The iconic Tropicana Casino will be demolished to build an athletics stadium

The iconic Tropicana casino in Las Vegas will be demolished to make way for a Major League stadium, which will be the new home of the Oakland Athletics

Las Vegas – The Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel & Casinoone of the following Sign of “Sin City” for more than six decades, will close your doors in the coming months lead still baseball stadium Of $1.5 billion dollars He will be home till oakland athleticsBally Corp reported on Monday.

The closing on April 2 – just days before the 67th anniversary of the Tropicana’s opening – represents the beginning of preparations for the demolition of the complex on the famous Las Vegas Strip.

The Tropicana was known as the “Tiffany of the Strip”. At the time of its opening in 1957, it was described as the most expensive hotel-casino in Las Vegas; The three-story, 300-room building cost $15 million.

There are now plans to build a baseball stadium on that land with a capacity of 30,000 spectators and a retractable roof. The 30 Major League team owners approved the Athletics’ relocation to Las Vegas in November.

Bally chairman George Papanier said in a statement that the stadium plans were “a unique opportunity”.

“Bailey looks forward to the development of the new complex and ballpark that will be built in its place and become a new landmark paying tribute to the iconic history and global appeal of Las Vegas and its approximately 50 million visitors per year.” Will go.” the company indicated in a press release.

The ballpark, which has $380 million in public funding, will open in 2028 near the home of the NFL’s Raiders, who left Oakland in 2020, and the NHL’s Golden Knights. Who won the Stanley Cup last year in their sixth season of existence.

Bailey said it will not accept hotel reservations after April 2 and will transfer customers whose reservations are extended beyond that date.

The company’s announcement came a month after Tropicana and the Culinary Workers Union, which represents about 500 employees at the complex, reached an agreement on a new five-year contract.

Ted Papageorge, the union’s secretary-treasurer, said he hopes the severance package offered in the latest contract will help get through a difficult transition period for Tropicana workers, most of whom are elderly and many of whom, he said, have been at the hotel for decades. And have worked in casinos.

The new union contract establishes that workers will receive payment of $2,000 for each year worked. For experienced Tropicana workers, Pappageorge said, the amount can reach thousands of dollars.

“Hotels are bought and sold all the time in Las Vegas,” Papageorge said. “These new projects are welcome, but workers cannot be thrown away like old shoes.”

Rhode Island-based Bailey’s bought Tropicana in 2021 for $308 million.