Rio Emerges As Potential Site For MLB Stadium In Las Vegas

 

The Oakland A’s, a Major League Baseball (MLB) team, are still in talks regarding a new stadium deal. They have been considering Las Vegas as a potential new home for the past few years, and it remains a possibility.

MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred, mentions that the team’s current focus is on Las Vegas, while Oakland is still contemplating a new stadium plan. The long-speculated location at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino has resurfaced as a potential site for a new MLB stadium in the gambling hotspot of Nevada.

The A’s are persisting with their “parallel negotiation” approach with Oakland and Las Vegas for a new baseball stadium. The urgency is due to the fact that their current lease at RingCentral Coliseum expires after the 2025 MLB season.

It appears that the search for the A’s new location is taking so long that the team will probably have to play in a temporary venue in 2025. It’s doubtful whether a new stadium will be constructed and prepared in time for the season.

Potential A’s Stadium Sites

For over a year, the team has been in talks with Oakland to construct a new stadium as part of a huge Waterfront Ball Park District. The A’s are also contemplating various location alternatives for a new baseball stadium in Las Vegas, should they decide to depart from Oakland.

The A’s had previously dismissed the idea of revamping the existing Las Vegas Ballpark where its AAA affiliate team plays. However, the team is still contemplating on the land where the Tropicana is located as a potential site for an MLB stadium.

Phil Ruffin, owner of Treasure Island and Circus Circus, appears unlikely to sell his Las Vegas Festival Grounds land at Sahara on the Vegas Strip, despite not publicly addressing the matter. Wynn Resorts has also debunked rumors of selling its land located across the street from its Vegas Strip property.

Although finding a prime location on the Vegas Strip may be challenging, there could be plenty of land for a stadium just a few minutes away from the main Las Vegas tourist area.

Rio Land May Be Available For A’s

Over the past ten years, there have been countless speculations about Rio’s future. These conjectures intensified in 2014 when a Las Vegas gossip columnist tweeted an unsubstantiated rumor hinting at a possible sale of the property.

Although the rumor was false, it sparked a plethora of other rumors about Rio. Eventually, in 2019, Caesars sold Rio. They agreed to a lease that allowed them to continue running the casino for three years while the new owners, Dreamscape, devised a future plan for the property.

This year, Dreamscape will assume control of the Rio’s operations. Ever since the company acquired the property, it has been devising future plans.

Stadium Won’t Affect Rio’s Casino And Hotel

Apparently, the new proprietors of Rio and its adjacent territory have been in discussions with the A’s about utilizing a portion of the land for an MLB stadium. A representative from Dreamscape Properties stated:

For several years now, the company has been discussing the possibility of using a part of the surplus land at the Rio as a potential MLB ballpark. The company is still receptive to this idea.

In truth, Rio occupies 88.5 acres of land to the west of I-15. There is ample space to construct an MLB stadium without interfering with the existing casino and hotel towers.

Despite being a vast casino hotel, a significant portion of Rio’s land is unoccupied and designated for parking. In 2019, rumors circulated that 19 acres of the Rio/MLB stadium would be allocated for a stadium.

It’s odd that neither Dreamscape nor the A’s have brought this up in the last two years. But, that’s a tale for another time. There’s an abundance of land on the Rio site, enough for a Major League Baseball stadium.

The saga of the A’s potential move to Las Vegas may conclude sooner than expected. Whether it will occur, however, remains to be seen. Stay tuned!

Dreamscape Secures Financing For Renovations

Recently, Dreamscape Companies secured $850 million in funding. A portion of these funds will be allocated to a multi-phase renovation of a property that will henceforth be named “Rio Hotel & Casino Las Vegas”.

The company intends to preserve the original structure of Rio. The property will be upgraded with modern facilities and new venues to cater to contemporary travelers. Dreamscape has not yet disclosed many specific details about the future changes at Rio.

Rio + Hyatt Hotels

The company declared a partnership with Hyatt Hotels last year.

The Vice President of Real Estate and Development at Hyatt, Kimo Bertram, stated:

We are excited that Dreamscape is assisting us in introducing several full-service Hyatt brands to Las Vegas, beginning with a Hyatt Regency hotel. We are confident that this hotel will embody the Hyatt Regency brand’s commitment to fostering meaningful relationships in contemporary spaces designed for interaction, socializing, and collaboration.

We understand that Las Vegas is a crucial destination for our guests, World of Hyatt members, and customers. This project signifies a considerable progression for Hyatt as we persist in expanding our brands in the markets that are most valuable to our faithful travelers.

The Rio will undergo renovation and rebranding into several full-service Hyatt brands. One hotel tower will transform into a Hyatt Regency hotel with 1,501 rooms. The average size of these hotel rooms will be 580 square feet. Even though the term “suites” will no longer feature in the name, the room sizes are expected to remain unchanged.

The other hotel tower will be associated or linked with at least one other Hyatt brand.

Resorts World Las Vegas has a comparable alliance with another hotel brand – Hilton. The property comprises hotel rooms that fall under the Hilton, Conrad, and Crockfords brands, each providing a different room product at varying price points.

The company will continue to keep Rio open as they upgrade the casino, restaurants, bars, retail, and pool deck. There is currently no set schedule for the duration of the renovation.