Athletics' $500 Million Moneyball Pitch: A's Propose Las Vegas Ballpark Without Rendering, Design Architect...

Funding Deal, Political Leverage - LVSportsBiz

https://lvsportsbiz.com/2023/04/24/athletics-500-million-moneyball-pitch-as-propose-las-vegas-ballpark-without-rendering-design-architect-funding-deal-political-leverage/

Nobody is stopping the Athletics from building their ballpark in Las Vegas.

But $500 million in free public money toward its construction?

Well now, that’s a whole different matter.

“How the $500 million sum was arrived at was likely a mix of art and science, and may prove to be part of the overarching negotiation,” said David Carter, principal of the Sports Business Group and USC sports business professor.

Some things to ponder:

^ The A’s have neither a ballpark design architect nor a ballpark rendering for the old Wild Wild West casino site.

^ The team’s idea of a tax district generating $500 million appears far-fetched. “$500 million would require an awfully large tax increment district to work. And even if they did find $500 million, that just means that the area is short the funding needed for other basic public services,” Matheson said.

^ Then, there’s a very ambitious timeline. Kaval wants to apply to Major League Baseball in August for approval to move in order for it to be voted on at the owners meeting in the fall. That timeline would allow for a groundbreaking in 2024 and ballpark opening in Las Vegas in 2027.