- The anticipated cost of a new stadium for Oakland A’s in Las Vegas went from $1.5 billion to $1.75 billion due to upgrading plans.
- A potential major league stadium in Salt Lake City could cost in the neighborhood of $1.8 billion.
- Stadium construction in Las Vegas includes hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer dollars, as would be the case in Salt Lake City.
The owner of the Oakland A’s will have to dig a little deeper into his pockets to build a new stadium for his team in Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Stadium Authority recently said the price tag for the planned stadium on the Strip where the Tropicana Las Vegas was torn down in the summer has risen from $1.5 billion to $1.75 billion. The increase is attributed to several upgrades including enhanced general-admission spaces, improved player amenities, additional club and suite space as well as rising construction costs, per Front Office Sports.
“The design process is iterative, and has been allowing us to add elements to the ballpark intended to make this a premier facility for Major League Baseball,” A’s executive Sandy Dean told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The stadium authority and two financial institutions expressed confidence in A’s owner John Fisher being capable of covering the $250 million increase.
Goldman Sachs and U.S. Bank are providing a $300 million construction loan, and Fisher, an heir to The Gap retail enterprise, is pledging that he and his family will contribute up to $1.1 billion.
“We conclude that the Fisher family and their related entities have financial assets (excluding their interest in the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise) more than sufficient to fund the equity portion of the proposed capital structure for the Athletics’ Las Vegas stadium,” U.S. Bank senior vice president Stephen Vogel wrote in a letter to the stadium authority.
Public money will also figure into the construction cost of the stadium featuring a covered roof and under-seat cooling, per the Review-Journal. Nevada lawmakers passed legislation last year that earmarked about $350 million for the project. The stadium is projected to open for the 2028 season. The A’s will play in Sacramento until the new ballpark opens.
The most recent MLB stadium to open, Globe Life Field in 2020, home of the Texas Rangers, cost $1.2 billion, including a $500 million voter-approved bond.
What would an MLB stadium cost in Salt Lake City?
A combination of public and private money commonly fund new stadiums and arenas as would be the case if Salt Lake City were to land a Major League Baseball team.
The Larry H. Miller Company is leading an effort to bring a big league baseball franchise to Utah. It would build a stadium on Salt Lake City’s west side where the company plans to put $3.5 billion into a mixed-use development including housing, restaurants and shops along with a new headquarters for Rocky Mountain Power.
Specifics about the design and cost of a ballpark have not been revealed but it could be in the neighborhood of $1.8 billion.
The Utah Legislature earlier this year passed a bill creating a special district with the ability to raise the rental car tax 1.5% to pay for construction of the ballpark only if MLB awards Utah a franchise, with a 2032 deadline for that to happen. The law approves bonding for half the cost of a stadium up to $900 million. The state would own the venue and lease it back to a team for $150,000 a month for 30 years. If a team leaves the city before that time, it would have to repay the taxpayer-generated funds.
Major League Baseball has no immediate plans for expansion.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said at his annual summer meeting with The Associated Press Sports Editors group that he anticipates having a two-team expansion process in place by January 2029, when his term as commissioner ends. A new team wouldn’t begin play until 2031. Manfred has declined to talk about the viability of any city, but said baseball would need a new team in the East and the West to make the format work. Some baseball analysts have pegged Nashville and Salt Lake City as the frontrunners.
Delta Center renovation
Sales tax dollars are also being steered toward a planned renovation of the Delta Center to accommodate the Utah Jazz and the new Utah Hockey Club, both owned by Smith Entertainment Group.
Earlier this year, the Legislature, with Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County backing, passed SB272 allowing the creation of a downtown sports, entertainment, convention and culture district. SEG intends to put $3 billion into redeveloping a three-block area in the city center, which includes reconfiguring the arena entrance to face east, pedestrian plazas, building a residential tower and a hotel and providing retail and restaurant space.
Under the law, the city raised its current 7.75% sales tax rate one-half of a percent to 8.25% over no more than 30 years. The tax doesn’t apply to groceries and major purchases like vehicles. The increase takes effect Jan. 1.
The tax hike is anticipated to generate $1.2 billion, $900 million of which would go to SEG to repay bonds for the project. The company estimates it will spend $525 million to remodel the Delta Center and $375 million on the other district improvements.