The MLB’s Oakland Athletics are supposed to be moving into a brand new Las Vegas baseball stadium in 2028. And while delays are not uncommon when it comes to construction on this scale, financial delays can lead to the complete failure of a project. And while there’s still a long way to go before that happens in this situation, that is the path we’re on.
The Athletics finally unveiled details about the financing for the new Vegas baseball stadium during a meeting several weeks ago. Those details showed that they expect $350 million to be provided by Nevada tax payers, who didn’t even get a say in the plans. In fact, the Nevada Supreme Court said they couldn’t even vote for it. Does that seem fair? Never mind, this is politics.
Then there is the issue of another $300 million which will supposedly be raised through debt financing, even though no one is beating down the door to take on that responsibility the team cannot secure a lender. Even if they could, that still leaves a healthy chunk of $850 million on the table… and if you think the team or their owner will pick up the tab, think again.
The owner of the team is John Fisher, and he’s worth about $2 to $3 billion, depending on which website you ask. But why would a billionaire pay out of his own pocket for his own team to get his own stadium when he can get other people to risk their cash? The short answer is he wouldn’t… and he has no plans to do so. Instead, the $850 million will be gathered from investors in and around Las Vegas. Problem solved? Not quite.
There are no investors. None. It seems that people looking for smart investments are not lining up for the Vegas baseball stadium project. Why would anyone want to put good money at risk based on speculative future valuation of this team? Meanwhile, any reports of serious, interested investors are unfounded.
Lastly, the team has yet to secure any actual loans, even while they float claims that there are many interested financial institutions. So why all the smoke and mirrors? And is there a real danger that the Las Vegas baseball stadium doesn’t get built? Probably not. However, given the history of failed projects in Sin City over the years, the odds of it failing are certainly not zero.