By GABE STERN (Associated Press/Report for America)
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo on Wednesday announced a tentative agreement with the Oakland Athletics and legislative leaders for a stadium funding plan after weeks of negotiations over the state’s contribution. state at a $1.5 billion baseball stadium in Las Vegas.
The tentative agreement outlined in a joint statement says a funding bill will be introduced in the Nevada Legislature in the coming days, giving lawmakers less than two weeks to consider it before the end of the session. .
The threat of a special legislative session looms if lawmakers fail to agree on terms by June 5. Funding is also not a sure thing.
The announcement follows Oakland Athletics’ agreement to use land at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip where the Tropicana Las Vegas casino resort is located – a pivotal part of an earlier deal for a stadium at proximity that came with a $500 million price tag that many lawmakers pointed out was too high.
Wednesday’s statement did not specify the amount of public assistance, although Nevada State Treasurer Zach Conine said the public-private partnership would minimize risk to Nevada taxpayers. The public aid would cover less than 25% of the total cost of the stadium, according to the press release.
The governor’s office and Senate Democrats declined to provide details about the request for public assistance. Conine and a rep for the A’s did not return messages requesting specific numbers.
Democratic State Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager said legislative leaders are considering the proposal.
“No commitments will be made until we have evaluated the formal proposal and received feedback from interested parties, including affected community members,” Yeager said in a statement.
The A’s have been looking for years for a home to replace the Oakland Coliseum, where the team has played since arriving from Kansas City for the 1968 season. Oakland Sea – all ideas that never came to fruition.
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 house three major professional sports franchises. The team and the city hope to attract the approximately 40 million tourists who visit Las Vegas each year to help fill the stadium.
Earlier this month, the A’s reached a deal with the Culinary Union, Nevada’s politically most powerful union that represents more than 60,000 workers in the Las Vegas area, which ensures that A’s workers would have the right to organize and negotiate union contracts.
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Stern is a member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a national, nonprofit service program that places reporters in local newsrooms. Follow Stern on Twitter: @gabestern326.
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