By MARK ANDERSON, Associated Press<\/p>\n
LAS VEGAS\u00a0 \u2014 The lower bowl of the Athletics\u2019 $2 billion domed stadium on the Las Vegas Strip is taking shape, and officials said the project remains on schedule to open before the 2028 season.<\/p>\n
Club and contractor officials presented their update on the 33,000-person capacity ballpark on Thursday at the Las Vegas Stadium Authority meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lower-suite level is progressing substantially,\u201d said Tyler Van Eeckhaut, project director for contractors Mortenson-McCarthy. \u201cWe\u2019re starting to see a lot of rooms taking shape and a lot of that environment has really started to become a component of the stadium.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buttress work has been completed to mark a significant milestone, and the upper deck began going up in April. A parking garage on the southeast side will be phased in with 1,500 lots initially available and 2,500 by the time construction is completed.<\/p>\n
The A\u2019s might have to, however, build a temporary plaza on the northwest side. Bally\u2019s Corp. hasn\u2019t yet raised financing for an elevated plaza on the property as part of a $1.19 billion mixed-use project that includes restaurants, shopping and entertainment in addition to a hotel-casino and 2,500-seat theater. The stadium is part of the overall development plan.<\/p>\n
Sandy Dean, A\u2019s vice chairman, said the club is in the process of creating plans so that a plaza will open by the time the first pitch is thrown in the 2028 season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose guys (at Bally\u2019s) are doing a lot of things, and we have to remember Bally\u2019s had the vision to bring us to this site,\u201d Dean said. \u201cWe and Las Vegas are all going to benefit by being on the Bally\u2019s site. This is just something we\u2019ve got to sort through together with them in the next little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve Hill, CEO and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, told the A\u2019s to present a plan regarding the plaza at the next Stadium Authority meeting on Aug. 20.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn order to facilitate the retail and the parking that you would ultimately need beneath that plaza area, you have to tear that up and build a permanent plaza at some point in the future,\u201d Hill said after the meeting. \u201cI don\u2019t know necessarily how that would work. We just asked for clarity on if that looks like an option that might have to be implemented that we understand that it will work.\u201d<\/p>\n
A\u2019s President Marc Badain said the first set of suites that were made available for purchase have sold out and 80% of the season-ticket packages for the seats behind home plate for what is called the Athletic Club have been sold. He added tickets will begin going on sale to the general public in the coming months.<\/p>\n
The team had also conducted about 85 hours of focus-group studies with 120 Las Vegas-area residents to their feedback regarding the A\u2019s move. Badain said he wasn\u2019t ready yet to share the specifics of those results.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got their feedback with their experience with (the NHL\u2019s Golden Knights and NFL\u2019s Raiders) and things they love and things they\u2019d like to see maybe a little different in our ballpark,\u201d Badain said. \u201cBut, overall, it was very positive.\u201d<\/p>\n
While construction takes place on the Las Vegas Strip, the A\u2019s are playing the second of three planned seasons at a Triple-A stadium in West Sacramento, California. They played their previous 57 seasons in Oakland, California.<\/p>\n
The A\u2019s entered Thursday\u2019s play in first place in the AL West at 25-24, a game in front of the Texas Rangers.<\/p>\n
They will play six regular-season games next month at Las Vegas Ballpark, home to the club\u2019s Triple-A affiliate. Badain said just a few tickets remain for the June 8-10 series against Milwaukee and June 12-14 set against Colorado.<\/p>\n
Ceremonial groundbreaking on the stadium occurred June 23. The A\u2019s Ballpark Experience Center in Las Vegas opened in December to give fans a chance to view the stadium in detail and take part in other immersive experiences.<\/p>\n
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