The Athletics’ proposal for $380 million in public funding to build a 30,000-seat ballpark in Las Vegas was back on the table Wednesday in a special session called by Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo.
Centered around the Senate Committee of the Whole (COW), the special session began around noon and concluded just before midnight without a vote on Senate Bill 1, a copy of SB509 that didn’t pass before the regular legislative session adjourned late Monday night.
So, what’s next?
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Per The Nevada Independent, votes by the committee and the Senate likely will take place Thursday. If it passes, it will head to Assembly, which will repeat the process of the COW and take a floor vote. If the bill passes there, it will land on the desk of Lombardo, who is expected to sign the bill into law.
Even if the bill passes through the two votes and is signed by Lombardo, the A’s departing Oakland for Las Vegas is not a done deal. MLB owners still would need to vote on relocation, and the team needs to prove it can fund the rest of the $1.5 billion project.
The Nevada Independent CEO John Ralston estimated where lawmakers stand on the bill heading into Thursday.
Oakland Athletics
The A's ballpark bill has been met with plenty of criticism from Nevada lawmakers.
“Can you explain to me why we need to provide hundreds of millions of dollars for a billionaire team to come to the Las Vegas Strip on some of the most valuable property in the world if we can't provide funding for critical resources like summer school and health care?” Sen. Rochelle Nguyen (D-Las Vegas) asked Thursday [h/t The Nevada Independent].
The A's are off Thursday after winning their second series of the season with back-to-back wins over the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. But all eyes turn to the Nevada lawmakers in Carson City once again.