BREAKING: A’s Vegas officially" reach stadium developmen....

BREAKING: A’s Vegas officially” reach stadium development agreement worth $1.5 billion” here’s what’s in it….

Some information regarding the Major League Baseball team’s financing and the timeline for construction of its projected $1.5 billion Las Vegas Strip ballpark may be found in the Oakland Athletics draft development agreement with the Las Vegas Athletics.

The development agreement up for approval Thursday with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority defines the conditions that are needed in order for up to $380 million in public funding to be used on the project and the rate that the money will be infused into the project, which is relative to how quickly private money comes in on the project.

The ballpark will be financed by a combination of up to $380 million in public funds — although the team forecasts the number will land around $350 million — $300 million in debt financing to be taken on by the A’s and $850 million in equity from team owner John Fisher’s family, according to A’s executive Sandy Dean.

“We’re in good shape with the financing,” Dean said. It’s something we’ve been working on for a long time.”

The A’s financing plan was reviewed as part of the relocation process with MLB, which saw unanimous approval by team owners late last year. It was not included in the development agreement

The team will still pursue potential local investors to fund a portion of the project, which would reduce the equity contribution required from the Fisher family. Those potential investors would be given a minority ownership stake in the team, Dean said.

The A’s were waiting for the draft development agreement to be introduced and for the stadium design process to be further along before gauging interest from potential investors.

According to Senate Bill 1, in order to access up to $380 million in public funds for the stadium project, the A’s must first spend $100 million on the project. Furthermore, the final $50 million of allotted public funds will be set aside for project completion.

The public money will come in via bonding authority by Clark County and transferable tax credits from the state.

The agreement also notes that $380 million is the maximum amount of public money that can be used on the project, and that before that funding can be used on the project, the A’s must dedicate and transfer ownership of the ballpark land to the stadium authority.

Other aspects include that the design of the stadium be completed, that the team enters into a maximum guaranteed contract and that the public money being used on the project must be allocated in equal portions in relation to the A’s private investment in the project.

The A’s will be responsible for any cost overruns on the project’s $1.5 billion budget.

The A’s will need to enter into a separate development agreement with Clark County, which will define various conditions associated with the entitlements for the stadium. Those will include aspects such as parking, offsite traffic improvements, fire and police considerations.

The stadium authority also formed Athletics StadCo., an entity in which the team will invest its private capital to fund the private portion of the ballpark project. The process is a common one in stadium financing — one which the Raiders also did ahead of construction of Allegiant Stadium.

Nonrelocation update

The A’s draft nonrelocation agreement was also updated at the meeting, slashing the number of out-of-market “home” games the team could play away from Las Vegas.

The maximum was seven games per Major League Baseball season when it was first implemented in May. The revised amount has been increased to seven games every two years, with a maximum of four games in a season. International or special events like the Field of Dreams games the league has been holding the past several years would fall under this category.

With 16 MLB teams and additional games that could be played outside of their home markets every two seasons, more games than the A’s in Las Vegas may be played. The A’s intended to include a fixed number in the 30-year nonrelocation pact as a contingency for future changes, given that MLB is always introducing new atypical games.

With the amount of time, effort and money being put into the ballpark project, the A’s are looking to maximize the use of the stadium.

Now, with the draft development agreement discussed Thursday, all four major agreements the A’s need to have approved have been introduced.

The community benefits agreement has already been approved by the stadium authority. The nonrelocation, lease agreements and the development agreement introduced still need to be approved.

The earliest the three outstanding agreements could be voted on for approval is the planned Aug. 15 stadium authority meeting.

All agreements with the stadium authority and the county must be approved before construction begins on the A’s ballpark, to be located on 9 acres of the 35-acre Tropicana site.

Bally’s Corp., the property owner of Tropicana, is already tearing down the former Rat Pack-era resort and intends to implode the two hotel buildings’ bones in October. The A’s intend to start building the ballpark in April and finish it by early 2028 so that it will be prepared for the Major League Baseball season of that year.