A’s have new design of proposed Las Vegas ballpark

The Oakland Athletics have a new design of their proposed Las Vegas ballpark, according to MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle.

Speaking Wednesday on a call with investors, Hornbuckle said he met with A’s owner John Fisher on Tuesday and was presented the new mock-up of the stadium.

“I was literally with their (A’s) team and their owner yesterday; they’re excited to be coming,” Hornbuckle said. “They actually showed me the (stadium) design, which was spectacular, I might add. So we’re all excited by that.”

Fisher was in Las Vegas this week for MLB business meetings.

The A’s have yet to announce the architect they chose from a competition between two groups. But with a new ballpark design being shown to Hornbuckle, it appears that decision has been made.

Hornbuckle said the next big step for the A’s and their relocation process is the MLB owners vote. That vote is expected to take place at next week’s owners meetings in Arlington, Texas, potentially Nov. 16, according to Hornbuckle.

The A’s need 75 percent of team owners to vote in favor of their move to officially get the process into motion.

“Obviously they have to get through that,” Hornbuckle said.

The A’s were successful this week in court in nixing a referendum petition filed by political action committee Schools Over Stadiums, aimed at halting the $380 million in public funding earmarked for their planned $1.5 billion, 33,000-seat ballpark.

A spokesman for Schools Over Stadiums said Monday after a judge’s decision that the committee will either appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court or refile the petition with the full language of Senate Bill 1.

If the A’s relocation is approved next week, they will work to finalize a series of agreements with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority before starting construction. The Tropicana, where the ballpark is planned to be built on 9 acres of the 35-acre site, then would have to be demolished.

Initial plans call for construction on the ballpark to begin in April 2025 and be completed in January 2028.

Hornbuckle said the company will look to refresh the portion of the MGM Grand that faces the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard, one they would share with the A’s ballpark and sister properties Excalibur and New York-New York.

“I think you’ll see us invest in how people move around that corner and make it in concert and synergistic with the design I saw yesterday,” Hornbuckle said. “We’ve already connected our architect with theirs to kind of talk about all of that.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.