13 observations from the latest set of fake Las Vegas A’s ballpark renderings

The “verbal renderings” era was fun while it lasted, but on Tuesday we finally got to lay our eyes on some (more) visual renderings of the A’s proposed Las Vegas ballpark on The Strip.

While my Twitter is an echo chamber of anti-A’s ownership energy, the franchise seemed to get roasted once again for delivering Sin City renderings that don’t have much basis in reality. Last May, the A’s quickly photoshopped some stuff together to sway the Nevada legislature and public, and a lot of the same questions remain on these renderings.

Visually, I think the new renderings are actually kind of appealing – it’s just that I think they’re so fake and so dishonest that it’s hard to have a real discourse about the A’s project yet.

For those counting at home, this is now the eighth set of new stadium renderings the A’s have released since 2006 – including two in Fremont, one in San Jose, three at Howard Terminal and two in Las Vegas. To say nothing of the rejected Uptown Oakland (2001) and Laney College (2017) sites, which didn’t produce renderings that I can remember.

Here’s a look at 13 observations from the latest round of Las Vegas renderings from the A’s.

1. The A’s can’t get out of their own way

According to ABC7’s Casey Pratt, the A’s were actually forced to publish these images earlier than anticipated, after the architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) shared them to folks without an embargo.

In recent weeks, there were reports that the A’s would release these during their visit to their Triple-A park in Las Vegas this weekend for two Cactus League games, but Pratt reported that the team had to “scramble and put them all out [Tuesday].”

It’s been one PR hiccup after another for the A’s on this ride, not that MLB and its owners seem to care.

2. No hiring date for architects

Last week, A’s fan Matt Ortega spotted a new stadium description on the Las Vegas ballpark MLB.com website. Once we wrote about it and the story got picked up by other sources, the A’s had it swiftly taken down. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the A’s said MLB published the information prematurely and it was a mistake.

From Tuesday’s update to the Las Vegas ballpark MLB.com site, there is no mention of the hiring date of the architects. As we pointed out in a previous blog, the Dec. 4 hiring date conflicts with the A’s claim they had to push back renderings in December due to the deaths of two Nevada state troopers. The A’s probably want to avoid any controversy, so my guess is that they’re playing it safe after the reaction their initial “verbal renderings” produced.

3. No way it fits on 9 acres

One of my biggest issues with the May 2023 renderings was the proportions of the stadium in comparison to the 35-acre Tropicana Lot. Once again, the stadium that’s illustrated in this set of renderings seems to take up way too much space to fit in the nine acres that the A’s have been allotted under the current agreement.

One thing I also notice about the new renderings is that they’re pretty limited in showing the rest of the lot. The images are either street level or have the entire stadium in focus, unlike the previous set which had a more aerial view so we could really tell how much they were BS’ing.

4. Where is the new Bally’s Corporation hotel?

When you look at the picture from behind home plate, the first thing that caught my eye was the New York New York hotel skyline in left field. The A’s are promising “views of the city’s skyline” … but could that view simply be of the new hotel that’s supposed to take up the other 26 acres of the property?

The infamous Tropicana hotel is set to be demolished on April 2 and Bally’s and Gaming Leisure Properties (GLPI) are expected to develop a new hotel there in the coming years. If you’ve seen the Aria and the Cosmopolitan, Vegas hotels are only getting bigger and fancier. It’s hard to see a scenario where the view isn’t blocked by whatever is built next by Bally’s and GLPI. What’s going to replace the Tropicana, though?

On Wednesday morning, Howard Stutz of the Nevada Independent reported that Bally’s and GLPI still haven’t finalized their future plans for the Tropicana Lot – so that explains why the future hotel doesn’t appear in the renderings. According to Stutz, Bally’s Corp. Chief Financial Officer Marcus Glover said, “What was shared (Tuesday), I’m sure there will be iterations to massage and get that right for development to surround that stadium and bring something that works for traffic.”

AKA, get ready for another set of renderings!

Stutz also reported that Bally’s might be motivated to sell their share of the site to pay off $3.6 billion in debt, so stay tuned to see what happens to that other 26 acres.

5. They’re actually calling it a spherical armadillo

I didn’t see the renderings until about four hours after they were released on Tuesday, which is an eternity in social media time. I kept seeing tweets about “spherical armadillo” and whatnot, and I thought it was a joke. Then I read the press release and the following quote from lead architect Bjarke Ingels.

“The resultant architecture is like a spherical armadillo – shaped by the local climate – while opening and inviting the life of the Strip to enter and explore. In the city of spectacle, the A’s ‘armadillo’ is designed for passive shading and natural light – the architectural response to the Nevada climate generating a new kind of vernacular icon in Vegas.”

Oh, this is real.

There is an ‘A’ in armadillo. Hell, if they end up playing there, they should just call themselves the Las Vegas Armadillos.

A’s owner John Fisher told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he doesn’t mind the animal comparisons.

“I think the armadillo is an underrated animal, and I think the A’s are underrated at times,” Fisher said.

6. Knock-off Sydney Opera House?

There have been countless hilarious tweets about these renderings, but there are a couple about the Sydney Opera House-esque design that really got me. The first one came from JomBoy, who delivered this rambling monologue about a time he went to the Sydney Opera House as a kid before ending the tweet with, “0.0% chance this stadium gets built.”

