Nevada Lawmakers OK A’s Vegas Bill, But Final Move Still Awaits MLB Approval
Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 03:50PM By Barry Janoff
UPDATED June 15, 2023: AP Sports: Major League Baseball will start a months-long approval process for Oakland Athletics’ proposed move to Las Vegas.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said during a news conference following an owners meeting the team must submit a relocation application explaining its efforts in Oakland and why Las Vegas is a better market.
The committee will define the new operating territory and television territory, then make a recommendation to Manfred and the eight-man executive council. The group makes a recommendation to all clubs, which must approve the move by at least three-quarters vote.
A new stadium likely would open in 2028 at the earliest.
Nevada governor Joe Lombardo signed a bill on Thursday that gives public funding for a portion of a proposed $1.5 billion stadium in Las Vegas for the Oakland Athletics.
“Obviously the passing of the legislation in Nevada — really, really important,” Manfred said. Full story here.
June 14, 2023: AP Sports: The Oakland A’s 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 deal that backers said will continue to help establish Las Vegas as the "entertainment and sports capital of the world" still needs the governor's signature, and MLB still must approve the A's move to the Las Vegas Strip, but both are anticipated.
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. Full story here.
Tuesday night, June 13 in Las Vegas, the Vegas Golden Knights won their first Stanley Cup championship.
Tuesday afternoon, the Nevada State Senate passed Senate Bill 1 in a special session called by Gov. Joe Lombardo that provides up to $380 million in public funding for a Las Vegas stadium to become the new home for the Oakland A’s.
Tuesday night in Oakland, 27,759 attended a “Reverse Boycott” game organized by loyal supporters who want to keep the team in Oakland. The A’s rewarded their fans with the team’s seventh-consecutive victory.
Although reports called the turnout “en masse,” the figure — the largest home crowd of the season and more than triple the team's home average of 8,555 — is relative.
The Coliseum holds 63,000, so it was about one-third full.
The proposed Vegas stadium would hold 30,000, about 2,000 more than attended the “Reverse Boycott.”
The A’s, which already have unveiled proposed designs for their potential Las Vegas venue, said they raised $811,107 from ticket sales, which will be donated to the Alameda County Community Food Bank and the Oakland Public Education Fund.
According to the State Senate, two amendments to the bill added Tuesday morning prompted a 13-8 vote in favor of the proposed stadium. Five Republicans and eight Democrats voted in favor of Senate Bill 1, while three Republicans and five Democrats voted against it.
Next, the 42-person Nevada Assembly must approve the bill by a majority vote.
If Gov. Lombardo signs the bill into law — he is a proponent of Las Vegas adding the MLB team to join the NHL's Golden Knights and NFL's Raiders (which moved from Oakland in 2020) — it would then be left to MLB owners to authorize the A's relocation from Oakland.
Graphic: Oakland A'sAlso on Tuesday, Democrats Rep. Barbara Lee, who represents Oakland, and Rep. Mark DeSauinier, who represents Concord, introduced a bill that would “require any baseball team that relocates more than 25 miles away from their home field to compensate local governments for the move."
According to the “Moneyball Act,” relocating teams would have to “compensate state, local and Tribal governments in an amount equal to taxes paid to those jurisdictions over the last 10 years.
“If teams refuse to pay, Major League Baseball would lose its current exemption from anti-trust laws. If a baseball team was disbanded in an effort to avoid paying compensation, team officers would be personally liable for the relocation fees.”
The A’s, which have played in the Oakland Coliseum since relocating from Kansas City for the 1968 MLB season, last month signed a “binding agreement” with Bally’s Corp., in conjunction with Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc., to build a ballpark on a portion of the current Tropicana Las Vegas property.
Bally's and GLPI said they would “assign approximately nine acres of the 35-acre site located on Las Vegas Blvd. and Tropicana Ave. to the Oakland Athletics or a related stadium authority.”
It is being overseen by Brad Schrock KC Architecture, Kansas City, MO.
If financing and necessary approvals are secured, the stadium could open for the 2027 MLB season.
Oakland A’s Share Images Of Proposed Las Vegas Stadium
MLB A’s, Nevada Officials Draft Legislation To Bring Team To Las Vegas
MLB Oakland A’s Roll The Dice Again, With Bally’s, For $1.5B Las Vegas Stadium
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