Of those visitors to Las Vegas, Aguero projected the stadium would attract 405,000 incremental visitors - travelers who would not have come to Las Vegas if not for a special event. In a presentation to lawmakers last week concerning SB509 and its request for up to $380 million in public money, Applied Analysis founder Jeremy Aguero estimated stadium events would attract 2.6 million visitors annually with 762,000 - 30 percent - coming from out of town. He suggested MGM might consider redeveloping the Excalibur, which sits at the southwest corner across from the Tropicana, because of potential “outsized returns” in a few years once the stadium is completed.

“The MGM Grand has a large-scale parking garage that is currently under-utilized which could generate significant revenues on Major League Baseball game days given attendance is expected to be comprised of mostly local residents,” Wieczynski told investors in a research note.

The discussions immediately focused on several ways MGM could benefit from the development. Stifel Financial gaming analyst Steven Wieczynski had previously scheduled meetings with MGM Resorts’ top brass at the same time the news of the A’s pivot to the Tropicana site broke.