LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The great Yogi Berra once said "You can observe a lot by watching" and we did at the Stadium Authority board meeting on Thursday.
The main topic? The new A's ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip.
As we have previously reported, the ballpark is estimated to cost approximately $1.5 billion. That number could go up due to construction costs.
The state has set aside up to $380 million for the ballpark and A's officials said they're only planning on using about $350 million. The rest would be funded by the Fisher family. If ballpark construction costs rise, Hill says the public wouldn't be on the hook for it.
"What will happen is Mortenson l McCarthy, who are the contractors that are going to be building the stadium, will be required to provide a guaranteed maximum price for building the stadium. And so, we'll have that number and then, we'll be able to do the math," said Steve Hill, the President and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and Chair of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority. "If it's a $1.6 billion stadium and the public is going to put in $350 million, the Fishers will have to put in the balance. It is 75%, 80% funded by the Fishers and 20% or 25% funded by the public."
We asked Hill what he thought about the Fishers getting funds together. He said they're "very much committed and they're going to do this."
"There's been chatter around whether the Fishers had the ability to do it. I don't, frankly, think anybody seriously questioned that," Hill said. "We were able to look, in detail, at their ability to do it. It is clearly there and that will be expressed by them and third parties at one of the next two future meetings."
According to Hill, each of the Stadium Authority board members will have the opportunity to review third-party information from auditors, statements from banks, and other financial institutions to validate funding from the Fishers. However, those documents will not be made public because they "are confidential."
The Stadium Authority also discussed an updated lease agreement, development agreement, and non-relocation agreement. One of the terms listed in that non-relocation agreement, as a provision of Senate Bill 1, is if the team decides to leave Las Vegas before the 30-year lease is up, the team must pay the outstanding balance on public financing.
WATCH: LVCVA's Ed Finger explains ballpark funding structure, financial plans
BALLPARK FAST FACTS:
- There will be eight driveways that will let fans drive in and out of the site when the ballpark opens: three along Reno Avenue, two along Las Vegas Boulevard, and three along Tropicana Avenue.
- The ballpark will have a 150-foot tall parking garage, which will be located at the southeast corner of the site along Reno Avenue. The garage will have 2,500 parking spaces. If you include parking spaces at the Bally's resort, there will be 4,590 parking spaces on-site.
- The site will have 106 trees and water-efficient landscaping.
- The ballpark will use sustainability measures like low emissivity glass and LED lighting.
Like I told you back in March, Bally's officials are planning to turn the former Tropicana site over to the A's in April 2025. However, Hill said there is some wiggle room for when they can start building.
"The start date of April is not as critical as it might sound because that's 36 months prior to when they would play in the stadium," Hill said. "I'm sure they want to be done with the stadium a month or two before the season would start to just shake it out and make sure everything works well and that kind of thing. They do have some flexibility in the time frame of the construction cycle."
On Monday, the A's, Bally's, and Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc. submitted documents to Clark County with preliminary plans for the site. Hill said that was in order to start conversations with the county, which would allow construction to begin.
"Construction can start before all of what we do is in place because they could do it, as the Raiders did, at their own risk and start before all the documentation is done," Hill explained. "What they can't do is start without building permits and a development agreement with the county. And so, they reported today that they have started that conversation with the county."
We asked Hill if construction on the stadium could happen at the same time as construction on the Bally's casino.
"I think that's possible. I don't think they would start at the same time but that would be up to Bally's," Hill said. "There will be nine acres that is the construction of the stadium. There could be other development on that site but Las Vegas is pretty good at building a whole lot of stuff on not so much land so we'll be able to figure out how to do that."
As for the documents that were submitted earlier this week, A's executive Sandy Dean says all of the details are preliminary and subject to change.
"We'll need extensive review by the county and also, a number of other stakeholders. That will be a process that is now beginning," Dean said. "The county review process will provide for public meetings and, also, input so there will be an opportunity for dialogue."
You can see those documents below.
A's Lease Agreement 10-16-24 by jarah.wright on Scribd
Stadium Development Agreement by jarah.wright on Scribd
Non-Relocation Agreement by jarah.wright on Scribd
Channel 13 reached out to the Stadium Authority to see how you can weigh in on the plans.
As of the time this story was published, we are still waiting to hear back.
