Array
The Oakland Athletics have signed a binding agreement to purchase land for a new retractable roof ballpark in Las Vegas after being unable to build a new venue in the Bay Area.
Team president Dave Kaval said Wednesday night the team finalized a deal last week to buy the 49-acre site where the A’s plan to build the stadium close to the Las Vegas Strip with a seating capacity of 30,000 to 35,000.
The A’s will work with Nevada and Clark County on a public-private partnership to fund the stadium. Kaval said the A’s hope to break ground by next year and would hope to be move to their new home by 2027.
«It’s obviously a very big milestone for us,” Kaval said. “We spent almost two years working in Las Vegas to try to determine a location that works for a long-term home. To identify a site and have a purchase agreement is a big step.”
The A’s had been looking for a new home for years to replace the outdated and run-down Oakland Coliseum, where the team has played since arriving from Kansas City for the 1968 season. They had sought to build a stadium in Fremont and San Jose before shifting their attention to the Oakland waterfront.
Las Vegas would be the fourth home for a franchise that started as the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901-54.
«We’re turning our full attention to Las Vegas,» Kaval said. “We were on parallel paths before. But we’re focused really on Las Vegas as our path to find a future home for the A’s.”
Commissioner Rob Manfred said in December the A’s would not have to pay a relocation fee if the team moved to Las Vegas.
