LAS VEGAS — The Oakland Athletics are in the midst of a process that will end up seeing them relocate from Northern California to Las Vegas by 2027 at the latest.
It was earlier this week that the A’s made a joint statement with Nevada government leaders on a public finance plan for a $1.5 billion stadium on the Las Vegas Strip. Once the Nevada State Legislature approves the measure and the MLB Relocation Committee does its thing, a move to Southern Nevada will be secured.
Whether the A’s are jumping the gun with a few more obstacles to overcome remains to be seen. But the MLB team released renderings of the yet-to-be-built new venue in Sin City.
The renderings themselves are something else:
“From the minute we stepped onto the Tropicana site nearly two years ago, it was immediately obvious what a fantastic fit it would be for a new A’s ballpark in Las Vegas.
The natural orientation of the ballpark creates not only some of the best views and connection to the Las Vegas skyline from the seating bowl but also opens up the ballpark to the corner in a way that creates opportunities for an amazing energetic public space with open and expansive views into the ballpark.”
Oakland Athletics director of design Brad Schrock said in a statement
A look at Oakland Athletics stadium renderings
Several things stand out here. Outside of A’s fans in Northern California largely being upset over likely relocation, it’s hard to argue that this wouldn’t be a magnificent upgrade over the Oakland Coliseum. That’s not even debatable.
The MGM Grand and Las Vegas Strip as a background is just visually stunning. With the proposed stadium site being the current home of the Tropicana, traffic will also be somewhat of nightmare (it already is on the Strip). That makes it more important for the A’s and those involved in the project to make this accessible to foot traffic.
The Las Vegas Raiders did just that with Allegiant Stadium after they also relocated from Oakland years back. As anyone who has been to that venue, making your way to Allegiant from Mandalay Bay and other parts of the Strip by foot is relatively easy.
As for whether this is what the Oakland Athletics’ stadium in Las Vegas will actually look like, it must be noted that they are in the early stages of the process. Once the Nevada Legislature, MLB Relocation Committee and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approve the project, ground is set to break at some point in 2024. For what it’s worth, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred noted recently that a vote on relocation could happen in June.
What we do know is that the venue will seat roughly 30,000 fans and has a retractable roof. That’s a necessity in the heat of Sin City.