GLPI Waiting on Bally’s for Stadium Casino Financing Updates

Posted on: October 25, 2024, 06:52h. 

Last updated on: October 25, 2024, 06:52h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ: GLPI) said it’s waiting on Bally’s (NYSE: BALY) to provide updates on potential financing needs for a planned casino hotel at the site formerly occupied by the Tropicana on the Las Vegas Strip.

Tropicana Las Vegas
The former Tropicana Las Vegas. GLPI said it’s waiting on financing updates from Bally’s for a new casino hotel there. (Image: Vegas Eater)

Executives from the real estate investment trust (REIT) made comments to that effect on a conference call earlier today following the release of the REIT’s third-quarter earnings. GLPI owns the real estate on which a new Major League Baseball Stadium (MLB) will be built. That property also includes the land previously occupied by the Tropicana, meaning Gaming and Leisure is Bally’s landlord for future gaming venue there.

Bally’s is continuing to work with their design professionals to fine-tune what that integrated resort might look like in Phase 1 and ultimately in Phases 2 and 3 and that process is still underway and we are really awaiting the outcome of some of that to determine how much, if any, additional dollars we’re either asked to provide, or more importantly, willing to provide to support the construction of the integrated resort,” said COO Brandon Moore on the call.

He added that Las Vegas is “a major focus for the company” although the REIT currently does not own the property associated with an operational gaming venue in the city.

Limited Financing Exposure in Stadium for GLPI

Moore added that construction of the stadium is being largely financed by the Oakland Athletics (A’s) — the team that’s moving to Las Vegas — and the land of the ballpark will be owned by  the Las Vegas Stadium Authority, so the REIT’s overall exposure to that project is scant.

Those comments arrived after reports surfaced earlier this week that A’s owner John Fisher is looking to sell as much as 25% of the team for $500 million. If a deal is executed at that price point, it would a long way toward solving the club’s financing needs for the Las Vegas stadium.

“I’d say our first priority continues to be ensuring and in preserving the value of the remainder parcel that we have in place. And so that’s been our primary focus from the beginning and continues to be our primary focus now,” Moore told investors.

The A’s stadium will occupy nine of the acres at the former Tropicana site, leaving Bally’s with a decent amount of room on which it can build a new casino hotel provided it can access the necessary financing.

GLPI Highlights Tribal Deal

Beyond Las Vegas, GLPI shared big news, noting it struck a sale-leaseback deal for a California tribal casino run by the Ione Band of Miwok. That’s the first time a tribe and a REIT have reached such an accord. Given the substantial real estate holdings of tribes with gaming exposure across the US, more related opportunities could appear in the future.

Moore told analysts there’s significant total addressable market potential in tribal gaming real estate and it’s a matter of connecting with tribes that are looking to monetize their casino property holdings.

“We are probably somewhere towards the upper end, but we have to figure out how many tribes in there could utilize this type of structure on a long-term basis to fund their capital needs,” he told analysts. “And that is the process we’re undertaking now. And I think we just don’t know enough at the moment to know how big that opportunity could be.”