CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo on Wednesday announced a tentative agreement with the Oakland Athletics and lawmakers for a stadium funding plan after weeks of negotiations over how much the state could contribute to a 1, $5 billion ballpark in Las Vegas, they said in a joint statement.
The preliminary agreement indicates that a funding bill will be introduced into the Nevada legislature in the coming days, giving lawmakers less than two weeks to consider it before the end of the session.
If lawmakers cannot agree on the terms by June 5, a special session of the legislature threatens. Funding is also uncertain.
The announcement follows Oakland Athletics’ agreement to use land on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip, where the Tropicana Las Vegas casino resort is located — a linchpin of a previous agreement for a nearby stadium to feature a Price of 500 million US dollars The value signaled by many lawmakers is too high.
Wednesday’s statement did not identify an amount for the public support, although Nevada State Treasurer Zach Conine said the public-private partnership would minimize risk to Nevada taxpayers. Representatives from the governor, Senate Democrats and the A’s have not commented on how much public money is being sought.
Steve Yeager, spokesman for the Democratic State Assembly, said the legislative leadership is considering the proposal.
“No commitment will be made until we have both evaluated the official proposal and received input from interested parties, including affected community members,” Yeager said in a statement.
The A’s have been looking for years for a home to replace the Oakland Coliseum, where the team has played since arriving from Kansas City for the 1968 season. The team wanted to build a stadium in Fremont and San Jose before settling on the Oakland coast.
Las Vegas would be the fourth home of a franchise that began as the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 to 1954. It would be the smallest television market in Major League Baseball and the smallest market to be home to three major professional sports franchises. The team and the city hope the nearly 40 million tourists who visit Las Vegas annually can help fill the stadium.
Earlier this month, the A’s reached an agreement with the Culinary Union, Nevada’s most politically influential union representing more than 60,000 workers in the Las Vegas area, that guarantees A’s workers the right to unionize and negotiate union contracts.
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Stern is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Follow Stern on Twitter: @gabestern326.