Oakland A’s stadium deal wins final regulatory approval in Nevada as MLB considers moving to Las Vegas

The Oakland Athletics have hit a major hurdle on their planned move to Las Vegas after the Nevada legislature on Wednesday gave final approval to public funding for part of a proposed $1.5 billion stadium with a retractable roof.

The deal that financiers 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 has yet to approve the move from the A’s to the Las Vegas Strip approval, but both are expected.

The Assembly passed the final version of the bill with $380 million in taxpayers’ money by a vote of 25 to 15 after minor amendments to the measure passed the Senate by a vote of 13 to 8 on Tuesday, just hours before the Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup.

The $380 million in government funding would come primarily from $180 million in transferable tax credits and $120 million in government bonds. Donors have promised that the creation of a special tax district around the proposed stadium — which would be the smallest in Major League Baseball — would raise enough money to pay off those bonds and interest. The plan would not raise taxes directly.

Public funding debate

The Nevada Plan had revived the national debate about public funding for private sports clubs. Representatives for A and some Nevada tourism officials have said the measure could help fuel the growing Las Vegas sports scene and act as an economic driver. But a growing chorus of economists and some lawmakers have warned that such a project would bring minimal benefits compared to the hefty public price tag.

D-Reno City Councilwoman Selena La Rue Hatch said Wednesday night she could not support state funding because of a lack of funding for Nevada’s overcrowded classrooms, inadequate childcare and “people sleeping on the street.”

“No change is going to change the fact that we’re giving millions of public dollars to a billionaire,” she said.

The legislature’s vote is a victory in the A’s tough quest to replace Oakland Coliseum, where the team has played since arriving from Kansas City in 1968. The team previously attempted to build a stadium in Fremont, California, as well as San Jose and finally the Oakland waterfront – all ideas that never materialized.

The new 30,000-seat baseball stadium is planned along the Las Vegas Strip, not far from the Knights’ T-Mobile Arena and another stadium that is home to the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.

A last-minute bill during Nevada’s 2016 special session paved the way for $750 million in state funding from hotel room taxes for the Raiders’ $2 billion Allegiant Stadium.

No public money was spent on the arena for the expansion hockey team.

In places like Buffalo and Oakland, proponents of new stadiums have argued that tax incentives prevent the departure of decades-old companies. But the debate in Nevada was different. The state already relies heavily on entertainment and tourism to power its economy, and legislators or appointed boards have for years talked about diversifying the economy to justify incentives for companies, including Tesla.

In addition to creating 14,000 construction and permanent jobs at prevailing wages subject to collective bargaining, she said Major League Baseball’s presence in Las Vegas will build on the excitement surrounding the Raiders, the Golden Knights and the WNBA’s Aces in a city that had no major professional sports before 2016.

“With the Aces winning a national championship last year and the Golden Knights taking home the Stanley Cup last night, it’s clear that Las Vegas is clearly becoming the entertainment and sports capital of the world,” she said.