The pro sports ambitions of Las Vegas, already one of the fastest-growing markets in the industry, took two major steps forward this week with key administrative approvals of both the planned $1.75 billion ballpark for the A’s and a new, NBA-ready arena.

The Las Vegas Stadium Authority, as expected, approved three key agreements related to the A’s stadium along the famed Las Vegas Strip on Thursday, including a 30-year lease, non-agreement pacts, and a separate development covenant. The moves closely followed certifications from both A’s owner John Fisher and two major financial institutions that nearly $1.4 billion in private funding for the facility will not be a problem, even with increased construction costs, and the ballpark remains on track for a scheduled 2028 opening.

“Today’s a real milestone,” said stadium authority chair Steve Hill. “I think we should recognize and celebrate that.”

Those moves arrived a day after the Clark County (Nev.) Zoning Commission unanimously approved several key components for a project known as LVXP that would include an 18,000-seat, NBA-ready arena, along with a casino and high-rise development with more than 2,300 hotel rooms and about 260 condominiums. The NBA continues to take a methodical approach to potential expansion, but once that happens, as expected, Las Vegas is likely at or near the top of the list of candidates. 

LVXP is located at the north end of the Strip, and it is poised to be one of as many as three potential locations for an NBA team in Las Vegas. Oak View Group has also long sought to develop a somewhat similar resort-arena project. Golden Knights owner Bill Foley, meanwhile, has called building a new arena for an NBA team a “waste of time,” and instead wants to advance a $300 million plan to upgrade T-Mobile Arena, the hockey team’s existing home, for regular basketball use. That venue is already the site of the semifinals and final of the Emirates NBA Cup.

Bigger Test

Regardless of the final arena location, the forthcoming presence of MLB, and likely the NBA, in Las Vegas presents a new and much larger test of the market’s sports capacity, despite its continued population growth in recent years to about three million across the metro area.

The team’s existing major pro teams—the NHL’s Golden Knights, NFL’s Raiders, and WNBA’s Aces—each have advantages that likely won’t apply to the baseball and men’s basketball franchises, at least not initially. 

The Golden Knights were successful from their inception, reaching the Stanley Cup Final in their first year and winning the title in their sixth while featuring an in-game fan experience unlike anything else in the league. The Raiders enjoy heavy attendance from visiting, out-of-town fans, driven in no small part by a schedule concentrated on weekends in a major tourist locale. The Aces have also been a massive hit since relocating from San Antonio in 2018, winning two titles, reaching a third WNBA Finals, and acting as a key business driver across that league. 

The A’s, meanwhile, are a long-struggling team, on and off the field, and could still be upon arriving in Las Vegas in three years. The star-driven nature of the NBA also will likely preclude an expansion franchise from being an immediate postseason force.

CHICAGO — The NHL’s Winter Classic is returning to Wrigley Field, but this year’s event still features a massive change.

The Winter Classic, an outdoor regular-season hockey game held in baseball or football stadiums, normally takes place on New Year’s Day. The 2024 matchup between the Blackhawks and Blues will be played on Dec. 31 for the first time. The NHL says they made the change due to competition from college football and its expanded Playoff format. 

“With so much going on with so many sports, you have to keep an open mind,” NHL president for content and events Steve Mayer told Front Office Sports following a press event in Chicago. “We looked at a bunch of alternatives, but I think we just kept on coming back to New Year’s Eve. … When [the Winter Classic] started out, it was just Bowl games. Then it became the College Football Playoff, which definitely changes your competition. The intention was to do something that was very unique on our day.”

Jan. 1 is traditionally the date of the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl. With the new college football quarterfinal debuting this season, New Year’s Day will have three CFP games, including the Peach Bowl. There is one quarterfinal on Dec. 31, but it starts at 7:30 p.m. ET. The late-afternoon time slot is clear for the Winter Classic: The puck drops at 5 p.m. ET.

Last year’s game, which featured the Kraken and Golden Knights—the league’s two newest franchises—averaged 1.1 million viewers on TNT and truTV, an all-time low for the event that started in 2008. NBC, which held the rights until 2022, reached at least two million viewers on NBC every year except 2020—and saw a high of 4.5 million viewers in 2011. But the Winter Classic hasn’t had the same success since its move to cable television, as the event has yet to breach two million viewers since Warner Bros. Discovery acquired the rights.

According to Mayer, the NHL and WBD have been in discussions for several years about the schedule change, and WBD is “thrilled” about the decision to move to New Year’s Eve. He told FOS that both parties will be flexible with changing the date in the future, but it’s likely they’ll stick with Dec. 31 for the foreseeable future.

“I think we’ve always had an open mind to it, but I think we’re probably O.K. with the 31st for a little bit,” Mayer said.

While the date change may bring more eyeballs to the event, there is also a question about whether fans will be interested in watching the matchup between the Blues and Blackhawks. The two teams are currently out of the playoff picture—and Chicago, despite sporting young star Connor Bedard, has the worst record in the NHL.