A’s Vegas ballpark general contractor Mortenson McCarthy held a meeting and presentation with prospective subcontractors last week. The subs, who are largely experienced entities working on projects on and off the Strip, will be vying for a coveted spot to provide services for the first sports venue on the Strip itself after the Tropicana starts its demolition next month. The presentation puts forth a starting date of Q2 2025 and a 2028 completion. Naturally, there’s a limited amount of flexibility in there because of the normal 30-month construction period for most American sports venues. That could mean the ballpark could open April 2028 in keeping with the expected MLB season, or potentially later if delays arise. Modern Vegas has a well-earned reputation for building frequently and on-time, so it wasn’t terribly surprising that Mortenson McCarthy, which oversaw Allegiant Stadium, is in control of the project. 

The presentation shown included a number of floor plates to show how the circular dome would be laid out among its six levels. Those details weren’t included in the PDF download, probably because many of the details in there were either still being finalized or were otherwise not meant for public consumption at this early stage. Thankfully, Athletics Nation’s Jeremy Koo was on-hand to screen record the entire thing, so I’ll post some slides as a go. For now, let’s start with the project description directly from the preso:

PROJECT DETAILS

The Las Vegas Athletics Ballpark will be a fully enclosed multi-event sports arena accommodating uses such as baseball, concerts, dirt sports, and other special events.

The ballpark occupies 9 acres within a 35-acre site shared with a Bally’s integrated resort, bounded by Tropicana Avenue, Las Vegas Boulevard, and Reno Avenue.

Capacity:

• 30,000 fixed seats with 3,000 additional standing room locations

Levels and Height:

• 6 primary levels with field level close to the average national grade
• Maximum height approximately 290′ above field level

Exterior Systems:

• Approximately 700′ long-span roof
• Metal roof finish with ETFE clerestories
• 36,000 square foot cable-net glass window

The first thing that jumped out to me was the 290’ height. The field is expected to be sunken in 30’-60’, which should put the apex from street level at around 230’. For reference, the two existing hotel towers of the Tropicana are 230’ tall. As a result, there should be few worries about building too tall as the new structure isn’t expected to be taller than what currently exists there. Still, 230 feet is still one of the taller domes in the US. The Superdome and the now-demolished Georgia Dome were both more than 250 feet tall and looked it based on their monolithic appearance.

Such a tall roof allows the scoreboard to be placed practically anywhere in the outfield. It’s still in right, anchored to the ceiling above the RF upper seats and slanted down at the bowl for better sight lines, similar to what you see with newer basketball arenas. I would not be surprised if this was expanded either before opening or down the line as the screens seem to be growing exponentially with each generation of technology. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of the RF scoreboard at Globe Life Field since it frequently requires craning one’s neck from the lower deck.

The exterior of the roof will be metal, broken up by the ETFE clerestories and the armadillo-inspired design. I don’t think the current renderings properly capture how immense will be, especially at street level. With no other buildings immediately surrounding it, the only comparisons are other hotel towers the other corners of the Strip, which are at least a football field’s length away.

One thing the A’s are adopting is the minimal use of vomitories, or the tunnels and connected staircases that lead from a concourse to seating sections above. There are vomitories in right field, mostly to access higher-end concessions and bar areas along the lower suite concourse. Other than that, fans are mostly meant to access their seats from the top of the concourse. This practice was used for the Glendale Arena (near me), and it helps for hockey where the action covers the entire ice surface. For baseball, where the action is more tightly focused, this matters less.

The suites themselves will be arranged from foul pole to foul pole in the typical arrangement, with larger suites and flexible spaces accommodating placed further down the lines towards the corners. Additional lower suites will be set on their own level behind the backstop. I didn’t see any evidence of bunker suites, so the closest you’ll get to the field while being in a suite is about 12 rows back.

The whole package reminds me of Globe Life Field, with hopefully improved materials. Since there’s no retractable roof, BIG and HNTB can work on ensuring that the clerestories and the big window pane wall in left field are as attractive as possible.

These are some meaty details. They are subject to change with fast-moving stadium architecture trends, so we’ll see what sticks.

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P.S.: Next up for me: a game at Sutter Health Park so I can assess the situation in Sacramento. After all, it will be the A’s home for at least three years.