The A's Las Vegas Groundbreaking Ceremony Had a Different Feel Than Expected

Monday morning was the Athletics chance to finally shut up the naysayers and prove once and for all that the Las Vegas plan is happening. They were holding a ceremonial groundbreaking, after all. Instead, we didn't get much in the way of progress on the project outside of some shovels in dirt and a number of self congratulatory speakers.

Where was the spectacle of Las Vegas? There was some confetti, but outside of that this felt more like a business meeting than a party.

The vibe of the whole event felt off, but there was a quote from John Fisher in ESPN's article (from the AP) that made everything seem fall into place. "We are a local team," Fisher said. "And we want to start from the youngest of fans, because if you can get the kids, you can get their parents. It takes less time than you think; what really takes time is ... to have a winner."

It seemed as though every few speakers, there would be a focus on the children in the area. Whether it was one that was flown in from St. Louis to be introduced by the A's owner, or Make a Wish kids from the area that introduced Fisher himself, many were put in front of a microphone during the event.

The quote from the article is certainly part of the plan for many businesses, but you don't often see it written out so plainly like that.

The reason people have been skeptical of the A's ending up in Las Vegas has never been because Vegas may not support a baseball team; it's been about this team and how Fisher had run it that has been the question.

A number of people online that are excited about the project have repeatedly told those in the Bay Area that it'll happen because Fisher has the money and he's said he'll use it. For those that have seen how Fisher tends to operate for decades now, that's a little hard to believe.

This is the same guy that offered Marcus Semien, who is from Oakland, "a one-year, $12.5 million deal with $10 million deferred in 10 one-year installments of $1 million each," per Ken Rosenthal. He didn't have the funds to cover one single $12.5 million contract, but now he'll be able to finanace over $1 billion for the ballpark while also funneling money into the A's roster?

Of course, the contract offer to Semien came after the 2020 season which was shortened due to Covid, and no fans were allowed into the ballpark for the same reason, but if you're not going to bring back an MVP candidate from the city you're playing in, that's the John Fisher than people in the Bay Area are more familiar with. Re-signing him would have paid for itself over the course of the season, and even bought Fisher some goodwill in the community. Instead, he turned fans away.

Also looming is a potential work stoppage (owner's lockout) following the 2026 season, which could put part of, or potentially all of the 2027 season in jeopardy. Without fans in attendance, will Fisher suddenly have money to spend improving the roster while also paying for this ballpark project?

Monday's groundbreaking ceremony did nothing to change previously held opinions. In fact, former Nevada state Sen. Scott Hammond told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, "The one thing people are waiting to see is the money, right? Where is the money? They’re going to be so far into this where it’s like, all right, this is do-or-die time.

"Until it’s laid out in full, there will still be those questions. As far as I understand from my conversations with people, directly, indirectly, that’s still a work in progress."

The Chronicle also reported that A’s executive Sandy Dean "could have something soon" in relation to an announcement about investors. Until those details come, there will continue to be questions about this project. Even with the potential investment announcements, the club is still in the process of looking for investors. How is this actually going to be paid for?

That's the $2 billion question.