LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The new Bally's Las Vegas resort is not expected to open in time for the A's ballpark debut in 2028.
During a Nevada Gaming Control Board meeting earlier this month, Dan Reaser, an attorney representing Bally's, said the company's plans for the site involve separate phases and the resort will be down the line.
"As part of Opening Day for the stadium, Bally's has obligations to do a fair amount of infrastructure investment, which is parking garages, power systems, different utility, a plaza," Reaser explained. "And so, that is the first job for Bally's, to make sure on Opening Day, that's all in place and operating."
A lot has changed, in terms of timeline and design, in terms of what Bally's was going to construct and when it was going to be built. In October 2024, Bally's submitted a master plan to Clark County that originally included three hotel towers, with the first tower being built in Phase I of the project.
However, in September 2025, updated renderings and plans showed the resort would only feature two towers and in January, Bally's Chairman Soo Kim said casino construction has been pushed back to later project phases.
"Of all the projects that we have in our portfolio, Vegas is the one with, sort of, the widest standard deviation of outcomes," Kim said. "Vegas has that, sort of, risk factor. Our response to that risk factor was hey, we're going to build this slowly."
Bally's executives said the plan is to try to get the 500,000-square-foot retail entertainment district, or RED District, open before the resort. When it comes to the resort, right now, it's a waiting game.
"We have submitted entitlement applications with Clark County and the company has been informed that these will be reviewed as soon as there is approval from the Federal Aviation Administration as we are located close to the airport," said Mira Mircheva, Bally's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "In the meantime, [we're] continuing to develop plans for the project and for the retail and entertainment and dining space, which is really kind of phase one of the project. The podium design is progressing and we're in active negotiations with potential tenants for retail, entertainment, and restaurant venues."
I reached out to Bally's to learn more about how plans are progressing and see if there is an estimate for resort construction. I received the following statement:
"Regarding the build of Bally's Las Vegas, there will be a podium that connects the Stadium to the Strip as well as an RED district around the Stadium at the Opening Day 2028 but it's unlikely our casino portion of the project will be built by that time."
I checked the FAA website to see if they had additional information about the project.
It confirmed that plans are currently being studied for the hotel towers as well as a parking structure.
I reached out to the FAA to see what goes into those reviews.
An agency spokesperson sent me the following statement.
"Under federal law, developers must give the FAA the opportunity to evaluate proposed structures near airports to determine whether they could pose a hazard to aircraft or interfere with navigation aids. If the FAA determines the structure height would be a presumed hazard, we try to negotiate a lower height with the developer. If the FAA determines the structure would interfere with navigation aids, we try to negotiate other mitigations with the developer. There is no set timeframe for the FAA’s reviews.
The FAA’s determination is a recommendation and is not binding. The FAA does not have the authority to limit building heights, and the decision to issue a building permit is up to the local government. Although the FAA does not issue or deny building permits, it encourages those with land use authority to consider the agency’s determinations in making zoning and permitting decisions. Additionally, many local governments and states have laws that prohibit issuing building permits if the FAA determines a structure would pose a hazard to air navigation."
Las Vegas officials are keeping an eye on Bally's plans.
Steve Hill, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority as well as the Chairman of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority, told The Athletic "there's time to build". He added the Stadium Authority has requested "pretty pointedly" for Bally's to have a plan in place by August.
With Bally's having their parking structure plans under review, it's possible the A's could build their own parking garage with a smaller capacity, which could cost between $60 million to $100 million, according to Hill.
Hill also said the original plan was to create a northwest plaza with walking bridges that bring fans to the ballpark entrance but the A's are now planning on a temporary entrance and plaza.
And as for building the full plaza...
"There's no way to do that between baseball seasons," Hill told The Athletic. "It's a good, solid 12 months of construction, for sure. And so, our concern is going from the temporary facility to the permanent facility could be pretty disruptive when that's going on."
When it comes to the A's, ballpark construction is still progressing. This week, the team raised the first of six tresses that will make up the roof that fully encloses the ballpark.
The overall price tag of the ballpark has gotten higher, rising to $2.1 billion, according to The Athletic.
The Nevada legislature previously set aside $380 million in public funds for the ballpark. The A's originally said they were only going to use $350 million but costs have continued to rise.
"I think there's a pretty good chance [the A's] will get the entire $380 million [in public funding]," Hill told The Athletic.