According to The Nevada Independent, it is being reported that the soon-to-be Las Vegas Athletics new stadium may be over budget.
Athletics owner John Fisher has said that the 33,000-capcity stadium will be located at the corner of Tropicana Avenue and the Las Vegas Strip, is moving toward a completion date of April 2028.
The cost has been reportedly billed at $1.5 billion, raised to $1.75 billion, and now Fisher is looking at $2 billion price tag.
The price tag alone will mark it more expensive that the $1.9 billion, 60,000 seat Allegiant Stadium.
At the moment, the most expensive non-gaming venue in Las Vegas is the $2.3 billion Sphere.
On Monday night, Fisher spoke with The Nevada Independent as he watched the A’s game in their temporary home of Sacramento. Fisher rarely watched the team as their time came to a close in Oakland.
Fisher said, “The crowds here have been great,” as he watched the game from his suite with friends and colleagues.
Fisher admits that he would skip games in Oakland to avoid the outpouring of anger from fans who, frankly, did not want the team to be moved to Las Vegas after the move was announced in 2023.
“Watching these games gives us a lot of excitement as we move forward in Las Vegas,” Fisher said.
During their final season in Oakland, the team averaged a crowd of 11,386 fans per game. That also included sellouts for the final series.
Fisher has committed $1 billion to the project, and he said that site work is ongoing in Las Vegas.
“The costs have gone up as more detail comes in. That’s fine,” he said. “From the very beginning, we wanted a design that was unique. Vegas is one of the most unique towns in the world. We wanted a building that would symbolize the excitement and uniqueness that is the market.”
“My goal here is to find not just partners, but the right partners,” Fisher said. “We need to make sure that we have partners who not only love the game of baseball but love being a part of Las Vegas Athletics and this stadium.”
Fisher is excited for the not only what’s to come off the field with the move to Las Vegas but what’s going on on the field for the A’s.
“We have an exciting young team we’re building for Las Vegas,” he said.
