LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A Las Vegas icon is coming down so a baseball stadium can go up, but the team meant to occupy and bring fans’ wallets to it is asking for more games away from there.

The former Tropicana Hotel is currently a sea of gutted interiors as crews work to clear the land before the Bally’s Corporation begins construction on a $1.5 billion stadium there in April 2025. The Athletics expect to throw the first pitch in 2028.

Nearly half a decade prior, they’re asking the Las Vegas Stadium Authority – which oversees operations at Allegiant Stadium and eventually those as this MLB stadium – to approve up to seven home games a season elsewhere.

A 37-page document submitted to the board notes that.
Those pages are A’s proposed 30-year non-relocation agreement. Specifically where else they would play is not notated, and a reason for the request is not included either.

A certain amount of “away” home games are standard in the MLB. For context, the most recent non-relocation agreements for other MLB ballparks agreed to no more than three home games at different sites.

Jan Jones Blackhurst, a sitting stadium authority member, said increased exposure could help expand the team’s brand and attract new talent and sponsors. To her, that translates to more tourists visiting the strip when the A’s play locally.

Conversely, she also acknowledges it might mean eating into the team’s ability to pay back the money they owe. She says she’s awaiting more information before deciding how to vote.

“I don’t think the intent is that they don’t want to play in their home stadium. But, we really have to look at what the bonding impact would be,” Blackhurst said inside her southwest valley office Tuesday afternoon. “Is it even possible? And if it is, is it in the best interest of our city, and is it in the best interest of (the A’s)?”

In 2023, the Nevada Legislature approved “a lot of money,” per Senator Pat Spearman at the time, to build the stadium with public dollars. The $380 million package, signed by Governor Joe Lombardo, is mostly made up of $180 million in transferable state tax credits and $120 million in Clark County bonds.

At that time, a lobbyist for the team told lawmakers that 81 home games would be played at the new stadium. They estimated that these would attract over 400,000 visitors to Las Vegas specifically for them.

With the potential increased games away from the physical stadium, concerns are raised on how it may impact their ability to pay those bonds back in a timely manner.

Local leaders like Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft discovered the request Tuesday.

“Everybody has a big stake in that stadium,” Naft said inside the Clark County Commission chambers Tuesday morning. “Promises were made when Carson City passed that law, requiring us to do certain things. So, they’ve got to live up to that.”

The Las Vegas Stadium Authority is slated to vote on the agreement on July 18.