Providence-based Bally’s Corp. is in the middle of a 10-figure stadium deal that would bring MLB’s Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas.
Bally’s – which owns two casinos in Rhode Island – announced plans last month to partner with the A’s to build a new stadium on a portion of Bally’s Tropicana Las Vegas site.
A week ago, Republican Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo signed legislation guaranteeing $380 million in public funding for the $1.5 billion – billion, with a B – stadium project. The deal still requires MLB approval, but that’s not expected to be much of a barrier. The stadium is projected to host games in 2028, barring hiccups.
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Like any stadium deal – ahem, Tidewater Landing, ahem – this one has been controversial, with economists saying it’s an incredibly poor investment for taxpayers and Oakland baseball fans obviously outraged about losing their team. Supporters, of course, say it’ll be great, becoming a new Vegas landmark.
Bally’s, the publicly traded company formerly known as Twin River Worldwide Holdings, currently owns and manages 15 casinos, including one in Lincoln and one in Tiverton. The Lincoln casino recently unveiled a new gambling area. The company also has a growing presence in online casino gambling.
The General Assembly passed legislation this year to authorize Rhode Islanders over the age of 21 to access existing table games at Bally’s Twin River Casino in Lincoln via their computer or cellphone, despite concerns about consumer protections.
As for the Vegas project: No word on a stadium naming rights deal, but according to my quick scan of MLB stadiums, only Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia – and we love Philadelphia, don’t we? City of Brotherly love! – is named after a Rhode Island company.
Closer to home, the Tidewater Landing soccer stadium project has started to raise even more questions; as Eli Sherman at WPRI first reported, Fortuitous Partners is “demobilizing” certain parts of the construction of the Pawtucket soccer stadium, which supporters say is not a huge deal but, frankly, isn’t the sort of thing you want to hear when you’re talking about a massive project.
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Fortuitous Partners’ Brett Johnson told me in May that he should have his own funding lined up by the end of June, which is... well, right around the corner. A Fortuitous spokesman said Wednesday that it’s “fully committed to completing a transformative project in the heart of Pawtucket.”
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This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
Brian Amaral can be reached at brian.amaral@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44.