I saw Moby Dick at the Sydney Opera house when I was 8. Guy walked on stage and screamed Call Me Ishmael. My sister and I laughed pretty loud. Mom and dad nudged us. Slept through the rest of the show. Was too young to be seeing Moby Dick at the opera house. 0.0% chance this… https://t.co/7RWrONyPns

— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) March 6, 2024

Then there was this interaction from the official @CityOfLasVegas handle, where a fan suggested the stadium looks like a knock-off version of the Sydney Opera House.

A’s owner John Fisher doesn’t seem bothered by the comparison to the iconic building in Australia, telling the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser, “comparisons to the Sydney Opera House is a huge compliment because that’s a building that’s withstood the test of time.”

Fisher also told Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the Sydney Opera House wasn’t a direct inspiration for architect Bjake Ingels’ design.

“I think he (Ingels) would say that the vision is their own,” Fisher told Akers. “But every great designer takes into their vision other great things they see elsewhere in the world. But I hope long term other people will look at our building and say … that reminds us a lot of the A’s ballpark in Vegas.”

7. The world-class window will make it hella hot

Among the brags in the A’s press release for the Las Vegas ballpark is, “the outfield features the world’s largest cable-net glass window.”

Obviously, I’m no architect or developer or scientist – but wouldn’t that thing just get hot as hell during those 105-plus degree Las Vegas days? I actually agree that a retractable roof in Vegas during baseball season doesn’t make much sense, but I also think that the afternoon and evening sun beating down on the west side of the stadium won’t be a great thing for the folks in left field.

I hope A’s owner John Fisher is ready for a massive A/C bill after decades of being in The Bay area’s marine layer. Speaking of A/C, sports business reporter Noah Pransky noted how there are no A/C ducts pictured in the renderings …

8. The curved scoreboard

Curved scoreboards are all the rage now, with the standard being the massive ring inside SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

When looking at the inside view of the stadium renderings, the gaudy scoreboard in right field is notable for its shape, as it curves upward into the roof. As the A’s tout in the press release, “the ballpark is currently designed to include an 18,000-square-foot jumbotron, which would make it the largest screen in MLB.”

Sooo…what about the folks in right field? How are they supposed to read that thing without destroying their necks? I think the curved scoreboard idea works if it’s horizontal, but the vertical curve might be a bit much for fans who aren’t sitting down the third-base line.

9. Can it cost $1.5 Billion?

The price tag for this 33,000-seat project is still tagged at $1.5 billion, but these things always seem to have overruns.

The most recent MLB ballpark to be built was Globe Life Park in Texas, where the final price reportedly came out to be $1.2 billion. Personally, I think Globe Life Park is stale and looks like a big barn shed with no character – but it does have a retractable roof, which does raise the price tag.

For reference, the 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas cost $1.9 billion to build from 2017-2020. So perhaps it’s fair to expect a project like the A’s ballpark in Las Vegas to be in the neighborhood of $1.5 billion, though the armadillo roof may be a bit ambitious.

10. Still looking for financing

The A’s still haven’t presented any concrete financial plans to fund the stadium. After her interview with A’s owner John Fisher on Tuesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle gave an update on his general plan.

“The public will fund $350 million, $200 million will be debt, and his family will provide $500 million, with equity investors — still to be determined — responsible for the final $500 million,” Slusser wrote. “The hope is that some Las Vegas bigwigs who have a particular interest in investing in the town will hop on board.”

It appears that Fisher and Co. still have some business partners to make in Sin City. Will anyone want to join his sinking ship?

It’s also worth noting that Field of Schemes reports the actually cost will come to about $600 million in Nevada public funds.

11. The blank green flags

Art and images generated by artificial intelligence have been taking off recently, and many fans speculated that AI was used to make these renderings as well. The images were produced by a Czech Republic-based company called Negativ that bills itself as a “boutique creative workshop.”

Well, they were lackin’ on the creativity with this one. If you take a look at all the flags around the stadium, you’ll notice that they’re all blank. Maybe the A’s are working on their Las Vegas Armadillos logo.

12. Brent Rooker got roasted

Thanks to A’s outfielder Brent Rooker for bringing some levity to this situation. He probably sent out the best tweet of the day, as he was getting roasted for the .303 batting average that was projected on the big screen in the rendering. Rooker, a career .230 hitter, will be 33 years old on Opening Day 2028.

Just out here trying to enjoy my off day but instead I am catching strays based on an artists drawing of my hypothetical batting average several years down the road https://t.co/PHIFhK452G

— Brent Rooker (@Brent_Rooker12) March 5, 2024

13. Closing thoughts

Personally, I think the A’s and MLB are going to find a way to ram this project through. It might not be open for 2028 Opening Day, but I feel like the franchise is dead set on Las Vegas, because Howard Terminal is too big of a project to undertake at this point.

My only glimmer of hope for Oakland A’s fans is that John Fisher has done little to disprove the notion that he is an incompetent businessman who is merely sitting on billions of his parents’ money. He was born on third base – hell, he was getting waved home – and he’s still trying to score. Just look back at all the failed stadium options to this point – if there’s anyone who can bungle this project it’s Fisher and his cronies.

For now, it appears that the only thing holding this thing back is $500 million in funding from his investor buddies. Maybe someone will bite soon and this will be all over, because MLB franchise values only go up.

If/when the A’s finally do get a stadium built in Las Vegas, I doubt it will look like these renderings nor have that view in left field. It’ll be uglier and cheaper than the grandiose vision the A’s are promising now, but perhaps that’s what makes them a perfect fit for The Strip – a place that’s been home to false illusions for decades.