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the Oakland Athletics They signed a binding agreement to purchase land near the Las Vegas Strip, where they intend to build a major league soccer stadium, team president Dave Kaval told Las Vegas Journal Review Wednesday.
The agreement is for a 49-acre site owned by Red Rock Resorts, the parent company of Station Casinos.
A $1.5 billion, 35,000-seat partially retractable roof stadium will be built on the site, Kaval told the Review Journal, adding that other developments, including restaurants and an amphitheater, are also being discussed.
“For a while we were on parallel tracks [with Oakland] But we turned our attention to Las Vegas for a deal here in order to find a long-term home. Kaval told the Review Journal. Oakland has been a great home for us for over 50 years, but we really need to complete this 20-year saga and we feel there’s a way here in Southern Nevada to do that.”
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred expressed support for the purchase agreement and for shifting their efforts toward moving to Las Vegas after they had been based in Oakland since 1968.
“We support shifting the focus of the A’s to Las Vegas and look forward to them finalizing that process by the end of the year,” Manfred told the Review-Journal.
Auckland Mayor Sheng Thao criticized the announcement and said the city was “pausing negotiations and moving forward” to other options.
“I am deeply disappointed that the A’s have chosen not to negotiate with the City of Oakland as a true partner, in a manner that respects the longstanding relationship between the fans, the city and the team,” Thao said in a statement. San Francisco Chronicle. “However, it is clear to me that the A’s have no intention of staying in Oakland and they have used this process to try and get a better deal out of Las Vegas. I’m not interested in continuing to play that game — our fans and residents deserve better.”
According to the Review-Journal, the purchase agreement is for the land only, and A has the option to purchase an additional eight acres at a later date. The site is located about a mile north of Allegiant Stadium, where the Las Vegas Raiders play in the NFL, and about a mile west of T-Mobile Arena, where the Vegas Golden Knights play in the NHL.
“It’s really exciting to have a site,” Kaval said. “We spent nearly two years doing due diligence, working with community leaders, elected officials, and everyone in the city to identify a location that could truly be a win for A’s as well as community and government officials.”
Las Vegas has been home to a Triple-A team since 1983, currently, the club is the Athletics affiliate.
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