The Oakland Athletics have taken another significant step toward Nevada, retaining a major player in sports finance to broker a deal intended to provide team owner John Fisher with $500 million toward a new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip. Nevada legislators last June approved $380 million in public funding toward the estimated $1.
Fisher has sought to sell a minority interest in the A’s for months. Steve Hill, the chairman of both the Las Vegas Stadium Authority and the president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, told legislators when they approved the public funding that ballpark construction would start “probably in late 2024.” That timeline now appears optimistic, but it is unlikely the new ballpark could be ready by the projected 2028 opening if construction does not start in 2025.