Athletics
An artist’s rendering of the proposed A’s ballpark on the Tropicana casino site on the Las Vegas Strip.
Wednesday, June 14, 2023 | 12:17 p.m.
Lawmakers in the Nevada Assembly are deliberating on amendments to a $380 million public financing package to build a ballpark off the Las Vegas Strip to lure the Oakland Athletics as the team mulls relocating from Northern California.
Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, D-Las Vegas, told members from the floor shortly before 11:30 a.m. today the body is still awaiting amendments being prepared for Senate Bill 1 of the 35th special session in state history.
The bill will remain with the Assembly until the amendments are unveiled, which Yeager said could take a number of hours.
The state Senate passed an amended version of the bill Tuesday on a 13-8 vote after adding in provisions that mandate companies receiving tax abatements from the state provide 12 weeks of paid family or medical leave and a separate stipulation requiring the state to adhere to prevailing wage laws for railroad and monorail projects.
If additional amendments are introduced in the Assembly and the bill ultimately passes, the measure would return for concurrence in the Senate to advance to Gov. Joe Lombardo’s desk for signature.
The news comes a day after fans in Oakland staged a so-called reverse boycott, where a crowd of 27,759 filled the 56,000-seat Oakland Coliseum to voice displeasure in owner John Fisher and cheering the A’s (who have the second-worst record in the American League at 19-50) to a 2-1 win over the AL-leading Tampa Bay Rays (48-22).
Prior to Tuesday, the A’s ranked dead last in baseball for average attendance at about 8,555 per game, according to ESPN.
The A’s for years have maintained the facilities at the Coliseum are untenable and have sought for ballpark options throughout California. They have explored ballpark options in Fremont, Sacramento and, most notably, a waterfront stadium along the San Francisco Bay as part of a $12 billion-plus development in Oakland.
Those options have faltered, but officials in Oakland have shown a willingness to restart negotiations if lawmakers here are unable to pass a deal. Other cities, such as Portland, Ore., Nashville, Tenn., and Salt Lake City, have been floated as potential options for the A’s or landing a possible expansion team.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has given the team until January to find a new option for relocation. Owners met in New York this week and could have voted to approve the team’s move to Las Vegas, but with no public-private partnership in Nevada signed into law, it’s unclear when owners will meet again.
