Nevada lawmakers got their first look at a bill to help build a new stadium from the Oakland A's on the Las Vegas Strip on Monday.
Lawmakers unveiled the proposed deal over the weekend after weeks of negotiations.
Under Senate Bill 509, the A's organization is asking for $380 million in public financing to help cover roughly a quarter of the costs associated with their proposed $1.5 billion stadium. $180 million, in the form of transferable tax credits, will come from the state. Clark County will fund the difference using bonds.
Jeremy Aguero is with Applied Analytics, a Las Vegas-based consulting firm representing the A's in the Nevada Legislature. He said the stadium will generate thousands of new construction and hospitality jobs.
"Clark County is going to make money on this deal, not lose money on this deal. I understand that there's always some concern about long term structural position of all governments, state and local. Still, if the A's are able to do what they expect to be able to do, then Clark County, as well as the state, will be in a net positive fiscal position."
The analysis presented by Aguero and his firm suggests that the stadium will draw as many as 28,000 attendees per game, which is the league median.
“Regular citizens see us having a conversation and a discussion around funding a stadium,” said state Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas). “Yet, we don’t have enough revenue to fund and give a 20% (salary) increase to teachers.”
Some lawmakers flatly said they were not in favor of the bill, or indicated that the proposal is a hard sell, the Associated Press reported.
“The Raiders came to this state with a huge fan base. We had a lot of people that would make the travel to California to see the Raiders,” said Assemblywoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno (D-North Las Vegas). “I don’t see that happening for the A’s.”
The proposed nine-acre stadium would be the smallest in Major League Baseball at 35,000 seats, if built.
