While many in Las Vegas are thrilled at the prospect of Major League Baseball (MLB) arriving here on opening day of the 2028 season – even MGM Resorts International is talking about making the MGM Grand more welcoming to baseball fans. – it seems that one of the key entities in the process is waiting for its own creation.
Bally’s Corp, based in Providence, Rhode Island, operates the Tropicana casino. Bally’s provided an update on the new ballpark planned for the Oakland A’s in its second-quarter earnings statement with investors last week.
Since Bally’s does not own the Tropicana land, but instead leases it to real estate investment trust Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc, the entire process of moving the A’s to Las Vegas is in several hands.
various actors
The key players are the A’s, the club that fielded the worst team in major league baseball this year and has played in Oakland since 1968; MLB, which has 30 teams, 75 percent of which must vote for the team to move to Las Vegas for the move to take place; Bally’s, which runs the Tropicana and has 15 casinos in 10 states and a new and relatively inexperienced management team; and Gaming & Leisure Properties (GLPI), which owns the land under the Tropicana, which collects $10.5 million a year from Bally’s for the move. Five million a year from Bally’s as part of a 50-year lease.
The State also has a place at the table because it contributes 380 million dollars of public financing to the project.
GLPI reported its second-quarter results a week before Bally’s and gave the impression that the design process for the $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat stadium was advancing apace.
“This design process is going from strength to strength,” Peter Carlino, CEO of GLPI, said in that statement. “The A’s and Bally’s have been very focused on keeping this moving.”
However, Bally’s, in its statement, acknowledged being on hiatus, waiting for MLB to approve the team’s relocation in a vote that may not come until later this year.
two other companies
Bally’s doesn’t seem too concerned. The company has at least two other big projects underway before what happens with the Tropicana and the type of resort they plan to build on the site.
Bally’s was selected to build the Chicago casino resort, and part of that plan is to open a temporary casino in September.
And Bally’s was awarded the only iGaming license granted by the state of Rhode Island. The company plans to launch the electronic game in its home state in March.
For his part, Bill Hornbuckle, MGM Chairman and CEO, told a benefits conference that his company will continue to be one of the beneficiaries of the city’s growing love of major league sports.
The Tropicana is across the street from the MGM Grand, and the company is studying how to make the most of its proximity to the planned stadium.
Baseball fans would love to see all parties agree on the design of the stadium, and sports fans see what San Diego did with Petco Park as a model of a stadium that coexists with a hotel.
reap the benefits
MGM already knows the benefits of having properties that are home to or near other sports teams, with the Golden Knights playing at T-Mobile Arena, along with New York-New York and Park MGM. For their part, the Las Vegas Aces, WNBA champions, play at Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay, another MGM property.
“The biggest beneficiary of all sporting events to date has been MGM,” says Brendan Bussmann, a gaming industry analyst at B Global, based in Las Vegas. “They made the ante with T-Mobile by serving as a top spot for their portfolio of properties. Even though the A’s stadium will be across the street, they will be open with inventory on day one, whereas you will probably have to wait for the Bally’s facility to open while the entire venue is redone at the soon-to-be Tropicana.”
Bussmann has advocated for bringing MLB to Southern Nevada for more than 15 years.
“Even with all the ups and downs that have occurred over the sites, design and everything else in recent months, I still believe that when that first launch begins, it will be a huge victory for the destination in the sports and entertainment capital of the world. ”.
Bussmann believes that Bally’s is at a critical point in its history.
“They were the direct beneficiaries of the Eldorado-Caesars merger, and now they have to deliver in two important markets, Chicago with the temporary and permanent installation, and Las Vegas on one of the most awarded corners of the Las Vegas Strip,” he said.
“The Golden Knights, the Raiders and the Aces have shown this community that they are a strong partner and that they offer the type of experience that both residents and tourists expect of Las Vegas. The A’s and Bally’s don’t have much room for error.”
But Bussmann – like many other Las Vegas residents – is optimistic.
Given where we are on this journey and the road that’s been traveled this year,” he said, “I expect it to be a home run when they step up to the plate.”
