Despite speculation and rumors to the contrary, it appears that financing for the new Vegas baseball stadium is a done deal. Documents submitted to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority seem to confirm that the financing for the A’s ballpark on the former Tropicana site is fully secured, with the total costs rising from $1.5 billion to $1.75 billion.
For those unfamiliar with the A’s potential move to Las Vegas, here’s a brief overview: The team is expected to relocate from Oakland to Las Vegas, but they still need a venue. Up until now, details on financing for the new Vegas baseball stadium have been unclear, leading to skepticism about whether the stadium would actually be built.
Now, a 706-page agenda from the board meeting has been made public, and it includes four crucial documents: A commitment letter from Goldman Sachs and U.S. Bank for a $300 million loan to the A’s and their owner, John Fisher; Next, a letter from Fisher committing up to $1 billion to the project.
The other two documents find a letter from Athletics StadCo confirming sufficient funding to move forward with the ballpark. Lastly, yet another a letter from U.S. Bank affirming that the Fisher family has the resources to contribute the $1 billion. While these documents answer any remaining questions about funding, there are still concerns about the project—particularly regarding the potential increase in costs if the A’s have to finance infrastructure should Bally’s back out of its planned resort on the site.
For now, it seems clear that the financing for the new Vegas baseball stadium is secure, with John Fisher committed to investing a substantial portion of his wealth (and facing a hefty tax bill from cashing in his GAP stock) into a high-risk project with ambitious revenue and attendance projections—rather than selling the team to a more serious owner who could help establish a more stable MLB presence in Las Vegas.