Tropicana implosion to pave way for new era in Las Vegas — WATCH LIVE AT 2 A.M.

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

The planned seven-minute firework and drone show leading up to the early Wednesday morning implosion of the resort will honor the property’s long history in Las Vegas, standing on the Strip since 1957.

“It is honoring what the Tropicana has meant to Las Vegas,” Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Steve Hill said Tuesday. “It’s been a big part of our identity, our brand and certainly early in its history it was an iconic location. Now we’re going to turn into a new iconic location, which is very fitting for 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 are expected to be on hand for the ceremony and implosion, scheduled to begin at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday.

In order to create a safety zone surrounding the Trop, roads around the shuttered resort will begin to shut down at 11 p.m. Roads within the general boundaries of between Park Avenue to the north and Mandalay Bay Road to the south, and 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 from Frank Sinatra to Koval will also be closed.

All closures will be in place by 12:30 a.m.,Wednesday, and are scheduled to be in place until 6 a.m.

The hotel towers being brought down will pave the way for the construction of the A’s $1.5 billion, 33,000 fan capacity domed ballpark. The stadium will be built on 9 acres of the 35-acre site, with Tropicana owner Bally’s Corp. planning to construct a future resort on the remaining acreage.

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

“It’ll take a number of weeks to clear the site from the rubble,” Hill said. “As far as I know the thought process of breaking ground somewhere in the April time frame 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, and not just the A’s to the mix, will build off that momentum.

“Shohei Ohtani had his humongous day a few weeks ago (for the Los Angeles Dodgers) … I sent my family a text saying ‘This guy is going to be playing baseball in Las Vegas in four years,’” Hill said. “Which 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 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 to that.

“All of them have made way for what’s next,” Hill said. “The first one that I saw was when the Dunes came down and ultimately made way for Bellagio and everything through that area. That’s hard to beat. Then Sands comes down and D.I. (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 from these implosions has continued to raise our game and our brand.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.