Report: Oakland A's make bid for LV stadium
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The Oakland Athletics have visited Las Vegas multiple times and have seen multiple stadium sites.
If Wednesday's new report is true, they're after one of the most famous corners in the city.
The report, from our partners at CNBC, says the team has made an offer on the property where the Tropicana stands: 35 acres at the corner of Tropicana and the Strip, home to one of Las Vegas' last legacy resorts.
The Tropicana sits in Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson’s district.
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“As we have seen with the NHL and the NFL, Las Vegas is a great place to have a pro team,” Gibson said in a statement. “We have the best fans in the country and if this comes to fruition, it would be very exciting to welcome Major League Baseball to our community.”
In April, Bally's bought the Tropicana for $308 million. CNBC reports the team has made a bid on the property.
No comment from Bally's.
"Unfortunately, we cannot comment at this time," an A's spokesperson told me Wednesday.
Ever since news broke last spring that Major League Baseball has given the A's the green light to look for greener pastures, their Las Vegas search has uncovered about 20 or so initial sites of interest. The team promised to release the finalists after the World Series.
“I have talked to the folks from the Oakland A's a couple of weeks back,” said Gov. Steve Sisolak, D-Nevada, whom I met Wednesday at an event. I told him about this latest stadium scoop regarding the Trop.
“That wasn't one of the sites they mentioned to me. They did mention to me it's on the corner of Trop and Dean Martin,” said Sisolak, referring to property farther west on Tropicana owned by the Fertittas, owners of Station Casinos.
CNBC also reported the Wynn Golf Course was in contention, while land owned by Caesars is no longer being considered.
As for the report about Wynn, “nothing to that rumor. It’s false,” Wynn spokesperson Michael Weaver emailed me.
Earlier this fall, team president Dave Kaval told me what locals were telling him about what they wanted from a possible stadium site.
“Obviously people wanted to have a location you can get to very easily, to and from, good logistics,” Kaval told me.
The Tropicana site would be near the interstate. And it would also signal market research is telling the team a fan base here would not only be local but tourist. A Strip site would be easy access for visitors to cheer the A's or an opposing team.
But while all this percolates, don't forget the A's are still reportedly talking to Oakland. At last check, the city told me negotiations were ongoing.
But the team says it needs answers from Oakland soon.
And if the A's come here, did they get any answers from us about who would foot the bill for a billion-dollar ballpark?
“It did come up. I told them that I didn't think that there's any appetite right now for public financing of a stadium,” says Sisolak.
“There are other opportunities available to help with the construction depending on the site that they pick, if that’s infrastructure, if it’s a tax improvement district, some various options that might be made available,” said Sisolak, adding, “but those are dependent on the site that they pick, and we’ll go from there. But I’m sure I’ll be talking to them again.”
