A professional Las Vegas baseball team is looking more and more likely, now that the city of Oakland has missed a deadline to come to an agreement with their MLB franchise. The Athletics want a new stadium to play in, and the inability to get a deal wrapped up could mean that any hope of keeping the team in Oakland has now passed.
A city official had recently stated that an agreement on a $1 billion ballpark on the waterfront needed to be in place by September 30th, but obviously that date has already passed. And now, he fears that it’s too late to keep the team in town.
The Athletics and Major League Baseball insist that a deal be in place before the end of the year, saying that a new stadium must be in the works by that time. This despite the fact that the teams lease of their current stadium lease runs through ‘s 2024.
Sources have confirmed that the Athletics have already been on contact with Phil Ruffin, who owns the Circus Circus Casino in Sin City. Talks between the two parties focused on building a brand new Las Vegas baseball stadium for the team across from the Circus Circus resort.
That’s not the only possibility, however. Bally’s Corporation is also in discussion with the team about a new stadium. Bally’s recently purchased the Tropicana, which is at the other end of the Strip and closer to the professional football stadium.
Any deal for a Las Vegas baseball would involve a new stadium which would seat 30,000 people and have a retractable roof.