAP apparel brand, considers moving the professional baseball organization to a new town.
Las Vegas has grown into a pre-eminent sports city since the Supreme Court lifted the federal sports betting ban in May 2018. Professional leagues had long spoken out against allowing a team to call Las Vegas home for its widespread sports gambling, which many feared would compromise the integrity of their games.
That is no longer the case. Today teams from the NFL, NHL and WNBA play on the Las Vegas Strip. And some of Sin City’s most powerful people are hoping to add the A’s in the years to come.
$ 1 billion ballpark
There were many opponents across southern Nevada against Clark County who helped the then Oakland Raiders build a $ 1.9 billion NFL stadium.
The Allegiant Stadium, as the huge 65,000-seat football complex is now called, was built with $ 750 million in Clark County taxpayers’ money. The funds were raised by increasing the hotel occupancy tax on overnight stays by 0.88 percent.
The Oakland A brass toured Las Vegas meeting with casino managers, Mayor Carolyn Goodman and Henderson officials. The team did not say where exactly a ballpark would be built, but explained that around 30,000 permanent seats and a further 4,000 standing room would be required.
The costs? Kaval told the Las Vegas Review-Journal $ 1 billion. The team wants to be close to the entertainment and hustle and bustle that Las Vegas is known for.
“Our business is entertainment, and I think the more we do to have a premium experience, both in terms of the place we’re building, wherever it’s being built, and then the programming experience, this is vital, ”said Kavalval. “It feels like it’s an expectation and I think it’s something our league needs.”
Kaval’s comments came after witnessing a Vegas Golden Knights playoff game at T-Mobile, a venue that MGM Resorts owns 50 percent.
It was very impressive to see the success of professional sport in southern Nevada with the locals, ”added Kaval.
Goodman prefers the city side
The mayor says the Oakland A’s should consider Cashman Field north of downtown Las Vegas. The stadium is currently the home of the USL Championship League’s Las Vegas Lights FC. It was formerly the home of the Las Vegas 51s minor leaguer baseball team.
The city’s own pitch, Goodman says, is in a state opportunity zone that would help secure tax incentives for a major renovation of the stadium into an MLB stadium.
The A’s are considering moving from Oakland after his hometown again failed to come to terms with the franchise to build a new venue. MLB says its current stadium – Oakland Coliseum – “is not a viable option for baseball’s vision of the future.”
