With 50 percent of the concrete foundation complete, Athletics President Marc Badain said the team should have a guaranteed maximum price for its under-construction Las Vegas baseball stadium “shortly,” and confirmed owner John Fisher’s recent comments that construction costs have risen above $2 billion.

Following a presentation to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority on Thursday, Badain said the public should start seeing some “vertical work” on the stadium by the end of September or the beginning of October.

“Some of that prep work has already been done,” Badain said. “There are only certain things that you can do until the permits are in place.”

He said construction is still on schedule for the opening of the 2028 season.

The 33,000-capacity ballpark was initially billed at $1.5 billion and raised to $1.75 billion last year. In an interview with The Nevada Independent last month in Sacramento, where the A’s are playing home games for three years until the move to Las Vegas, Fisher said the current cost is  “up in the $2 billion range.”

The ballpark is now more expensive than the $1.9 billion, 60,000-seat Allegiant Stadium. The most expensive non-gaming venue built in Las Vegas is the $2.3 billion Sphere.

“The costs have gone up as more detail comes in. That’s fine,” Fisher said. “From the very beginning, we wanted a design that was unique. Vegas is one of the most unique towns in the world. We wanted a building that would symbolize the excitement and uniqueness that is the market.”

While the final budget figure for the stadium has not been set, the A’s are paying for all preparation costs for the 9-acre site that formerly housed the Tropicana.

A concrete foundation, which will support the stadium’s steel structure, is being poured. Mortenson | McCarthy, the contractor overseeing the project, released a timeline showing steel placement starting early next year. 

In December, when the Stadium Authority signed off on the financing plans, the team said it would use $350 million in public financing as provided through the passage of SB1 by the Legislature in 2023. U.S. Bank and Goldman Sachs at the time confirmed plans to loan the team $300 million for the stadium’s construction. 

Fisher agreed to provide the remaining financing, which at the time was $1.1 billion but has since risen. 

“What John committed to was that there would be a public contribution, and he would make sure that the rest was available,” said Stadium Authority Board Chairman Steve Hill. “Nothing has changed along those lines.”

Once the budget is finalized by the A’s, tax money currently being collected in the stadium tax district to fund the construction bonds will be released. The longer the A’s wait to set a final budget, the more money will become available through the tax district.

The construction of Allegiant Stadium took a similar course. The Raiders began construction and spent several hundred million dollars on the project before tapping into public money.

The Stadium Authority also approved the appointment of former U.S. Attorney Jason Frierson as chairman of the Athletics’ community benefits program board that will oversee at least $2 million in cash and in-kind contributions annually once the team begins play in Las Vegas in 2028.

Frierson, who did not attend the board meeting, spent 10 years in the Nevada Assembly and was the first African American to serve as speaker.

The parameters of the committee were approved last year by the stadium authority with the financial commitment from the A’s set out in the stadium’s 2023 public financing legislation. 

The team is required to contribute $500,000 annually in cash and in-kind contributions until a year after the team’s first season in the Las Vegas ballpark. At that point, the team’s financial commitment will be whatever is larger — $2 million, or 1 percent of the ballclub’s ticket sales revenue for the calendar year.

Several changes in the community benefits agreement differed from the legislation and expanded some of the programs, such as the college scholarships administered by the team and criteria for internships that include Nevada residency requirements.

“Many of us have worked with Jason over the years, and I'm thrilled that he's willing to take on the role,” Hill said. 

The board selected seven oversight committee members last year.