LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It's only a matter of time until a bill is presented to Nevada lawmakers to help fund a potential new Oakland A's ballpark near Allegiant Stadium, according to a top local economic analyst.
Jeremy Aguero, principal analyst at Applied Analysis, tells Channel 13 that he's confident a bill will materialize.
"I don't think you can handicap any particular timeline," Aguero said. "I think that would be a mistake. As all the pieces come together, a bill will be drafted and we'll develop along those lines."
The A's would like to build a $1.5 billion ballpark with a retractable roof at the site of the former Wild West casino near Tropicana and the I-15.
The team has an agreement with Red Rock Resorts to buy 49 acres there, but it wants about $500 million to help pay for the stadium.
That would likely come in the form of a special tax district that would encompass the ballpark.
Any proposed ballpark bill is expected to include framework for such a district, which has become a popular way to help finance sports stadiums around the country.
Unless Governor Joe Lombardo were to call a special legislative session, though, a bill would have to be finalized and voted on before the current session ends on June 5.
"The session still has five weeks left in it, which is plenty of time for a bill to take form," Aguero said. "It's very important that all legislators, at the local and state level, feel like they're informed and have the ability to have their questions answered."
The announcement last month that the A's had an agreement to buy land from Red Rock angered many baseball fans in the Bay Area.
Last weekend, the team played its first home games at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum since that announcement.
Some fans showed their frustrations by hoisting a large banner in the right field stands, which encouraged A's owner John Fisher to sell the team.
Casey Pratt, sports director for ABC 7 in the Bay Area, was at Friday's game against the Cincinnati Reds.
"It was an interesting scene," Pratt said. "Usually, security would try to take down the protest signs. It seemed as if these (security) people, who might be losing their jobs if the team moves, didn't want to stop it at all."
Pratt said he thinks there's a "high likelihood" that the A's do end up moving to Las Vegas.
Even after a win over the Reds on Sunday, the A's have the worst record in Major League Baseball — 6-23 — through the first month of the season.
Oakland will host the Seattle Mariners at the Coliseum on Tuesday.
