Bally’s Corp. is aiming to have a portion of its planned resort and casino completed at the same time as the Athletics’ Las Vegas ballpark is set to open in 2028.
The pair of projects will be built on the 35-acre site where the Tropicana once stood. Bally’s initially planned to have their hotel-casino project open after the A’s $1.5 billion stadium, but in recent months those plans changed.
“I think we’re working pretty hard to come up with a plan that will allow us to at least build Phase 1 and open at the same time as the ballpark,” Bally’s Corp. Chairman Soo Kim told the Review-Journal in a Monday phone conversation. “I think that would be a good opportunity and we’re working towards that. … When you talk about Phase 1, that is a casino and some level of restaurants, F&B (food and beverage) and a hotel tower. At least some level. Then over time there will be more guest amenities and more rooms.”
The site plans have laid out plans for a 90,000-square-foot casino, with 1,500 slot machines, 75 table games, a poker room and a 12,000-square-foot sports book. The hotel towers would be built in three phases, with just over 3,000 rooms planned at completion.
Not ready, yet
Kim noted that Phase 1 plans aren’t ready just yet, but that there is more time to put that together as the A’s process plays out.
The A’s plan to begin construction on the team’s 33,000-fan-capacity ballpark as early as April, but with a 31-month construction timeline, they have some leeway to when building on the project begins next year to be ready in time for Opening Day 2028.
Bally’s has even more wiggle room, as they could start construction months after the A’s do and still be on track to open a portion of their multiphase resort in concurrence with the A’s, Kim said.
“We have a little bit more time than they do,” Kim said. “This (initial phase of the resort) could take about two years. Probably closer to two than three (years)… Just like they’re moving forward on their plans and we’re still planning. I think everything is moving in the right direction.”
Initial public reaction
Kim was amused by the public and media’s initial reaction to the master plans, noting that they were just preliminary and created to ensure they could fit all aspects of the integrated resort and ballpark on the site.
What the resort will look like will likely change, including the proposed cylindrical Bally’s branded sign depicted near the northwest corner on the master plan, but the layout of the site is something that should remain the same.
“The renderings are not really renderings. They’re more like a representation of how much space that we have to work with here,” Kim said. “I do think that the hotels towers will be located where they were depicted, but what shape and exact size that they’ll have, that depends on a lot of factors that have not been determined yet.”
Strip view insight
To that point, there were a few potential structures shown in the master plan that some pointed out could impact the view of the Strip from inside the A’s ballpark, through the planned massive glass curtain facing the northwest. Kim said plans are to provide a Strip view from within the ballpark, even if Bally’s builds something in the outfield’s view.
“We’re trying not to do that (block the Strip view),” Kim said. “We understand having some kind of centerpiece Strip scape from the ballpark is something that is part of the experience and we’re trying to accommodate that. I think we are going to build something in the outfield, we’re going to build something next to the west side of the property. Could there be some level of encroachment, I’d say it would be part of the background views. I think we’re going to want to create some interesting sight lines for the stadium.”
A’s executive Sandy Dean echoed those statements at last week’s Las Vegas Stadium Authority meeting, saying “We’re excited that the master plan has the ballpark on a location that has a good view of the Las Vegas Strip,” Dean said.
Bally’s Chicago plans not affected by Vegas ramp up
With Bally’s also planning to construct a resort near Chicago, Kim is confident they can carry both projects out, relatively at the same time and that one project doesn’t put the other on the back burner.
“The Chicago project is already financed and mostly planned out,” Kim said. “We’re ready to go on that. With the Tropicana we’re focusing on the master plan and what do we want to build over time. And now we’re actually ready to say ‘OK, what do we want to build in Phase 1?’ We’re generally in favor of wanting to build something in Phase 1. It’s probably a realization that’s occurred over the last few months.”
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.
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