Bally’s Corporation confirmed on today the agreement to build a new ballpark for the Oakland Athletics at its Tropicana La Vegas site.
The Nevada Independent reported the agreement last week, saying that Bally’s would demolish Tropicana Las Vegas, the site it purchased from Gaming & Leisure Properties (GLPI) a Penn Entertainment last September in a deal worth $148m. This will allow the A’s construct a $1.5bn retractable roof stadium with 35,000 seats, or as Bally’s confirmed, “approximately 30,000.”
A source also claimed that Bally’s was planning to build a 1,500 room hotel-casino across the stadium, separate from the ballpark.
The announcement today did not mention a hotel-casino, but it confirmed that a binding deal had been reached by all parties involved – Bally’s A’s and GLPI – to locate the new MLB ballpark. This is expected to attract more than 2.5 millions fans and visitors each year.
In a statement on the ‘transformative’ deal, Oakland A’s President Dave Kaval stated: “We’re excited about the possibility of bringing Major League Baseball into this iconic location.” We are excited to be working with Bally’s, GLPI and look forward to completing plans to bring the Athletics in Southern Nevada.”
This development puts an end to the four year rumor mill, and the ‘binding contract’ that the A’s had announced with Red Rock Resorts a few weeks back. The agreement was centered around a 49-acre location in a new location near the Las Vegas Strip.
The A’s were reported to be seeking around $500m for their project on the original site through a tax package, which would need approval from the Nevada Legislature and Clark County Commission. However, according to The Nevada Independent the agreement with Bally’s only requires $395m.
The announcement today also revealed that GLPI had agreed to provide up to $175m for ‘certain shared improvement’ in the future development, as long as a corresponding rent increase was made.
“We’ve enjoyed getting to understand the Oakland Athletics leadership through our dialog over the last couple of years,” said Peter Carlino GLPI Chairman and CEO. We are happy to support their vision of a new ballpark by contributing nine acres to the Tropicana property. We look forward to seeing the project take center stage in the Las Vegas skyline.
The Oakland Athletics’ desire to build a Major League Baseball Stadium on our site will highlight its prime location on the Las Vegas Strip. This interest will also enhance any future development on our remaining 26 acres. We expect that as the project progresses, GLPI may have the opportunity to invest further in various aspects of the overall development to the extent that we deem it will produce an attractive risk-adjusted return on the capital of our shareholders.
Bally’s press release did not confirm that the stadium would open in 2027. However, if construction schedules change, it may be moved to 2028.
The report did note, however, a “range of benefits” that the agreement would provide.
- Significant ballpark visits materially enhance future offerings in the development.
- The site has a wide range of strategic options, including the option to deploy capital in a disciplined manner and develop the site in phases.
- Unlocking massive potential for global, iconic brands to partner with and market one the busiest intersections of the country, which receives over seven million monthly impressions;
- Bally’s database evolution has a transformational impact on the global omni-channel strategy.
George Papanier Bally’s president said: “We feel honored to have been chosen to partner with Oakland Athletics in this monumental step to help bring Major League Baseball into the great city Las Vegas and to be part of the once-in-a-generation opportunity to have a professional baseball club located within a few minutes walk of the Las Vegas Strip. This development will add to the iconic status of Las Vegas’ Tropicana, which has been a landmark for many generations.
We are determined to ensure that the new development and ballpark will be a landmark paying homage the iconic history of Las Vegas, its global appeal and its 50 million annual visitors.
Bally’s announced that it would continue to operate the Tropicana Las Vegas “for the foreseeable’ future, while ‘evaluating the options available for a larger redevelopment’ of the rest of the site adjacent to the new stadium’.
Last Tuesday, the group reported its financial results covering the first quarter 2023, which revealed that its revenue increased by 9.2% year-on-year to $598.7m.
Bally’s Net Income also increased to $178.3m, compared to $1.9m the year before. CEO Robeson reeves pointed to cost cutting measures as one of the reasons why North America Interactive outperformed initial expectations.
