Nevada Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo on Wednesday announced a tentative agreement between his office, state legislative leaders and the Oakland Athletics for a stadium financing plan after weeks of negotiations over how much public assistance the state will contribute to a $1.5 billion stadium in Las Vegas. , according to a joint statement.
The tentative agreement indicates that a funding bill will be introduced in the Nevada Legislature in the coming days with less than two weeks until the end of the legislative session. It still needs approval from both the state Senate and Assembly.
The threat of a special legislative session looms if lawmakers cannot agree on the bill by the end of the June 5 regular session. Funding is also not certain.
The announcement follows the Oakland Athletics’ deal to use land on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip, home to the Tropicana Las Vegas casino complex, a pivot from an earlier deal for a nearby stadium that was priced at $500 million. The bar many lawmakers pointed out was too high.
Wednesday’s statement did not specify an amount for public assistance, although Nevada State Treasurer Zach Conine said the public-private partnership would minimize risk to Nevada taxpayers. Public aid would cover less than 25% of the total cost of the stadium, according to the statement.
The governor’s office and Senate Democrats declined to provide details about the request for public assistance. Conine and a representative for the A’s did not return messages seeking specific numbers.
Democratic state Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager said legislative leadership is reviewing the proposal.
“No commitment will be made until we have evaluated the official proposal and received input from interested parties, including affected community members,” Yeager said in a statement.
The Athletics have been searching for years for a home to replace the Oakland Coliseum, where the team has played since arriving from Kansas City in the 1968 season. They had tried to build stadiums in Fremont and San Jose before running their attention to the Oakland Boardwalk.
Las Vegas would be the fourth home of a franchise that began as the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 to 1954. It would become Major League Baseball’s smallest television market and the smallest market to be home to three major sports franchises professionals The team and the city hope to take advantage of the nearly 40 million tourists who visit Las Vegas annually to help fill the stadium.
Earlier this month, the A’s reached an agreement with the Culinary Union, Nevada’s most politically powerful union that represents more than 60,000 workers in the Las Vegas area, that ensures A’s workers have right to organize and negotiate union contracts.
Report from The Associated Press.
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