It was just after 8 a.m. on a clear late June morning, but temperatures had already climbed to 85°F (29°C). Despite the desert’s usual dry heat, a large air-conditioned tent stood on the former Tropicana hotel site, demolished in a controlled explosion last October. Athletics owner John Fisher, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, and a group of politicians gathered on the nine-acre lot for a long-awaited ceremony: the official start of construction for the A’s new Las Vegas ballpark, set to open in 2028.
On the surface, it was a standard event—uneven speeches, enthusiastic children talking about how exciting it would be to have the A’s move from Oakland to Las Vegas. But for those following the team’s years-long stadium drama—including their temporary relocation to Sacramento this season—the theatrics were hard to ignore. Beyond the staged construction equipment and officials shoveling dirt into a mock baseball diamond, the ceremony felt like just another step in Fisher’s seemingly endless stadium search.
“This could be a full 10-part documentary,” Neil DeMause, editor of *Field of Schemes*, which tracks stadium developments in North America, told *CuriosityNews*. “From all the failed Bay Area proposals to Fisher’s abrupt shift to Las Vegas, to now being stuck in Sacramento while still claiming they’ll move—it’s a messy story without much real progress.”
JC Bradbury, an economist specializing in sports venue financing, added: “It’s unclear what Fisher’s goal is. Did he miscalculate? Does he not care about costs? Or is there something else here I just don’t understand?”
This isn’t the first time the A’s have struggled to secure a new home. Since 2001, they’ve explored at least nine sites across the Bay Area, including Howard Terminal, a waterfront proposal where Oakland had committed $750 million in infrastructure funding. Yet Fisher abruptly abandoned the deal, leaving behind both the money and a devoted fanbase for a smaller market where the team has no established roots.
Why trade a major TV market and a 55-acre waterfront park for a nine-acre lot in a city indifferent to the A’s? The reasoning remains unclear—despite Fisher, Manfred, and Las Vegas officials insisting everything is on track.
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