(Carson City) Republican Nevada Governor 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.
This announcement comes a few weeks after the parties had negotiated the share that the American state should absorb for the construction of a 1.5 billion US stadium in Las Vegas, according to a joint press release.
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. This agreement must still receive the approval of the Senate of the State and the Legislature.
The threat of a special session if ever lawmakers are unable to approve the agreement 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 gambling complex is currently located. This announcement broke the impasse, after many lawmakers admitted that the 500 million bill attached to the purchase of land 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.
PHOTO JOHN LOCHER, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
The Oakland Athletics have announced that they have purchased land south of the legendary Las Vegas Strip, where the Tropicana gambling complex is currently located.
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 have been looking for years for a new home to replace the Oakland Coliseum, where the team has 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 itself the Philadelphia Athletics, from 1901 to 1954. America’s gambling capital would also become the smallest major league television market, and the smallest market to host franchises of three of the major North American professional sports circuits.
The team and the City hope to be able to fill this new stadium thanks to the 40 million tourists who visit Las Vegas each year.