A’s have offers on potential Las Vegas stadium sites

The Oakland Athletics have exchanged term sheets on at least four plots of land in Southern Nevada where a possible $1 billion Major League Ballpark could be built.

A team representative who confirmed the number noted the A’s are in active negotiations with landowners of all four sites.

Team President Dave Kaval wouldn’t confirm the locations of the possible sites in a conversation Friday, but did suggest they are concentrating on the area surrounding the Las Vegas Strip.

Now team officials, who have visited Southern Nevada several times in the last nine months, are comparing the remaining sites ahead of picking their preferred location.

“All the sites and potential partners have pros and cons and we’re weighing those as we make a final decision and pick a final site, where an announcement would be made” Kaval said. “We’re just trying to look at all the aspects. Whether it’s media, the location, gaming and what we could do in-and-around the ballpark and whether a casino is attached or not. All these different pieces to really create something that is truly unique, that’s exciting as an attraction and that can propel the A’s brand to another level.”

Kaval noted that the final site could involve signing on with a partner who already owns the land, or the team purchasing the site outright on its own.

While the A’s continue looking at sites in Southern Nevada, the team’s efforts to land a new stadium in the Bay Area saw a positive development last week when the Oakland City Council certified the environmental impact report for a planned $12 billion ballpark development. Those plans include a $1 billion waterfront ballpark, surrounded by mixed-use development and public space.

The city and the A’s are still hashing out differences with key aspects of the plan, including community benefits, affordable housing and infrastructure details. Those all need to be agreed upon to get the development agreement approved and a binding term sheet for the project signed by both parties.

Though some have speculated that the A’s are using Las Vegas for leverage to get a deal done in the Bay Area, Kaval insisted there’s nothing insincere about the process.

“We need a place to play and we really like what we’ve seen in Las Vegas, it’s a get-to-yes type community,” Kaval said. “There’s a lot of really good options to have a stadium (in Las Vegas) and we’re going to continue on that path. We’re going to continue the time, effort and dollars to push it forward and see how it plays out, while at the same time continuing the process in Oakland.”

With the team looking to announce a final site in Southern Nevada in the near term, there has been little discussion between the organization and local and state officials about the potential for a public-private partnership. Once the final site is chosen, Kaval believes those talks will occur, even as state and local officials, outside of Henderson, previously said there wasn’t much of an appetite for another public-private partnership for a new stadium.

“I think it’s really important to have a site under control … and then take that next step to meet with the key officials and discuss the possibility of a public-private partnership,” Kaval said. “We’re going to continue on that strategy, basically a two-step process. We continue to make a lot of progress on that. While some of the work is happening behind the scenes, a lot of work is happening.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.