In 22 seconds, the two Rat Pack-era Tropicana hotel towers will be partially reduced to rubble to make way for the proposed Athletics baseball stadium in Las Vegas.

The planned seven-minute fireworks display and drone show leading up to the resort’s implosion early Wednesday morning is intended to honor the long history of the Las Vegas property, which has stood on the Strip since 1957.

“It’s a tribute to what the Tropicana has meant to Las Vegas,” Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said Tuesday. “It was a big part of our identity, our brand and certainly it was an iconic place early in its history. Now we are transforming into a new iconic location that fits very well with Las Vegas. It’s very exciting for our city to bring Major League Baseball here.”

Executives from Tropicana owner Bally’s Corp., the A’s, the LVCVA and Clark County were present for the ceremony and implosion.

Soo Kim, chairman of Bally’s Corp., said since he’s been involved in the project, it’s always made sense, but he’s been in the business long enough to know that not everything that makes sense actually happens. With the implosion of the two towers early Wednesday being the next step in the process, Kim said it was great to see this project.

“In this case, it’s nice to see a plan come together,” Kim told the Review-Journal. “We are excited to do our part for the district and the state. We are making this very valuable land available, or part of it, to accommodate the stadium, which costs more than one and a half billion. I think it will be groundbreaking.”

To create a safety zone around the Trop, roads around the closed resort will be closed starting at 11 p.m. Streets within the general boundaries of Park Avenue to the north and Mandalay Bay Road to the south, as well as Koval Lane to the east and Frank Sinatra Drive to the west, will be closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic, according to Clark County. Reno Avenue and the stretch from Frank Sinatra to Koval will also be closed.

All closures will come into effect at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday and are expected to remain in effect until 6 a.m

Demolition of the hotel towers will pave the way for construction of the A’s $1.5 billion, 33,000-seat baseball stadium. The stadium will be built on 9 acres of the 35-acre site, with Tropicana owner Bally’s Corp. plans to build a future resort on the remaining land.

Plans to clear the site in time for the A’s to begin construction on the ballpark in the second quarter of 2025 are still on track.

“It will take several weeks to clear the site of debris,” Hill said. “From what I understand, the idea of ​​breaking ground sometime in April is still the plan. So full speed ahead in this direction.”

Part of Bally’s responsibility is clearing the rubble and then preparing the land for the A’s before construction begins next year.

“Construction will begin in the spring and baseball will be played in the spring of 2028,” Kim said.

Bally’s Corp. is in the early process of submitting its base master plan for the rest of the site, including its planned resort, Kim said.

“We are planning an integrated resort with up to 3,000 rooms and all the event and meeting space and F&B (food and beverage) that people have come to expect in Vegas,” Kim said. “Gaming only accounts for 30 percent of sales in Vegas right now, so everything else has to work. Since we are not a large company, we have to go slowly. At this point, we’re trying to break these plans down into bite-sized phases.”

As professional sports explode in Las Vegas and usher in a new era for Sin City, the addition of Major League Baseball and the stars associated with the league, and not just the A’s, will add to that momentum.

“Shohei Ohtani had his huge day a few weeks ago (for the Los Angeles Dodgers)… I sent a text message to my family saying, ‘This guy is going to be playing baseball in Las Vegas in four years,'” Hill said. “This is the same level as Frank Sinatra performing in Las Vegas. It’s just a fantastic location for a stadium and brings a whole new level of fame to our city.”

Since Las Vegas is known for imploding old, aging properties to make way for the next big thing, Hill said this is where development is headed.

“They all made room for what’s next,” Hill said. “The first thing I saw was when the dunes came down and eventually gave way to Bellagio and everything in that area. That’s hard to beat. Then Sands comes down and DI (Desert Inn) comes down and makes way for these amazing properties like Venetian and Wynn.

“What this city has done with the land vacated by these implosions has further strengthened our game and our brand.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact Mick Akers at [email protected] or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.