When you have only 4.2 miles of precious land to operate some of the world's most successful businesses, something old often has to be destroyed to make way for something new.
That's long been the story on the Las Vegas Strip, where many iconic casinos have been removed to make way for fresh projects.
Las Vegas has been home to dozens of casinos, some more fondly remembered than others. Some properties meet their ends quietly, simply changing owners and retiring well-known names, perhaps to be brought back later. Others, both on the Strip and around Las Vegas, have met a more spectacular demise through implosion.
DON'T MISS: Botched Deal Could Mean the End of a Las Vegas Strip Icon
The Dunes, the Landmark, the Sands, Hacienda and Aladdin were all brought down in the 1990s. Hacienda became the site for MGM Resorts International's (MGM) Mandalay Bay while the Aladdin site now hosts Caesars Entertainment's (CZR) Planet Hollywood. In the 2000s, El Rancho, Dessert Inn, Castaways, Bourbon Street, Boardwalk, Stardust, and New Frontier all met their demise through implosion.
There are some big names on the last, but perhaps none as big as the Tropicana, an icon of the Strip simply because it has been around since the 1950s. You could call the property a blast from the past, a reminder of Las Vegas's history or a dated relic badly in need of an update, but that update is not going to happen.
A surprise deal between Bally's Corp. (BALY), which has the operating rights to the 35-acre site, and the Oakland Athletics will bring the famed casino to its end. It will be demolished to make way for a $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat ballpark for the baseball team, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
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Las Vegas Strip Loses Tropicana, Gains the A's
The A's originally had a deal with Red Rock Resorts (RRR) for an off-Strip stadium at Tropicana Avenue and Dean Martin Drive, which used to house Station Casinos' Wild Wild West. That deal depended on the team landing $500 million in public finds to improve access to the site.
With the new site being on the Strip surrounded by Caesars and MGM properties, the team is now seeking only $395 million in public funds, according to the paper. The Nevada state legislature would still have to sign off on any funds, and there's no guarantee that will happen.
If the public money is approved, the team is expected to build a stadium with a retractable dome. A 30,000-seat stadium is relatively small by Major League Baseball standards, but the limited seating would likely make the A's a hot ticket and could drive prices up when opponents like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are in town.
A Sad End for the Las Vegas Strip's Tropicana
The future of the Trop, as it's known, has been in doubt since late last year, when Bally's acquired operating rights to the property from Penn National Gaming (PENN).
When that deal closed, little changed at the historic resort casino aside from signs related to the Bally's loyalty program replacing Penn National's.
When the deal closed, Bally's President George Papanier told the Nevada Gaming Commission that the company intended to use Tropicana as its western flagship property, Casino.org reported.
He did say that the company planned to step back for 18 to 24 months to consider its options. At the time, those options clearly included a remodel, a demolition and rebuild, or a baseball stadium for the A's.
Now, while neither the A's nor Bally's has commented on the deal, the stadium appears set to replace the Tropicana on 9 of the 35 acres at the site.
Bally's would retain the rights to build a new resort casino on the remaining space, according to the Review-Journal.
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