With the team already spending $400 million, the $2-billion new Athletics ballpark in Las Vegas is on budget and on time, with work on the lower bowl substantially underway.
Located at the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue on the infamous Strip, the new Athletics ballpark is close to the next phase of construction: the final installation of a fifth shoring tower to support the roof, with four already installed. According to A’s vice chairman Sandy Dean, who updated the Clark County Commission on construction progress, the walls and floors of the top two levels will be going up next, with the roof trusses being constructed onsite. In addition, the bottom levels of the ballpark will be walled off, allowing for indoor finishing work. The Athletics have spent $400 million to date on the new $2 billion ballpark, with the project on time and on budget. From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Concrete work on the first two levels of the ballpark has been completed, with the first loop around the ballpark done on the lower plaza level. Steel work has progressed about the two concourses, with work on the third and fourth seating levels well underway, according to Tyler Van Eeckhault, project manager from the Mortenson-McCarthy joint-venture contractor.
Four shoring towers, which will support the steel roof trusses once work on the roof begins in June are in place, with a fifth being constructed. The shoring towers are 200 feet tall each and give an idea of just how tall the stadium will be once completed. The first of four roof trusses that will be hoisted into the air and installed next month are also being assembled on the ground at various portions of the stadium site.
Work on the new will continue year-round before the anticipated completion date of Feb. 29, 2028.
A few things have changed since the ballpark plan was unveiled, and the biggest change could have a impact on the short-term future of the facility: A potential delay of a plaza connecting the ballpark with new $1.19 billion Bally’s resort/casino on the northwest side of the site. According to AP, Bally’s Corp. has been unable to finalize financing for the plaza, which raises the possibility that a temporary plaza may be installed upon ballpark opening in 2028.
The plan from the start has been for the opening of Bally’s Las Vegas to follow the opening of the new ballpark. The plan for Bally’s Las Vegas: two hotel towers—one with 1,800 rooms, one with 1,200 rooms—built around a 56,000-square-foot casino with 1,500 slots, 75 table games and a sizeable 16,500-square-foot sportsbook. Add to that a triple-level, 2,500-square-foot theater and 500,000 square feet of retail, entertainment and dining. Some elements of the complex will be split: One parking ramp will open with the new ballpark, one with the resort, while a shared power plant has been divided into two power plants, one serving the ballpark and one the resort.
There is a small irony to the only delay on the ballpark construction so far has been not on the A’s side, but on the Bally’s side–after all, a new resort/casino was seen as a much safer financial bet than was the ballpark. But construction has not been halted or dropped on the ballpark, and predictions of imminent woe have fallen flat.
Photo courtesy of the Athletics, via the ballpark construction cam.
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