A's Las Vegas Financing Reportedly "May Have Hit a Roadblock"

Jason Burke | Aug 3, 2024

Sep 24, 2023; Oakland, California, USA; A general view of the Oakland Athletics dugout after the game against the Detroit Tigers at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports / Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports

The Oakland A's ballpark saga has always had one major hurdle, and that hurdle is actually paying for the ballpark. Public money is great and all, but at some point John Fisher is going to have to pay for his portion of any potential ballpark that gets built. Therein lies the problem.

As we discussed a couple of weeks ago, the A's have let their financing plan be known to all, and the biggest portion of the $1.5 billion ballpark is to be paid for with an $850 million equity investment.

In a recent report from the Nevada Independent, JMP Securities analyst Mitch Germain is quoted as saying, "The last piece of the puzzle was private financing obtained by the owner for the remaining cost of the stadium. Chatter suggests this may have hit a roadblock."

Seems like a pretty significant roadblock, considering that if there is no financing plan, there is no ballpark. We are coming up on 16 months since the A's announced they were leaving Oakland for Las Vegas, and nearly 14 months removed from the Nevada legislature handing over $380 million in funding for the plan. The one thing that Fisher has ever had to secure is the financing plan for any of his ballpark ventures.

While the A's have had their relocation approved by MLB, they have financing from Vegas, and they are leaving Oakland at the conclusion of the 2024 season, there is a reason that those in Sacramento are excited about the A's coming to town, and it's not because they want to fall in love with a team for three, maybe four, seasons before wishing them well as they leave for Vegas.

It's because Fisher has a history of not getting across the finish line with these ballpark deals, and if the A's are in Sacramento if/when Vegas falls apart, then they feel they'd have a better chance of keeping the team long-term.

Until John Fisher officially secures financing for the proposed Las Vegas ballpark, nothing is certain with the A's relocation plan.