In 22 seconds, Tropicana’s two Rat Pack-era hotel towers are expected to be partially reduced to rubble to make way for the Athletics’ planned ballpark in Las Vegas.

The planned seven-minute fireworks and drone show ahead of the resort’s implosion on Wednesday morning will pay tribute to the long history of the Las Vegas property, which has been 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’s been a big part of our identity, our brand, and certainly early on in its history it was an iconic location. Now we’re going to make it a new iconic location, which is very fitting for Las Vegas. It is 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 are expected to attend the ceremony and implosion, which will begin at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday.

To create a safety zone around the Trop, the roads around the resort will be shuttered at 11pm. Roads within the general boundaries between Park Avenue on the north and Mandalay Bay Road on the south, and Koval Lane on the east and Frank Sinatra Drive on the west, will be closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic, according to Clark County. Reno Avenue and from Frank Sinatra to Koval are also closed.

All closures will take place on Wednesday at 12.30pm and are expected to last until 6am

The downed hotel towers will pave the way for construction of the $1.5 billion domed ballpark and 33,000 fans. The stadium will be built on 9 hectares of the 35-hectare site, with Tropicana owner Bally’s Corp. plans to build a future resort on the remaining acreage.

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

“It will take several weeks to clear the site of the rubble,” Hill said. “As far as I know, the thought process of starting sometime in April is still the plan. So full speed ahead along those lines.”

With professional sports exploding in Las Vegas, leading to a new era for Sin City, adding Major League Baseball and the stars associated with the league, not just the A’s, will further build on that momentum.

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

With Las Vegas known for imploding old, aging properties to make way for the next big thing, Hill said this is the evolution toward that.

“They all made room for the future,” Hill said. “The first one 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 fantastic properties like Venetian and Wynn.

“What this city has done with the land made available by these implosions has further elevated our game and our brand.”

This is a development story. Check back for updates.

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