As construction continues on the Athletics’ $2 billion ballpark at the former Tropicana site, Bally’s Corp. on a Federal Aviation Administration site plan review of nearby amenities.
Bally’s also revealed that it has hired a prominent Las Vegas-based casino designer as the lead architect for the project next to the stadium. Marnell Companies, which has worked on the Bellagio, Rio, M Resort and Harrah’s Las Vegas among other gaming projects in Southern Nevada, will work on the Bally’s project at Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue.
Mira Mircheva, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Bally’s, told the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday that because of the proximity to Harry Reid International Airport, aviation regulators must weigh in on any development planned for the site where the 33,000-seat stadium is being built, particularly regarding the height of two hotel towers being considered.
Mircheva said the company is hopeful that a plaza containing retail, dining and entertainment as well as a casino and hotel would be completed by February 29, 2028. The project would also include a 2,500-seat theater and the towers would hold a total of 3,000 rooms.
The A’s have assured the Las Vegas Stadium Authority that the stadium will open in time for the start of the 2028 baseball season, regardless of what happens to Bally’s amenities.
Mircheva said Bally’s has filed rights applications with Clark County, and the company has been informed they would be reviewed as soon as there is approval from the FAA.
Mircheva and other Bally executives appeared before the control board on a separate, unrelated license request, and board members took advantage of having them present to ask for an update to the stadium site.
“The podium design is progressing and we are actively negotiating with potential retail, entertainment and restaurant tenants,” she said. “Marnell Architecture is the architect of record and we have partnered to secure retail, entertainment and restaurant partners.
“Obviously the priority is the construction of the arena, and as we await rights approval and the development of the plans that will obviously dictate the timeline, but I would expect amenities to kind of follow the completion of the A’s stadium, hopefully closely.”
Bally’s is also responsible for building a parking garage and electrical system and agreed that these features are an important top priority of the project.
Bally’s contracted attorney, Dan Reaser, told board members that two hotel towers are planned, one at the rear of the 35-acre site and one adjacent to Las Vegas Boulevard. The stadium is being built on nine acres.
In recent days, construction workers have begun installing steel beams as part of the stadium construction.
“Whenever the FAA gives its approval on height restrictions on the hotel towers, that will also govern whether we have to change anything in the configuration of the hotel towers,” Reaser said.
The casino would also have a game book, but the company has not decided whether it would operate it or outsource it to a third party.
In other business, the board recommended approval of a series of licenses for a game book at the North Las Vegas Poker Palace casino, which will be operated as Club Fortune Casino North.
Truckee Gaming LLC acquired the Poker Palace last fall and closed it Oct. 1 for a remodeling project.
Final licensing approval is expected to be reviewed by the Nevada Gaming Commission on June 25.
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