The Oakland Athletics’ pursuit of relocating the franchise to Las Vegas came into focus Friday as the organization released its first renderings of what a potential new stadium there would look like.
A clearer picture also emerged of how much public money Nevada could contribute to bring the A’s to the desert.
Nevada and Clark County would commit up to $380 million in public money to a ballpark project aimed at bringing an MLB team, most likely the A’s, to Vegas, according to the draft of a bill obtained and published by the Nevada Independent. The A’s have been negotiating with Nevada officials on a public contribution for a proposed $1.5 billion ballpark project. Public funds would need to be approved by Nevada’s legislature, which has not been formally presented the ballpark measure.
According to the bill draft published by the Independent, a public funding package would include $180 million in transferable tax credits issued by the state of Nevada and $120 million in Clark County-issued bonds to be paid off through the creation of a tax financing district around the stadium area.
Clark County also would pay a $25 million credit toward infrastructure costs and the stadium site would be exempt from property taxes for 30 years, which the Independent reported would be worth about $55 million, bringing the total public contribution to about $380 million in the draft.
The Las Vegas Stadium Authority, created to oversee the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium, would oversee the new publicly owned ballpark. The draft bill does not specifically name the A’s or a ballpark location, but that flexibility may be a formality with the A’s deeply involved in the process and with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred saying on Thursday that an owners’ vote on relocation could happen next month if the A’s have a financing deal approved. If the A’s ballpark deal gains approval, the team would also need approval to relocate by a 75% vote of MLB owners.
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo this week announced a “tentative” deal between local officials and the A’s on funding of a $1.5 billion ballpark, saying public funds would account for less than 25% of the cost of the project.
For a site, the A’s have a deal to receive about nine acres of the Tropicana Las Vegas site, which is leased by Bally’s Corp. and owned by Gaming & Leisure Properties, to build a 30,000-seat ballpark with the deal subject to public funding being approved.
The A’s already have changed site plans once, having entered an initial “binding” land deal to buy a 49-acre site near the Las Vegas strip in mid-April before pivoting to the Tropicana site.
The team now appears focused on the Tropicana site at Tropicana and Las Vegas boulevards. In the renderings released Friday, the ballpark would have a partially retractable roof and, according to an A’s release, host “a diverse range of events, concerts and community gatherings” as well as baseball.
“We are excited to share our vision for the A’s potential new home,” A’s team president Dave Kaval said in a statement. “Thanks to the vision of Bally’s and GLPI, we have the opportunity to bring baseball to one of the most energetic locations in Las Vegas. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Nevada Governor, Legislative leaders, Clark County Commissioners, and the Southern Nevada community as we move forward with plans on our new home.”
The A’s deepening involvement in pursuing a ballpark in Las Vegas drew comment from U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who represents the 12th District — which includes Oakland and Alameda.
Said Lee in a statement: “It’s been extremely disheartening to read the reports that the A’s are continuing to move toward relocating the franchise to Las Vegas, despite the strong effort Mayor (Sheng) Thao has made to keep the A’s in The Town. It would be a mistake for the A’s to turn their back on their passionate fan base, a brand new ballpark, and the city that they have called home for over half a century. I’m hopeful the current A’s ownership, or a new ownership group, come back to the negotiating table to reconsider staying in Oakland.”
A’s pitcher Paul Blackburn, a Bay Area native who has been with their Triple-A Las Vegas affiliate rehabbing from injury the past month, said of the mood in Vegas about a potential A’s arrival: “I feel like people there are excited about it.”
“Me personally, growing up here, I don’t know how I feel about that,” Blackburn said. “The A’s have always been a Bay Area team to me. I’ve got a lot of friends and family that are huge A’s fans, too. So if it was up to me, I kind of hope the A’s stay here in Oakland.”
As a player in the organization, Blackburn said, not knowing where the A’s will be in the coming years is difficult.
“I feel like sometimes people forget that we have families, too,” said Blackburn, whose second child, a boy named Callum, was born May 5. “There are times when it’s nice to have some kind of structure. … Everything right now is still up in the air. So it’s a little bit of confusion for everyone.”
Briefly: Blackburn is slated to return from injured list and make his season debut Monday. … Left-hander Hogan Harris is expected to be called up from Triple-A to pitch Saturday, but the A’s haven’t decided if they’ll use an opener for the game. … Pitchers Kirby Snead and Freddy Tarnok, both on IL, threw bullpen sessions Friday and will face hitters Tuesday.
Reach Matt Kawahara: mkawahara@sfchronicle.com
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