LVCVA Spokesperson Claims A's Have Broken Ground in Las Vegas

If a $1.75 billion ballpark project breaks ground and nobody is around to see it, has the project actually broken ground?

On Tuesday, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Steve Hill made the bold declaration that the A's ballpark project in Las Vegas has already broken ground, based on the fact that there are caisson drills on the site where the project is set to take place. If you saw a lawnmower on some grass, would you say the lawn has been mowed?

Mr. Hill told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, "We have said for over a year, maybe two, that construction would start in April of 2025 — and thanks to the county’s work and all of your (LVCVA) staff, that construction started in April of ’25."

Nothing to see here, folks. The A's ballpark project is completely on time and now the haters can zip it. Except, the timeframe to begin construction was changed from April to June more recently, so they just changed the timeframe months ago for no reason, then started when they had originally said they would anyway? That's strange.

There was also no big groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate this momentous achievement. I mean, Major League Baseball is headed to Las Vegas and they didn't even throw a party? That doesn't seem very Vegas-like.

It's almost as though if they keep saying everything is fine, then a certain amount of people will continue to believe them.

The LVRJ also reported that the A's are "still planning on hosting a groundbreaking ceremony" in June, even with stadium work already underway. So they are going to pause this gigantic project for a photo op? This is an active construction site, is it not? There are drills!

One of the reasons that they claim a groundbreaking ceremony has not been held is because it's tough to plan when the Nevada Legislature is still in session. Well, that wraps up on June 2, so figure out any date in June after the second day of the month. The calendar is wide open.

Hill also said they have to find the "right date, right weather conditions and time of day and making sure those are there." Well it's Las Vegas in the summer, so let's plan for morning. Again, there are 28 dates from which to choose. Let's go with 10 a.m. on a Friday to give yourselves a little half-day before the weekend.

The best quote from Hill has to be this one, "This project is on schedule; it’s obviously moving along." How could anyone doubt that the project is moving along? We just announced that there was a groundbreaking in the dead of night minutes ago! Sure we said it would happen in June for the past few months, but we changed our minds and did it last month and didn't tell anyone instead.

We heard from multiple Las Vegas residents about a project that is striking a similar tone, and that was All Net Resort & Arena. The project was proposed and approved in 2016 and was set to cost around $1.3 billion, but the inability to secure the proper funding kept delaying the project, and finally in 2023 Clark County commissioners denied a fourth extension request in November of that year.

That project broke ground too. Moved some dirt around and called it progress. The main thing they needed was money, which it appears to be the one missing ingredient from the plans of A's owner John Fisher as well. They say that he'll put up nearly half of his net worth to make this project happen, but that's not how billionaires stay billionaires.

If you're in the camp that believes Steve Hill's comments about ground having been broken on the A's ballpark in Las Vegas, it should be noted that the team did not send out a press release to announce this momentous occasion. They sent one out to announce that a select number of games would be broadcast in Las Vegas this season, but not for the actual groundbreaking?

That doesn't add up.

It should also be noted that even with a groundbreaking ceremony, that doesn't mean that meaningful construction is underway either. If and when there is an actual ballpark being built, it won't be a surprise. It will be "obviously moving along."