He hotel and casino Tropicana Las Vegasone of the emblems of the “Sin City” for more than six decades, will close its doors in the coming months to make way for a $1.5 billion baseball stadium that will house the Oakland Athletics, Bally’s Corp. said Monday.
The April 2 closing — 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 “Tiffany from 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 US$15 million.
That land is now planned to house a baseball stadium with a capacity for 30,000 spectators and a retractable roof. All 30 Major League team owners approved the A’s move to Las Vegas in November.
Bally’s president George Papanier said in a statement that the stadium plans were “a unique opportunity.”
“Bally’s looks forward to the development of the new complex and ballpark that will be built in its place and will become a new landmark, paying tribute to the iconic history and global appeal of Las Vegas and its nearly 50 million visitors. year”the company indicated in a press release.
The ball park, which has $380 million in public funding, would open in 2028 near the home of the NFL’s Raiders, who left Oakland in 2020, and the NHL’s Golden Knights. who last year won the Stanley Cup in just their sixth season of existence.
Bally’s said it will no longer accept hotel reservations after April 2 and will relocate any customers whose reservation extends 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 Pappageorge, the union’s secretary-treasurer, said he hopes the severance package laid out in the latest contract will help in what he anticipates will be a difficult transition period for Tropicana workers, most of them elderly and many of them who, he said, have worked at the hotel and casino for decades.
The new union contract establishes that employees will receive a settlement of US$2,000 for each year worked. For veteran Tropicana workers, Pappageorge said, the amount could reach tens of thousands of dollars.
“Hotels are bought and sold in Las Vegas all the time,” Pappageorge said. “These new projects are welcomed, but workers cannot be thrown away like an old shoe.”
Rhode Island-based Bally’s purchased the Tropicana in 2021 for $308 million.
Source: Gestion
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
