The A’s are officially moving to Las Vegas, and a groundbreaking took place on Monday this week for the team’s new Strip stadium, on the former site of the Tropicana. It should be a historic moment for the team, however, some are raising concerns over the slow progress of building.
According to Las Vegas writer Doug Puppel, correspondent for Engineering News-Record, the diggers and other heavy equipment pictured in the groundbreaking images were rented props. A public relations staff member for the MLB franchise supposedly confirmed the information:
A thread with more than 63,000 views on X has compared the A’s big stadium build to that of the Allegiant Stadium, built by the same contractor Mortenson McCarthy. Builders broke ground on the Allegiant stadium 18 months after announcing their move to Sin City. Meanwhile, it took the A’s 26 months.
The A’s are yet to secure some vital permit
Despite the length of time it has taken the A’s to break ground, reports suggest they are far behind the Raiders at the comparative point in their progress. The A’s are yet to secure some vital permits.
That’s not to mention the rise in costs for the A’s since the project began. The stadium cost estimate has risen from $1.5bn to $2bn, up 33%. This is because steel, fuel, and labor costs have all increased, in addition to increasing interest fees.
With all this in mind, some X critics have labeled the groundbreaking a PR stunt intended to mask over the project’s issues.
