A's John Fisher, MLB's Rob Manfred preside over finally breaking ground for Las Vegas stadium

San Francisco Chronicle​

5 days ago

LAS VEGAS — For years, the refrain around the Athletics and any of their stadium ventures in the Bay Area was, 'I'll believe it when there are shovels in the ground.'
On Monday at the corner of Tropicana Avenue and the Las Vegas Strip, there were many shovels in the ground, all of them golden, with vivid green A's hardhats perched on dignitaries' heads for no clear reason — the 'dirt' they plunged into was red gravel on a raised baseball-diamond shaped platform inside a well-appointed tent.
'It's been a long process to get to this point,' MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said after the ceremony. 'I hope, once and for all, it puts to bed the doubt as to where they're going to be in 2028.'
Maybe, maybe not, but Monday's ceremony certainly had a lot of entertainingly strange juxtapositions. In the windows behind owner John Fisher, Manfred and various city officials, Mandalay Bay and the Luxor pyramid loomed, and just a few feet outside was a stake that read 'home plate.' All the hoopla happened indoors, with several hundred guests including Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers and another three-time champion pitcher, Dave Stewart, plus manager Mark Kotsay and president of baseball operations David Forst and all the team broadcasters.
Stewart, who is from Oakland, is now an adviser with the team. He has previously been involved with groups trying to purchase the A's and keep them in Oakland, as well as Nashville's expansion efforts. He watched the current ownership, led by Fisher, make four attempts to secure a stadium in the East Bay or San Jose, including the most recent effort at Howard Terminal for the waterfront ballpark Fisher once coveted and which had appeared on track right up until the A's bolted for their 'parallel path' toward Las Vegas in April 2023.
'I never thought I would see the A's leave Oakland in my lifetime,' Stewart said. 'But here we are. And the A's were in Kansas City before Oakland. This is just a new chapter.'
Jarring as it was to see Oakland icons like Stewart and Fingers in this backdrop, or to hear Bill King's radio highlights played on the green carpet 300 feet from the MGM Grand, or to learn that the A's initial talks with Las Vegas took place at the Mob Museum, there was no denying the enthusiasm of the Las Vegas-based attendees, which included groups of children from the local Make-A-Wish Foundation's local chapter and from youth leagues, with kids from each group introducing dignitaries.
There remains skepticism about the A's ability to get their proposed domed stadium in Nevada built. Fisher has said repeatedly that he and his family are prepared to foot the bill, which is expected to run over $2 billion minus the $380 million local and state government is providing, but tariffs could escalate the costs of construction.
'You always want to see what happens with the economy,' said 9th District assemblyman Steve Yeager (not the former MLB catcher). 'But I don't think we would be having this groundbreaking if this wasn't going to be a go.'
Also looming is the very real threat of a work stoppage in 2027 after baseball's current CBA expires, with many in the industry predicting months to a full year without the sport. The A's plan to have their stadium in Nevada ready for the 2028 season. They're playing in Sacramento this season, with the stated intent of remaining there until they move to Las Vegas.
Fisher has discussed adding investors, and he sounded as if he hoped Monday's extravaganza, complete with confetti as the dirt flew, might lure some high rollers.
'We've got a number of people who have committed so far, and we're continuing to raise capital,' Fisher said. 'But this will probably help because people all want to see: is this real? … As the structure comes up, I think people are going to be able to look at it and, you know, sort of say, 'Wow.''
Commissioner Manfred also tried to defray concerns on this front.
'We've had ongoing conversations with them about potential investors,' Manfred said. 'I think that our franchises right now are a good investment, and I think there'll be plenty of interest. … There's always things that are beyond your control, but John has tremendous resources available to him. I have no doubt that this stadium is going to get built, and it's going to get built on time.'
To date, no investors have been announced, although A's executive Sandy Dean said the team 'could have something soon,' and Fisher is selling the San Jose Earthquakes, his MLS team. The timing of that announcement this month led to immediate speculation that he needs the money for his Vegas venture.
'This project is independent of what happens with the Earthquakes,' Dean said.
'This is such a monumental task that it was important to me that I be able to give 100% of my effort toward the A's,' said Fisher, who has purchased a home in Las Vegas.
Even so, some longtime baseball insiders suspect that Fisher's primary objective with a stadium agreement was simply to continue to receive revenue sharing and then sell the club, perhaps even to Bay Area interests. One official at Monday's event said that Manfred was so irritated by negotiations during former Mayor Sheng Thao's administration that 'he will never allow another team in Oakland.'
Asked Monday about the possibility of a second MLB team in the Bay Area at some point, Manfred said, 'This has nothing to do with the Bay Area. I don't talk about potential expansion sites. When we start that process, we'll have plenty of time to talk.'
As for dealing with Nevada and Las Vegas government vs. Oakland and California, Manfred said, 'Just night and day. I mean, there's no other way to say it. It's unfortunate, but people here in Nevada saw an opportunity, and they leaned in and took advantage of it.'
The Raiders did the same, and former Nevada state Sen. Scott Hammond said this process is running in a roughly similar manner.
'It's following a similar track,' he said. 'A lot of skeptics at first saying Mark Davis is a broke owner and we're hearing some of the same narrative here. But we're about to play the fifth season at Allegiant Stadium. In Vegas, once things get to this point, rarely do they ever not make it to the finish line.'
The A's, though, have their long history of whiffing on stadium sites, and the expense of building their Las Vegas stadium could top the Raiders' $2 billion.
'The one thing people are waiting to see is the money, right?' Hammond said. 'Where is the money? They're going to be so far into this where it's like, all right, this is do-or-die time. Until it's laid out in full, there will still be those questions. As far as I understand from my conversations with people, directly, indirectly, that's still a work in progress.'
There's no doubt that the Bay Area, even shared, is a bigger market than Las Vegas, and a much higher-income area to boot. Vegas draws 40 million visitors a year, but there is a drop-off during the summer.
'The truth is, we're not really a big enough media market to support major league sports, but the way we made it work with the Golden Knights and Raiders, it's a blend of local fans and fans of the away team,' Yeager said. 'In addition, summer months are some of the slowest months in Las Vegas, and that's when baseball is at its peak, so to get folks to come out here in an otherwise slow time of the year, I think that's just going to be a huge benefit for the city.'
So, a dome filled with opposing fans on many nights? Fisher is hoping to convert the locals, at the very least.
'We're going to convince them not to be Detroit Tigers fans and Dodgers fans, to become Athletics fans,' said Fisher. 'And we're going to start young, which is why we have the Little Leaguers and (softball players) here because this is a sport that can be enjoyed and loved by all.'
There are already those who love the A's, or did — the abandoned fans in the East Bay, who have been watching these proceedings with a blend of agony and disgust. Many have moved on altogether, no longer even following just to rip ownership.
'I've just been so detached from anything A's-related and Major League Baseball in general, but it's definitely noteworthy they're having an actual ceremony,' said Oakland native Anson Casanares, a member of the Oakland 68s fan group. 'But everything about it is still just suspect; there are so many red flags that are surrounding this whole thing. It all feels forced, it's hard to take it seriously.
'The vast majority of Oakland A's fans are just over it. They put us through the wringer for too many years. It's more like, 'Hey, have fun with whatever you're doing,' because even in Sacramento, they're not making the most of that situation. I just don't think it's going to pan out for them if they're in Vegas or Sacramento or Utah or wherever they go.'