PROVIDENCE – The plan to have Major League Baseball on the Las Vegas Strip has advanced.
Bally’s Corp., which owns Rhode Island’s only two casinos, on Monday announced the Tropicana Las Vegas will shut down on April 2 to prepare for demolition and make way for a “state-of-the-art, integrated resort and ballpark.”
“This is an exciting next chapter for Bally’s, and we are honored to be a key partner with the Athletics on bringing a Major League ballpark to the great city of Las Vegas,” said Bally’s President George Papanier.
The exact date of when the Tropicana would be razed was not announced.
The project is expected to cost about $1.5 billion. Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed into law on June 15 a $380 million public financing package to help pay for the effort.
The public funding would mainly come from $180 million in transferable tax credits and $120 million in county bonds. Backers have pledged that the creation of a special tax district around the proposed stadium would generate enough money to pay off those bonds and interest. The plan would not directly raise taxes.
Bally’s
completed its acquisition of the Tropicana Las Vegas from Penn Entertainment and Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. in February 2023. As part of that deal, Bally’s agreed to pay $148 million for the nonland assets of the Tropicana and lease the 35-acre parcel at the corner of Tropicana Boulevard and Las Vegas Boulevard for 50 years at an annual rent of $10.5 million, payable to Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc.
In May 2023, Bally’s and Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc. reached a binding agreement with the Oakland A’s to build a new 30,000-seat, retractable-roof stadium on 9 acres of the current site of the Tropicana Las Vegas.
The Tropicana’s closure is expected to affect nearly 500 workers, a majority of whom are part of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, according to KVVU-TV Fox 5. Union President Ted Pappageorge told Fox 5 on Monday that workers will get paid $2,000 per service year, as long as they stay with the Tropicana until the last day of operations.
Some other options for those who choose to not take the severance package is getting paid up to $15,000 and having the opportunity to work in the new property, Pappageorge told Fox 5.
Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
