The Tropicana Las Vegas will cease operations on April 2, and the hotel will be demolished to make way for a 30,000-seat Major League ballpark where the Athletics (A's) would play.
An integrated resort-and-ballpark complex would rise on the southeast intersection of Tropicana Avenue and the Las Vegas Strip. The A's, which are moving to Las Vegas from Oakland, Calif., have not released updated ballpark renderings or detailed how they plan to pay for the facility, which reportedly has a price tag of $1.5 billion.
The team has previously said it hopes the facility will be ready for the 2028 season. The Nevada Legislature last year approved $380 million to help the team build the ballpark.
Bally's Corp. acquired the Tropicana from real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. for $308 million in 2021, with Bally's leasing the land underlying the hotel as part of the transaction. An agreement reached last year between Bally's, Gaming and Leisure Properties and the Oakland A's indicated the stadium would occupy about nine acres of the 35-acre site. A new Bally's hotel-casino would be built on the rest of the property.
"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. "This is an incredible accomplishment for us as we continue to expand our global footprint and strengthen our sports portfolio, which already includes our digital sportsbook, Bally Bet, and numerous marketing partnerships with professional teams, and leagues. We thank our stakeholders, partners, the city of Las Vegas, Clark County and the state of Nevada for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
The Tropicana opened on April 4, 1957. Constructed for $15 million, it was the most expensive Las Vegas resort built up to that time. The resort was conceived by Ben Jaffe, part owner of the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, a hotel that inspired the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, which opened in December.
Bally's will begin to close out all hotel bookings and relocate all customer reservations booked beyond April 2. Customers can visit the hotel-casino's website to learn more about existing and future hotel bookings, players club rewards and gaming transactions.