LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Nevada political action committee is continuing their quest to try to prevent the A's from getting Nevada state tax funding dedicated to stadium bonds for a new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip.
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In June, the Nevada State Education Association formed a political action committee called Schools Over Stadiums. On Wednesday, Schools Over Stadiums officials announced they have filed a referendum petition to repeal that funding. The organization claims that during the 82nd Legislative Session, Nevada legislators "failed to hear a single bill to reduce Nevada's overcrowded classrooms."
"This referendum petition will target specific parts of Senate Bill 1 to strip public funding for the proposed stadium regardless of what State and County officials agree to in any sort of development deal," said Alexander Marks, spokesperson for Schools Over Stadiums. "We're excited to get out there and start gathering signatures from Nevadans who want to put our schools first. We're confident that a majority of Nevadans will join us in taking action to put Nevada's priorities back in line so we can address an education system that ranks 48th in funding with the largest class sizes and highest vacancies in the country."
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In June, Gov. Lombardosigned Senate Bill 1 into law. It set aside up to $380 million in public funds for the ballpark. Last month, Steve Hill, the Chief Executive Officer and President of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said room taxes generated in the new Sports and Innovation District would help cover some of those costs. It's a similar structure to what was put in place to pay for Allegiant Stadium. However, that district can't be created until Major League Baseball approves the team moving to Las Vegas and the Tropicana is demolished.
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According to the Nevada Secretary of State's website, Schools Over Stadiums would need hundreds of thousands of valid signatures from registered Nevada voters for the issue to make it onto the ballot.
For example, during the 2022 General Election, petitioners needed at least 10% of the number of voters who voted during the previous General Election. In 2022, 10% meant 140,777 valid signatures.
The Secretary of State's office also states that signatures must come from each of the four Petition Districts in Nevada and can't all be from Clark County or Southern Nevada. Those Petition Districts have the same geographic boundaries as Congressional Districts.
Petition signatures would need to be collected and submitted by July 8, 2024. However, Schools Over Stadiums officials said they haven't started collecting signatures yet.
Gov. Lombardo's office declined to comment at this time.
Channel 13 also reached out to the Oakland A's and the Las Vegas Stadium Authority for comment. As of 3:00 p.m., they have not responded to those requests.
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