MLB commissioner Manfred talks A’s owner Fisher, scorching Sacramento heat, and Oakland

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred on Tuesday expressed confidence in both Oakland A’s owner John Fisher’s ability to finance a proposed $1.5 billion ballpark adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip and in MLB’s ability to keep big leaguers cool in Sacramento’s searing summertime heat.

The A’s are set to explain their construction and financing plan for the 33,000-seat stadium in Clark County during Thursday’s Las Vegas Stadium Authority meeting, which has the draft development agreement for the ballpark on its agenda.

As Nevada Senate Bill 1 requires, the A’s must complete the draft development agreement before the $380 million in public financing for the stadium becomes available. Lawmakers in that state approved funding for the stadium over a year ago, but details about how the A’s will fully pay for the project have been scant.

Still, meeting with members of the Baseball Writers Association of America before Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas, Manfred said, “I talk to (Fisher) regularly. I am comfortable with the progress they’ve made with respect to the construction of the stadium in Las Vegas and his ability to put together the financing necessary to get that stadium constructed.”

The A’s want to begin construction on the planned nine-acre ballpark — on the site of the soon-to-be-demolished Tropicana Hotel and Casino — in April of next year. The Tropicana, owned by Bally’s Corporation, closed in April, and plans are to level the two towers on the site in October.

The A’s have 64 games left this year, including 34 at the Coliseum, before they relocate to Sacramento for at least three seasons from 2025 to 2027. There is an option for a fourth season if delays hit the construction of the Las Vegas ballpark, which the A’s hope to open by the start of the 2028 season.

Daily highs in the Sacramento area averaged 106 degrees from July 1 to 9, and later this week, more daytime highs in the 100s are expected.

Manfred tried to alleviate any concerns about big leaguers baking in the state capital, saying a new artificial turf surface at the A’s temporary home will have a hydration element to help keep players cool.

“We think that’s the best that we can do in terms of playing surface in the heat,” Manfred said.

Between the A’s and the River Cats, the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, Sutter Health Park will host over 150 games per season over the next three years, prompting the switch from a grass surface to an artificial one.

MLB’s field and stadium consultant Murray Cook has worked on the surface selection process with the Major League Baseball Players Association.

Although the A’s organization wants to play at night as much as possible to avoid Sacramento’s scorching conditions, matinees for the team both on getaway days and Sundays (when Sunday Night Baseball has an exclusive window) are unavoidable.

MLB said it is still finalizing what infrastructure it would use beneath the turf.

“The vast, vast majority of the games can be played at night when it’s cooler,” Manfred said. ”We picked the playing surface in consultation with the MLBPA and Murray Cook, and it has a specific hydration component to it in terms of water being added to it to cool the surface.”

A new home clubhouse to meet MLB standards at Sutter Health Park is being planned, with the visiting clubhouse still beyond the outfield wall.

“Obviously, we have no control over where the league decides to play games or put teams,” MLBPA chief Tony Clark told the BBWAA, speaking before Manfred. “At the point in time they make that determination is when we lean in to ensure the health and safety and well-being of the players who are going to play there.

“Obviously, there’s been a lot of dialogue of late about the warmth and the time of day and the scheduling.”

The A’s lease at the aging Coliseum expires after this year. In April, the A’s, unable to reach an agreement with the City of Oakland on a lease extension, announced their intention to leave the East Bay after 57 years and play in Sacramento for at least three seasons before relocating to Las Vegas.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, who has had an acrimonious relationship with Fisher, faces a possible recall election in November. But Manfred said her status would not impact a move.

“Our Oakland decisions have been made,” he said, “and what happens politically in Oakland is between the citizens of Oakland and their elected officials.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.