A’s agree to buy land for Las Vegas ballpark site

The Oakland Athletics have signed a binding agreement to purchase land near the Las Vegas Strip, where they intend to construct a major league ballpark, team president Dave Kaval told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Wednesday.

The agreement is for a 49-acre site owned by Red Rock Resorts, the parent company of Station Casinos.

Kaval told the Review-Journal a $1.5 billion, 35,000-seat, partially retractable roof stadium would be built on the site, adding that other developments, including restaurants and an amphitheater, are also being discussed.

“For a while we were on parallel paths [with Oakland] but we have turned our attention to Las Vegas to get a deal here for the A’s and find a long-term home.” Kaval told the Review-Journal. “Oakland has been a great home for us for over 50 years, but we really need this 20-year saga completed and we feel there’s a path here in Southern Nevada to do that.”

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred expressed his support for the purchase agreement and for the A’s shifting their efforts toward a move to Las Vegas after being based in Oakland since 1968.

“We support the A’s turning their focus on Las Vegas and look forward to them bringing finality to this process by the end of the year,” Manfred told the Review-Journal.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao criticized the announcement and said the city is “ceasing negotiations and moving forward” to other options.

“I am deeply disappointed that the A’s have chosen not to negotiate with the City of Oakland as a true partner, in a way that respects the long relationship between the fans, the City and the team,” Thao said in a statement, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “Yet, it is clear to me that the A’s have no intention of staying in Oakland and have simply been using this process to try to extract a better deal out of Las Vegas. I am not interested in continuing to play that game — the fans and our residents deserve better.”

According to the Review-Journal, the purchase agreement is for the land only, and the A’s have an option to purchase an additional eight acres at a later date. The site is about a mile north of Allegiant Stadium, where the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders play, and about a mile west of T-Mobile Arena, where the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights play.

“It’s really exciting to have a site,” Kaval said. “We’ve spent almost two years doing our due diligence, working with community leaders, elected officials and everyone in town to really determine a location that could be a win for the A’s as well as the community and public officials.”

Las Vegas has been home to a Triple-A team since 1983, and currently, the club is the Athletics’ affiliate.