A’s President Bails, Could the Vegas Deal Be Imploding?

Dave Kaval, President of the Oakland A’s and an integral force behind moving the team to Las Vegas, Nevada, has abruptly resigned, signaling that building a new stadium in Sin City could be in jeopardy.

What’s the Deal?

Much to the chagrin and despair of die-hard Oakland A’s fans, their beloved team played its last game at the Oakland Coliseum on September 26, 2024, when the moribund franchise left on a high note in a 3-2 victory over Texas. It was a discouraging departure for those who have watched the team morph from world champions in the 1970s, and another in 1989, to perennial cellar-dwellers under the current Fisher family regime.

Although the loyal fanbase implored the A’s owner, John Fisher, to sell the team, he decided to move the franchise to Las Vegas. However, before the team could call Las Vegas home, a stadium had to be built and funding secured. A negotiation between team president Dave Kaval and the city produced $380 million in public funding for a stadium that is now expected to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.75 billion.

Clearing the Way for the Future

After receiving many, although not all, of the requisite permits and approvals from the city, state, and Major League Baseball, the site of the new stadium took the first step in clearing space for the new ballpark and an adjacent Bally’s casino when the Tropicana and its accompanying 22-story Paradise Club were imploded on October 9th in a grand spectacle replete with a fireworks display for all to see.

“The demolition of the Tropicana represents an important milestone in the process of bringing A’s baseball to the world-renowned Las Vegas Strip and the community of Southern Nevada,” said Bally’s Corporation chairman Soo Kim in a press release.

The team has temporarily relocated to a ballpark in west Sacramento, Sutter Health Park, a 14,000-seat stadium, and home of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. The stadium is expected to be completed in time for the 2028 MLB season.

A’s Prez Quits

The sudden departure of team president Dave Kaval has some wondering whether this recent event is foreshadowing that there are cracks in the armor of this deal. The rumor mill is working overtime that Fisher will not commit what would amount to over a billion dollars of his own fortune after failing to spend money on coveted free agents to make the A’s competitive in Oakland.

Kaval, who has been the team’s president for eight years and was the driving force in lobbying lawmakers to partially fund the new ballpark, has resigned effective December 31st and will be replaced by Sandy Dean, a longtime business partner, and friend of the team’s owner, John Fisher, as an interim president.

“We are grateful for Dave’s contributions and leadership over the last eight years,” Fisher said in the MLB statement. “He guided our organization through a period of significant transition, and we sincerely thank him for his unwavering commitment to the team.”

Stadium Deal Progress and Skepticism

Although a development agreement with Clark County has yet to be finalized, the plan to build an MLB stadium continues to progress. However, some skeptics believe Kaval’s sudden departure is emblematic of deeper issues within the organization.

“Kaval getting out before the Vegas deal implodes and they have to scramble for a new stadium deal in another city, most likely Sacramento,” tweeted X user @O_dogg81.

Yet, it should be noted that many disgruntled Oakland fans would like nothing more than for the deal to crumble, which is likely the source of many of the naysayers. Nevertheless, it is a peculiar time for a critical C-suite executive to leave before the project has come to fruition.