Bally’s shares plans for mixed-use casino project around A’s upcoming Las Vegas ballpark

Las Vegas is set to gain a new sports and entertainment hub as Bally’s Corp. moves forward with plans to build a retail, dining, and hospitality district around the Athletics’ $2 billion, 33,000-seat ballpark on the former Tropicana site. After months of silence, the company has shared its plans for the project, to break ground in 2026.

Bally’s Las Vegas, as the project is called, will rise on 26 acres of the 35-acre property where the Tropicana once stood. The remaining 9 acres were provided to the A’s for the stadium, which will be owned by the Las Vegas Stadium Authority. The company’s plans call for 500,000 square feet of retail, dining, and entertainment space, a 3,000-room hotel-casino in two towers, and a 2,500-seat theater.

The hotel-casino will include 104,200 square feet of casino space, consisting of a 56,000-square-foot main gaming floor, a 13,500-square-foot events area, a 16,500-square-foot sportsbook, 17,000 square feet of support space, and a 1,200-square-foot casino bar. A multi-level sports bar with a rooftop pool is planned for the northwest corner of the site, along with a large cylindrical LED sign at the Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue intersection.

Project phasing

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026, with the first phase timed for completion in 2028 alongside the stadium’s opening. This initial stage will include a 9-acre plaza, an eight-level, 2,500-space parking garage, and a shared utility plant for the entire site. The plaza will serve as the main entry point for fans and connect to the ballpark on its northwest side.

Subsequent phases will add the 216,000-square-foot theater, additional retail and dining spaces, and a 1,800-room hotel tower stretching from the southwest corner of the site to the plaza. The final phase calls for a second hotel tower with 1,200 rooms on the northeast corner, which will not be built until stadium construction and site staging are completed.

Parking areas across the property will bring the total on-site capacity to about 5,000 spaces. A 14,800-square-foot Boring Co. Vegas Loop station is also included in the plans.

Retail and dining strategy

Bally’s is working with JLL to secure tenants for the retail and dining components. JLL previously led leasing for BLVD Las Vegas, a three-story shopping center located north of the project site.

“Las Vegas is one of the most important markets for food and beverage, entertainment, and retail in the US,” said Michael Hirschfeld, Vice Chairman of JLL. “The extended hours of operation in the market yield some of the highest sales per unit in the country.”

Marnell Architecture is serving as the project’s architect of record. Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim said the company is focusing on non-gaming sources of revenue. “It's not lost upon me that 75 percent of Vegas revenues are non-gaming,” Kim said. “We want to make progress in that area, and we’re doing that now in real time.”

The project is one of several underway for Bally’s. The company is completing a $1.7 billion Chicago casino resort scheduled to open in 2026 and is seeking approval for a $4 billion, 500,000-square-foot resort in the Bronx.

Stadium financing

The Athletics’ $2 billion stadium is backed by $350 million in public financing provided through Nevada legislation passed in 2023. US Bank and Goldman Sachs are supplying $300 million in loans, while team owner John Fisher is covering the balance.

Clark County commissioners are scheduled to review the A’s development agreement on October 8. If approved, the move would set stadium costs and allow the team to begin drawing on public funding.

Bally’s has leased the Tropicana site from Gaming and Leisure Properties for $10.5 million annually. The stadium and surrounding development are expected to open in time for the A’s inaugural Las Vegas season in 2028.