Bally’s Pushes Back: Casino Never Planned to Open Alongside A’s Stadium

• Bally’s executives clarified to Nevada regulators on Thursday that its two planned luxury hotel towers and casino floor were never intended to open simultaneously with the A’s ballpark
• The April 2028 timeline applies strictly to the 33,000-seat baseball stadium and the surrounding “RED District”—a plaza featuring retail, entertainment, dining, and shared utilities
• The clarification comes as the local stadium authority has given Bally’s an August deadline to solidify its project financing, even as the company continues to await critical FAA height clearances for the towers

Bally’s executives told Nevada gaming regulators Thursday (June 25) that the company never planned to open a new Strip casino‑resort by April 2028, pushing back on widespread assumptions that its two luxury hotel towers would debut alongside the Oakland A’s $2 billion ballpark on the former Tropicana site.

The clarification came during a Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) hearing on licensing and registration matters. It followed a June 16 report in SFGate claiming that the Bally’s construction was “lagging” and that this was “causing problems for the A’s Las Vegas ballpark dream.”

Noting that the Tropicana was demolished and imploded in 2024 to clear the way for the A’s stadium and a future Bally’s resort, and that the company had previously said it hoped to begin construction in the first half of 2026, NGC commissioner Brian Krolicki pressed Bally’s representatives for an explanation on the delay and an update.

Attorney Dan Reaser, representing Bally’s, replied that the timeline being circulated publicly was incorrect.

“To make the record clear, the April deadline of 2028 is for the stadium to open and for the baseball season to proceed,” he said. “The April 2028 timeline is for the retail district, parking garage, utilities, and plaza, but not the towers that come at a later date.”

Reaser added that Bally’s land‑use applications remain pending with Clark County and the company is still awaiting Federal Aviation Administration approval on height limits for its two planned hotel towers.

Bally Low?

On June 16, The Athletic quoted Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill as saying that Bally’s “still does not ‘have the financing in place to do it’” and that the stadium authority had given the company an August deadline to finalize a plan.

With this in mind, commissioners questioned Bally’s about its Lake Tahoe property. Bally’s chief financial officer Mira Mircheva acknowledged that recent investments by competing properties have affected performance. Bally’s is beginning capital improvements and operational upgrades, she said.

“It would be ideal from our standpoint to have amenities available when the stadium opens,” Mircheva said. “But again, we’ll have to firm up the timeline once we have the entitlement approvals.” She added that “common infrastructure is progressing — the podium, electric, and other utilities.”

Krolicki acknowledged the heavy responsibility regulators feel to closely track these massive Strip developments.

“We’re all watching and we just can’t wait for it to get done,” Krolicki said. “I’m sure you will execute it as expeditiously as possible.”