A’s still short on stadium funding

According to Sports Illustrated, Athletics owner John Fisher is looking to sell “a control interest” in the San Jose Earthquakes, a team that Sportico values at around $600 million.

The last total of the Armadillo Dome in Las Vegas, which is to be the new home of the Athletics, is $1.75 Billion, and that was the price tag before the threat of tariffs.

There is a possibility that the stadium will cost more than the $1.75 Billion and likely reach the $2 Billion mark given that construction costs have not gone down in the slightest.

In June of 2023, a special session was held in the Nevada Legislature agreed to provide Fisher and the A’s up to $380 million in various forms of public funding. Given that the city of Oakland had pooled together nearly $1 billion in financing for a much larger project at Howard Terminal, this public funding from Nevada never seemed like a huge amount, but it was a great launching point.

 The team has also said that they only need $350 million of that now.

Fisher then secured $300 million from US Bank and Goldman Sachs. The Sports Business Journal also reported late last month that concessionaire Aramark is in for at least $175 million. Fisher has also been searching for $550 million from outside investors by offering minority stakes in the team.

If Fisher sells complete control of the San Jose Earthquakes and receives the full $600 million that the team is estimated at (regardless of taxes being taken out), then he would still be at $1.455 million. That would still be about $295 million short of the initial estimate for the new Athletics stadium in Las Vegas. It’s not an unattainable amount by any means, but it’s worth noting that the A’s walked away from Oakland over less.