A’s ballpark land use permits get green light from Clark County Commission

The A’s moved a step closer to starting construction on the team’s planned $1.75 billion Las Vegas ballpark after Clark County commissioners unanimously approved land use permits Wednesday.

The permits include those for recreational or entertainment facility, live entertainment, vocational training, office, outdoor dining and drinking and cooking and outdoor market. The Athletics plan to play their home games at the 33,000-fan capacity stadium, which also will host other sporting and live entertainment events.

“Today we got approval that we can now start pulling permits, that we can now start working toward the actual construction and erection of this building,” A’s President Marc Badain said following the meeting. “Obviously a big step, but a lot of the work has been done over the last few years and I got to join in the last month.”

The approval included several waivers of development standards including on-site parking reductions, traffic mitigation plans and landscaping mitigation.

On-site parking requirements will be reduced from 7,650 to 2,470, with those spots to be located in a parking garage to be built on the site’s southeast corner.

Sooner the better

County commissioners also approved allowing the A’s to begin excavating the site before a development agreement is finalized with the county.

“The sooner we can get started the better to stay on schedule and get the building up and running in time for the 2028 season,’ Badain said. “We’re on schedule now and this was a big step.”

The A’s aim to begin construction between April and June, with plans to have the building ready for the 2028 MLB season.

“The iconic structure that is proposed there is something that opens a lot of doors when it comes to the importance of Las Vegas Boulevard to this community and to the world, frankly,” Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson said. “I consider this to be a transformative action that we’re taking here today.”

Community support

Dozens of trade workers with Laborers Union Local 872 attended the meeting, each donning A’s caps and kelly-green T-shirts reading, “Approve it and they will come,” playing off the famous line from the baseball movie “Field of Dreams.”

Based on the success of Allegiant Stadium, the A’s ballpark marks another chance to show the world what Las Vegas can build and what the city has to offer, Tommy White, Laborers 872 business manager and secretary-treasurer, said during public comment.

“This is not only about jobs for construction workers, because we get out there, we build it, then we go,” said White, who also sits on the Las Vegas Stadium Authority board. “This is about the jobs that take place afterwards, also.”

‘A tremendous project’

Members of Culinary Local 226 also attended in support of the project, with union secretary-treasurer Ted Pappageorge stating that the A’s have approached the project and the community in the right way since the team began looking into the market in 2021.

With the union previously having a long contract for its members with the former Tropicana hotel and Bally’s Corp., Pappageorge said it’s vital to keep that union connection going with the development of the new site.

“It was quite important for us for whatever happens on that site follows union contracts, union work and is good for the community,” he said. “It’s a tremendous project but I do want to say … the A’s and the team that they have and the ownership from the beginning has done a great job.”

During the public comment period, representatives from gaming companies, business associations and other sports entities joined the unions in speaking in favor of the ballpark. None opposed it or questioned the project’s plan.

That’s in contrast to the buildup to Allegiant Stadium, when meeting attendees often would be speak both for and against the project. The lack of opposition this time around could be the result of how Allegiant Stadium and professional sports in general, have transformed the Las Vegas Valley, Badain said.

“Obviously what the sports teams that have come before the A’s have done here and helped transform the city into the sports and entertainment capital of the world,” said Badain, who led Allegiant Stadium’s building process for the Raiders. “Now adding baseball and 81 dates and all the other events that we will be able to bring to this facility will just add to what’s already been a transformative time in Vegas history.”

What’s next?

Although Wednesday’s approval marked a major step in the stadium process, work remains before shovels can hit the ground on the Tropicana site.

The A’s will now work on getting a season ticket sales center up and running in Las Vegas and begin pursuing partnership deals with entities wanting to be part of the ballpark project.

The design process will be finalized, and work with the county will continue to see permits issued and construction started on the ballpark.

“At some point we will announce a date for the groundbreaking and we’ll get the chance to see that beautiful structure come out of the ground,” Badain said. “It will be another piece of infrastructure for Las Vegas to be proud of.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.