Athletics Stadium Deal Wins Final Legislative Approval in Nevada

The Oakland Athletics cleared a major hurdle for their planned relocation to Las Vegas after the Nevada Legislature gave final approval on Wednesday to public funding for a portion of a proposed $1.5 billion stadium with a retractable roof.

The Assembly approved the final version of the bill with $380 million in taxpayer money on a 25-15 vote after making minor changes to the measure the Senate approved on a 13-8 vote Tuesday hours before the Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup.

The Senate accepted the changes with no debate on a voice vote Wednesday night and sent it to the governor’s desk as an “emergency measure” adopted during the special legislative session that convened with Democratic majorities in both houses June 7. Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo had proposed the stadium spending plan.

The state Senate passed the bill Tuesday after days of questioning from lawmakers about using public tax dollars to support a team owned by billionaire John Fisher. A’s representatives and Nevada tourism officials have said the measure could add to Las Vegas’ growing sports scene but a group of economists and lawmakers have warned that such a project would bring minimal benefits when compared to the hefty public price tag, reviving the national debate over public funding for sports franchises.

The $380 million in public funds for the stadium would mainly come from the $180 million in transferable tax credits and $120 million in county bonds. Backers have pledged that the creation of a special tax district around the proposed stadium would generate enough money to pay off those bonds and interest. The plan would not directly raise taxes unless the county cannot pay off its bonds, as is the case with other general obligation bonds.

The A’s would not owe property taxes for the publicly owned stadium. Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, would also contribute $25 million in credit toward infrastructure costs. The 30,000-seat stadium would be built on the Tropicana hotel site along the Las Vegas Strip. The project is expected to cost about $1.5 billion overall; Athletics’ President Dave Kaval said plans would be for the stadium to open in 2027 with the A’s playing the 2025 and 2026 seasons at Las Vegas Ballpark, home to their Triple-A affiliate Aviators.

The new stadium is planned along the Las Vegas Strip not far from the Knights’ T-Mobile Arena and another stadium that’s home to the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, who also left Oakland for Vegas in 2020. A last-minute bill in Nevada’s 2016 special session had paved the way for $750 million in public funding from hotel room taxes for the $2 billion Allegiant Stadium. No public money was spent on the arena for the expansion hockey team.

The A’s had been looking for a new home for years to replace Oakland Coliseum, where the team has played since arriving from Kansas City for the 1968 season. It is averaging less than 9,500 fans at home this season, by far the lowest among the 30 teams, and at one point this year drew an announced attendance of 2,064. The team had been in negotiations with the city of Oakland to build a stadium on the waterfront but switched the focus entirely to Las Vegas this spring.

Fans of the team have also been in open revolt against the Athletics ownership. One fan group staged a “Reverse Boycott” at the Coliseum on Tuesday with T-shirts to the first 7,000 fans to arrive. The bright green T-shirts made by local company Oaklandish read “SELL” — a message for Fisher. A season-best crowd of 27,759 was the largest for an A’s game on a Tuesday since they drew 33,654 against the Dodgers on Aug. 7, 2018.

Fisher’s bare-bones budget for the Athletics has been a topic around the game for years. It drew criticism from New York Yankees Owner Hal Steinbrenner, who told The Associated Press on Tuesday to start three days of owners meetings that he would be open to a salary cap for teams if others like the A’s are subject to a payroll floor.

“Any time a team is putting out a product that’s not good for the industry as a whole, yes, I am absolutely concerned about that,” Steinbrenner. “I’ve always said that fans should not go to the first spring training game knowing that their team has no chance of making the playoffs. That’s just not good for the game. It’s not good for the industry.”

The Las Vegas stadium would have the smallest capacity in the major leagues and the A’s would move from the 10th-largest television market in the U.S. to the 40th, possibly putting the A’s in line to became a perennial revenue-sharing payee. Oakland’s payroll this season is $58 million; the Yankees’ payroll is second-highest in MLB at $275 million.

“It’s a very different market. It’s unique. There’s no doubt about it,” Steinbrenner said of Las Vegas. “That would always be a concern. But let’s hear their case.”