Las Vegas
the Coliseum — read, “Wow! #StanleyCup playoffs! @GoldenKnights.”
Asked by KTVU anchor Mike Mibach on Friday morning why he would send a tweet that could be interpreted as a jab at not only Oakland City Council, but also to A’s fans, Kaval said, “I think it’s important to remember that we’re on parallel paths here. One, we have an effort in Oakland, five years, even 20 years in the making, to bring a waterfront ballpark to fruition.
“And we’ve also been directed by the league to explore other markets, specifically Southern Nevada and Las Vegas, and so we’re doing both those things.”
In a surprise announcement earlier this month, the A’s said they had MLB’s support to look for a new home outside of the East Bay, which some have viewed as a tactic to pressure Oakland into approving the Howard Terminal proposal. The A’s submitted their $12 billion term sheet for the proposal in April and
asked the city council to approve it before its summer recess in July.
Just days after the A’s announcement, council president Nikki Fortunato Bas, vice mayor Rebecca Kaplan, and counciwoman Carroll Fife sent a letter to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred that said the body “is committed to negotiating in good faith for a strong future for the A’s in Oakland, and we invite the A’s and MLB to do the same by agreeing not to seek relocation while the A’s complete the project process as the council moves forward.”
Thursday, the Oakland Port Commission held a closeddoor session regarding its negotiations with the A’s about a purchase price for Howard Terminal.
A’s executives came away from their trip to Las Vegas earlier this week saying they were intrigued about the possibility of bringing their franchise to Southern Nevada. The A’s current Coliseum lease expires after the 2024 season.
“We don’t have a lot of time in our current facility,” Kaval said. “These processes take a while to get these stadiums both greenlit, and then also
built. We have to start looking at these other options.”
A’s officials this week met with elected officials and casino magnates in the Las Vegas area and examined potential sites for a new ballpark with surrounding development in the region.
The A’s also wanted to find out more about what a potential public-private partnership would look like to build a new stadium, and whether the Las Vegas market could support an MLB team with 81 home games.
The fact-finding mission by the A’s brass also included a meeting with Bill Foley, owner of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights. They also attended a game by the Las Vegas Aviators, the A’s Triple-A affiliate, at Las Vegas Ballpark in the emerging and affluent suburb of Summerlin.
“It was a great first trip,” Kaval told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in a story published Thursday night. “Everyone was really welcoming to us. We don’t have all the answers. We’re approaching this and are trying to listen to understand what could work here in Las Vegas for a major league team.”
Along with talking to Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman and Clark County commissioners, Kaval also spoke informally to Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak.
Similar to their roughly $12 billion plan to build a ballpark with surrounding development at the Port of Oakland, the A’s are interested in a site for a stadium in Las Vegas that also features mixeduse development.
Kaval told the Review-Journal that a new stadium in Las Vegas would cost approximately $1 billion and have around 30,000 fixed seats and could feature a retractable roof or be domed.
Goodman told the paper the two sides did not discuss financial details, although she added that the A’s were “certainly were very enthusiastic” about the possibility of a new stadium.
The Raiders received $750 million in public money to help build Allegiant Stadium, which opened last year with a total price tag of close to $2 billion.
Kaval said he would meet with Manfred next week in New York to discuss the particulars of the Las Vegas trip.