ESPN 11:13 AM IST2 Minute Read
The Oakland Athletics have signed a binding agreement to purchase land near the Las Vegas Strip where they intend to build a major league ballpark, team president Dave Kaval told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Wednesday.
The agreement covers a 49-hectare property owned by Red Rock Resorts, Station Casinos’ parent company.
Kaval told the Review-Journal that a $1.5 billion, 35,000-seat stadium with a partially retractable roof would be built on the site, adding that other developments, including restaurants and an amphitheater, are also being discussed .
“We were on parallel paths for a while [with Oakland] but we turned our attention to Las Vegas to get a deal for the A’s and find a long-term home here.” Kaval told the Review-Journal. “Oakland has been a great home to us for over 50 years, but we really need to complete this 20-year saga, and we believe there is a way here in Southern Nevada to do it.”
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred expressed support for the purchase agreement and for the A’s shifting their efforts to a move to Las Vegas after being based in Oakland since 1968.
“We are supporting the A’s in turning their focus to Las Vegas and look forward to them completing that process by the end of the year,” Manfred told the review journal.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao criticized the announcement, saying the city will “stop negotiations and move on to other options.”
“I am deeply disappointed that the A’s have chosen not to negotiate with the City of Oakland as a true partner, in a manner that respects the longstanding relationship between the fans, the city and the team,” Thao said in a statement Chronicle of San Francisco. “Nevertheless, I realize the A’s have no intention of staying in Oakland and have simply used this process to try and make a better deal out of Las Vegas. I’m not interested in continuing to play this game – the fans and our residents deserve better.”
According to the review journal, the purchase agreement is for the land only, and the A’s have the option to purchase an additional eight acres at a later date. The site is approximately one mile north of Allegiant Stadium, home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, and approximately one mile west of T-Mobile Arena, home of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights.
“It’s really exciting to have a location,” said Kaval. “We spent almost two years doing our due diligence and working with community leaders, elected officials and everyone in the city to truly determine a location that would be a win-win for both the A’s and the community and public officials could.”
Las Vegas has been home to a Triple A team since 1983 and currently the club is a subsidiary of Athletics.