SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Athletics owner John Fisher said the planned 33,000-capacity stadium at the corner of the Strip and Tropicana Avenue is moving toward an April 2028 opening, although the cost — initially billed at $1.5 billion and raised to $1.75 billion last year, is now “up in the $2 billion range,” which makes the ballpark more expensive than the $1.9 billion, 60,000-seat Allegiant Stadium.

The most expensive non-gaming venue built in Las Vegas has been the $2.3 billion Sphere.

Fisher made the remarks to The Nevada Independent as he watched the A’s play a home game Monday night, something he rarely did during his Major League Baseball team’s final two seasons at the Oakland Coliseum.

“The crowds here have been great,” Fisher said while sitting in a second-deck suite at the minor league Sutter Health Park with friends and team associates. 

He skipped games in Oakland to avoid the outpouring of fan anger after the team announced plans in 2023 to relocate to Las Vegas. 

“Watching these games gives us a lot of excitement as we move forward in Las Vegas,” Fisher said, looking out at a crowd of 9,536, just below the team’s average of 9,777 for the team’s first 52 home games in Sacramento. The A’s averaged 11,386 fans per game during their final season in Oakland last year. But that included sellouts for the final series. 

Fisher, who committed at least $1.1 billion toward the stadium development, said site work is ongoing in Las Vegas.

“The costs have gone up as more detail comes in. That’s fine,” he 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."

Fisher said the A’s want to build “the most intimate ballpark in baseball. It's bigger than Center Sutter Health Park, but it's considerably smaller than any other ballpark in baseball. We want to have our fans feel like they're part of the action.”

U.S. Bank and Goldman Sachs will loan the team $300 million for the stadium’s construction. 

Another $350 million comes from the $380 million in public financing provided through the passage of SB1 by the Legislature in 2023. The figure includes $145 million in bond and tax proceeds, $180 million in transferable tax credits and $25 million in county credit.
During the quick interview, Fisher didn’t say how the cost increase would be funded. A’s Vice Chairman Sandy Dean told the Las Vegas Stadium Authority last December that budget increases had long been anticipated by the team and any additional costs are the responsibility of the A’s.

Following June’s ceremonial groundbreaking, A’s President Marc Badain said the team has contingency plans in place should costs for the stadium increase, given rising prices for steel and other building products. 

Badain, the former president of the Las Vegas Raiders, oversaw the construction of Allegiant Stadium with the same development team, which includes Mortenson | McCarthy Construction from Las Vegas.

“I'm not concerned about costs. We've had a number of meetings over the last three months with the project team,” Badain said in the June interview. “You always run into unknowns and you build emergency plans.”

Fisher said he is seeking partnerships for the team. He is also working to sell his ownership in his Major League Soccer franchise, the San Jose Earthquakes, but said those proceeds won’t go toward the stadium’s construction.

Sports Business Journal reported in May that Aramark Sports + Entertainment has been selected as the food and beverage service provider for the stadium through a 20-year deal that includes a $100 million equity investment into the team. No deal has been confirmed by either side.

“My goal here is to find not just partners, but the right partners,” Fisher said. “We need to make sure that we have partners who not only love the game of baseball but love being a part of Las Vegas Athletics and this stadium.”

Fisher was supposed to be in Las Vegas on Monday, but decided to come to Sacramento instead to meet the team’s No. 1 draft pick, left-handed pitcher Jamie Arnold from Florida State University, and his family. Arnold was selected as the 11th overall player in the 2025 Major League Baseball draft.

He also wanted to celebrate accomplishments taking place on the field. Last weekend, A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz became the first rookie and the 20th player in major league history to hit four home runs in a game. 

“We have an exciting young team we’re building for Las Vegas,” he said.