‘End of an era’: Vegas hotel gives way to A’s ballpark
- The $1.5 billion ballpark will include 33,000 seats
- The A's join three other pro sports franchises
- A Bally's resort will be built next to the stadium
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(NewsNation) — An iconic Las Vegas hotel and casino will close its doors next week to give way to playing home to the smallest stadium in Major League Baseball as the Oakland Athletics begin to prepare to move to Sin City.
The Tropicana Hotel and Casino will cease operations after 67 years as developers will demolish the site in preparation for the A’s move from the Bay Area. The $1.5 billion, 33,000-seat stadium will be built on nine of the property’s 35 acres.
The remaining land will be used to house a new Bally’s resort. Construction is set to begin in 2025 and the ballpark is projected to be ready for the 2028 season, developers said.
“It’s one of the last landmarks that remain in Las Vegas,” developer Lorenzo Doumani, whose family once owned the Tropicana Hotel and Casino, told “NewsNation Now” Thursday.
“It’s a piece of history, it’s nostalgic and it’s kind of sad, but Vegas has changed completely since I grew up there. …It’s a different place… it’s the end of an era, really.”
The A’s will become the latest pro sports franchise to move to Las Vegas, a city that sports ownership groups previously avoided due to its ties to gambling, Doumani said. But in recent years, the National Hockey League’s Vegas Golden Knights, WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces and the NFL’s Raiders joined the city’s landscape.
Doumani expects an NBA franchise will move to Las Vegas within the next three years as teams begin to flock to the entertainment mecca. The city also hosted the Super Bowl this season, adding to the city’s sports history that once was limited to heavyweight championship boxing matches.
The A’s, who have called Oakland home since 1968, have announced their new stadium will feature a tiered design that will feature an outdoor feel and views of downtown Las Vegas.
The team announced plans to move to Las Vegas after negotiations to rebuild the Oakland Coliseum broke down. The move was approved by Major League Baseball in November, giving Las Vegas its first pro sports franchise since 2020. The team has not announced plans where it will play its home games in the 2025, 2026 and 2027 seasons before its Vegas home is ready.
“It’s uniquely positioned for professional sports,” Doumani said.
Doumani remembers entertainers like Elvis Presley during karate workouts and professional athletes like Muhammad Ali training at the Tropicana while his family owned it. But he said while the city can honor its past, Las Vegas has no choice but to embrace a future as a landing spot for more corporate entities.
Doumani, who said he is working to develop a non-gaming project in the city, said that while he will remember Las Vegas for what it has been in the past, he won’t shy away from looking forward.
“All you can do is keep your memories and embrace it,” Doumani said.
