(Carson City) Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo announced Wednesday that he has reached a tentative agreement between his office, state leaders and the Oakland Athletics for funding for a new stadium.
The announcement comes weeks after the parties negotiated the US state’s share of the construction of a $1.5 billion stadium in Las Vegas, according to a joint statement.
The tentative agreement specifies that a funding proposal will be submitted to the Nevada Legislature in the coming days, just under two weeks from the end of the legislative session. The deal still needs to receive approval from the state Senate and the Legislative Assembly.
The threat of a special session if ever lawmakers are unable to approve the deal by the end of the parliamentary session on June 5 is very real. And the financial package is still not confirmed.
Governor Lombardo’s announcement came shortly after the Oakland Athletics announced they had purchased land south of the legendary Las Vegas Strip, where the Tropicana gaming complex is currently located. The announcement broke the deadlock after many lawmakers admitted the $500 million bill for the land purchase was too high for the state. The joint statement did not specify the amount of public funds that was demanded by the A’s for a deal to materialize.
However, no other major league stadium has been funded by so many private funds, Nevada State Treasurer Zach Conine said in the statement.
The A’s had been searching for years for a new home to replace the Oakland Coliseum, where the team had settled since moving from Kansas City ahead of the 1968 season. They hoped to erect a new stadium in Fremont , then San Jose, before considering the Oakland waterfront.
Las Vegas would become the fourth home of the franchise that called themselves the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 to 1954. America’s gaming capital would also become the smallest major league television market, and the smallest market to host franchises. three of the major North American professional sports circuits.
The team and the City hope to fill this new stadium with the 40 million tourists who visit Las Vegas each year.
