Send money.
Major League Baseball’s Athletics owner John Fisher has put a shovel in the ground signaling the ceremonial start of building a ballpark in Las Vegas. But there is a major question. Where is the funding that is needed to build the structure? Fisher is getting around $380 million from Nevada taxpayers and needs at least $1.4 billion more as it is estimated that the stadium will cost around $1.75 billion to complete. Fisher is seeking investors to join him in the project in exchange for minority shares in his business. He is selling his Major League Soccer franchise in San Jose and could use that money to pay some of the Vegas ballpark cost. Fisher could have problems attracting investors with steel tariffs and a trade war taking place.
Fisher and his ticket staff expect that Vegas tourists will make up about 30 percent of the daily gate in the 30,000-seat facility. That is a dicey proposition relying on visitors to buy 8,000 tickets a game. Especially if tourism falls and right now, Las Vegas is seeing a decline in tourism. Tourists were supposed to be a major source of revenue for Fisher’s business buying tickets to see a Las Vegas baseball game. In 2024, Nevada had 52.4 million tourists with Canadians representing the largest group of international visitors according to Travel Nevada. Connect2Canada said 1.7 million Canadians visited Nevada and spent $1.4 billion in 2024. Mexicans are staying away from Las Vegas as well. Las Vegas tourism has fallen since January. In 2025, tourism has dropped as international travelers are looking to avoid the United States and Las Vegas. The Las Vegas tourism agency is anticipating less room tax revenue in its next budget and none of that is good news for Fisher. He still needs money for the construction and tourists too.
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