The Oakland Athletics’ bid to relocate to Las Vegas has taken a giant step forward.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that the Nevada state senate had passed a $380 million bill to fund a new stadium off the Las Vegas Strip. The team had initially sought around $500 million in public funding to construct the $1.5 billion facility.
The passage of the bill seemed unlikely in recent days. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Monday that in a hearing last week, “senators sharply questioned proponents of the A’s stadium. At least one lobbyist for the stadium idea said before that hearing that the team did not have enough votes to pass the proposal.”
So a considerable hurdle is out of the way. The next step involves a vote by the Nevada assembly, which held a special hearing to discuss the issue Tuesday. If the assembly approves the funding, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo would sign it into law.
At that point, the Athletics would only require approval from MLB owners. Owners overwhelmingly support the move, as the Athletics have struggled financially for decades and have failed several bids to build a new stadium in the Bay Area.
Athletics fans have suffered so much and vented their frustration on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/LylykStephen/status/1668738056336310272
Very cool country we live in where we will never stop funneling money directly to billionaire’s pockets!!! pic.twitter.com/GY4UKwI3KM
— Cody Bellinger’s Ghost (@DodgersBloo) June 13, 2023
Would love to see a historic turnaround and they end up staying in Oakland but it most likely won’t happen
— cole (Kane or Neymar plz) (@OwnedbyJacoby) June 13, 2023
Help fund a team owned by a billionaire. Makes sense.
— Don Pordon (@savejets) June 13, 2023
They are moving. This was the biggest hurdle.
— Dan Town (@DanTown22) June 13, 2023
[Jeff Passan, ESPN; Las Vegas Review-Journal]
