Report: Athletics Revisiting Other Vegas Stadium Sites Amid $1.5B Binding Agreement

The Oakland A's have a binding agreement to build a $1.5 billion baseball stadium on a 49-acre site in Las Vegas for their impending move to the city, but the franchise is reportedly exploring alternatives.

According to Howard Stutz and Tabitha Mueller of The Nevada Independent, the A's have revisited the possibility of "Southern Nevada sites the team previously considered as a potential backup plan should the team fail to secure legislative support for a $500 million tax package."

Last month, it was reported that the A's were "close to finalizing" an agreement to build a ballpark north of Allegiant Stadium where the Las Vegas Raiders play. The plan is to construct a 35,000-seat retractable roof stadium and a surrounding entertainment district to be ready for a move by 2027, and the A's "are still focused on acquiring" the 49-acre site amid their probe for alternatives.

Per Stutz and Mueller, Oakland "is looking to state lawmakers for a $500 million package involving tax credits and the creation of a special taxation district to help fund stadium construction." However, state lawmakers have yet to propose such legislation and Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) said last week that the team was running out of time to get legislative approval for the tax package.

"We haven't gotten anything concrete yet of exactly what it is that they're looking for, or what they would like us to take a look at," Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) said Thursday. "So it's tough to have conversations about what exactly we may or may not do, and time here is finite. ... We only have a few more weeks left, so if there's going to be a deal, it's got to come very soon."

That urgency could be what's driving the A's to explore other options for their new home. The team reportedly reached back out to ownership of the Rio Hotel & Casino, which made an offer of 22 acres of the resort's 90-acre site. The team also "returned its attention" to the 34-acre Tropicana Las Vegas, which was a target early during the exploratory process last year.

Still, it sounds like the hope for the A's is to get the original deal completed as quickly as possible.