The MLB’s wandering franchise, the Athletics, have announced a date for a groundbreaking ceremony to christen construction of its new $1.75bn stadium in Las Vegas.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the symbolic event will take place on June 23 at 8am.
While builders have been working on the new stadium on the former site of the Tropicana since April, the official event will serve as a celebration for the organization and local officials.
Reports are that the franchise’s ownership under John Fisher will attend, along with members of the Clark County Commission, state legislature, and Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo.
A’s have followed their old hometown NFL counterpart
Construction is slated to take 32 months, with the stadium expected to welcome fans on Opening Day 2028. The A’s have followed their old hometown NFL counterpart, the Raiders, in relocating to the Strip’s southern end.
Athletics’ owners are banking on local support, with the franchise’s Vice Chair Sandy Dean recently stating that “baseball would likely have a strong local component.”
Dean, however, suggested that the A’s might have the edge on its NFL neighbor in terms of a Sin City fan base. “It’s hard to compare to Allegiant [Stadium] entirely because Allegiant has eight or nine games whereas baseball is going to have 81 games.”
According to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority, an average 68% of Raiders fans attending home games come from out of town.
