Athletics celebrate groundbreaking of $1.75 billion stadium project in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (AP) — With mounds of dirt, construction vehicles and the exact location where home plate will be at the new Athletics ballpark serving as the backdrop Monday morning, team owner John Fisher stood in front of a large gathering with one message: "We are Vegas' team.”

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, state and local government dignitaries, former Athletics greats such as Rollie Fingers and Dave Stewart, Little Leaguers and many others looked on as the team celebrated the groundbreaking of a $1.75 billion, 33,000-person capacity ballpark that is expected to be finished in time for the 2028 season.

Nevada and Clark County have approved up to $380 million in public funds for the project.

“I have no doubt this is done in 2028,” team president Marc Badain said. "You know the workforce here; they’re all here and ready to get going.

“It’s nice to see the validation a day like today brings and what the next three years will mean for the community and for the construction project and the jobs and everything else that you’re going to see as this building comes out of the ground starting as early as tonight.”

Badain went through a similar process when serving in the same capacity for the NFL's Raiders. He was a central figure in that team’s move from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020 as well as the approval and construction of $2 billion Allegiant Stadium.

While waiting for Allegiant Stadium to be finished, the Raiders remained in Oakland for three seasons in the stadium they shared with the A's. But while the Raiders maintained a largely strong connection to the Bay Area even while playing as a lameduck franchise, A's fans were incensed about their team's impending departure and the process involved.

That made staying in Oakland untenable for the franchise, which played its final season in the dilapidated stadium last year. The A's are playing the first of at least three years about an hour away at a Triple-A ballpark in West Sacramento, California, while they await their move to Las Vegas.

“We are a local team,” Fisher said. "And we want to start from the youngest of fans, because if you can get the kids, you can get their parents. It takes less time than you think; what really takes time is ... to have a winner.

“Our goal is to continue to build upon what we have, and building a team is like building anything else. Sometimes it takes more time than you want it to. It’s like building the stadium. And we think that we have the pieces to make ourselves really successful.”

The stadium will be built on nine acres of the 35-acre site owned by Bally’s on the corner of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. The Tropicana’s resort towers were destroyed in an overnight demolition in October to clear the way for the ballpark.

The A's are trying to strike a balance of making the most of their temporary home while also preparing for their future. Each A's player wears a patch of Sacramento's Tower Bridge on one sleeve and a Las Vegas logo on the other as part of a three-year sponsorship with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

The Las Vegas Stadium Authority in December approved lease, non-relocation and development documents, the last major steps for the A's to eventually become Las Vegas' team.

Artist renderings show a stadium with its five overlapping layers that bears a striking resemblance to Australia's famed Sydney Opera House. A glass window beyond the outfield provides an outdoor feel with views of the Las Vegas Strip. Rather than a centralized cooling system, air conditioning will be distributed through the seats.

This will be MLB's smallest stadium, though Tropicana Field where the Tampa Bay Rays usually call home has a capacity of 25,000 when the upper levels are closed off. It otherwise holds just less than 40,000 seats.

The Rays, like the A's, are playing this season at a Triple-A ballpark after Hurricane Milton damaged their domed stadium. Tampa Bay's long-term home is unknown, and the club could soon be in the hands of new owners.

Cleveland plays at Progressive Field, which now seats 34,830. It was downsized from the 43,345-seat capacity when the park opened in 1994.

The A’s are set to become the fourth major professional team in Las Vegas, joining the Raiders, NHL’s Golden Knights and WNBA’s Aces.

“I think that the demographics, the success that other sports have had, and the amount of tourism here, those three legs of the stool make this an ideal market for us,” Manfred said. “I have no doubt that this team is going to be really successful in Vegas.”

AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson contributed to this report.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

People arrive at a groundbreaking ceremony for the Athletics' baseball stadium Monday, June 23, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Athletics owner John Fisher, center, listens during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Athletics' baseball stadium Monday, June 23, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Athletics owner John Fisher participates during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Athletics' baseball stadium Monday, June 23, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred arrives at a groundbreaking ceremony for the Athletics' baseball stadium Monday, June 23, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Athletics owner John Fisher, right, meets with people during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Athletics' baseball stadium Monday, June 23, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A person takes a picture near construction equipment during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Athletics' baseball stadium Monday, June 23, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)