Oakland A’s Las Vegas Stadium Bill Passes Nevada Senate, Goes to Assembly

Posted on: June 13, 2023, 06:02h. 

Last updated on: June 14, 2023, 12:28h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas.

The Nevada Senate voted 13-8 Tuesday to approve $380 million in public funding. The money will be used for a $1.5 billion baseball stadium planned by the Athletics MLB team on the site of the Tropicana casino hotel. The vote occurred on the fourth day of a grueling special session called by Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R).

Oakland A's Las Vegas MLB ballpark
An artist’s rendering of the proposed MLB ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip. On Tuesday, the Oakland A’s received the Nevada Senate’s approval for the $380M in public financing it seeks to build the stadium. (Image: Oakland Athletics)

Senate Bill 1 would allocate $180 million from the state in transferable tax credits. Of that, $90 million would be repaid via a sports entertainment improvement district set up around the stadium site.

According to the bill, Clark County would contribute $145 million. Of that, $120 million would come from the special tax district, and $25 million will go toward infrastructure improvements.

The bill now moves to the Assembly, where it is currently being debated.

The bill was approved with two amendments. The first bars hotels and gaming establishments from the special tax district created to fund the bonds issued to build that stadium. It also absolves the state of responsibility for repaying the County’s bonds.

The same amendment also requires the A’s to fund community benefits programs to the tune of $500K each year before the stadium opens, and then either $1.5M per year or 1% of ticket revenues after that. It also requires the workforce building and operating the stadium to be diverse and paid a living wage.

A second amendment requires businesses with 40 or more employees that receive state tax exemptions to provide 12 weeks or more of paid family leave to their employees after one year of employment. It also removes a state law exemption allowing railroad and monorail projects to avoid paying prevailing wages on construction and repairs.

The Senate will return Wednesday to consider any changes made by the Assembly.