LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Governor Joe Lombardo announced on Wednesday morning that a bill to bring Major League Baseball to Las Vegas was ready to be presented to the Nevada Legislature.
In a news release on Wednesday, Gov. Lombardo said the bill will be drafted into legislation in the coming days, after his office, the A's organization, Treasurer Zach Conine, and other county officials reached a "tentative agreement."
“This agreement follows months of negotiations between the state, the county, and the A’s, and I believe it gives us a tremendous opportunity to continue building on the professional sports infrastructure of southern Nevada,” Gov. Lombardo said in a release. “Las Vegas is clearly a sports town, and Major League Baseball should be a part of it.”
The agreement will include the creation of a "Sports and Entertainment Improvement District" for the planned 30,000-seat, publicly owned, retractable roof stadium located on Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue.
Recent estimates say construction will cost around $1.5 billion and will create more than 14,000 jobs.
“We’re very appreciative of the support from the State of Nevada and Clark County's leadership,” said A’s President Dave Kaval in a statement. “We want to thank Governor Lombardo, the Legislative leadership, the Treasurer, and Clark County Commissioners and staff on the collaborative process. We look forward to advancing this legislation in a responsible way.”
As a part of the proposed legislation, the public-private partnership includes public financing constituting less than 25 percent of the cost, making it the third-lowest public share of the cost for the 14 Major League Baseball stadiums built this century.
“This tentative agreement minimizes the risk to Nevada taxpayers in the most fiscally responsible manner,” said Treasurer Zach Conine. “I’m also pleased that this project will leverage the most private investment of any baseball stadium in the country.”
With the Nevada Legislature in its final two weeks of session, Legislative leaders said they were "happy to finally have a proposal in front of them."
“I am excited that we have finally received the A’s proposal and we are currently reviewing it,” said Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager. “As I have continuously said throughout this process, no commitment will be made until we have both evaluated the official proposal and received input from interested parties, including impacted community members. At the end of the day, any decision will be guided by what is best for Nevadans, our economy, and our communities.”
Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro said the proposal will be "given full consideration in the Senate before the end of the session," according to the release.
“Over the time we have remaining during this session, we will give this proposal a thorough vetting to fully explore the opportunity and its impacts on Southern Nevada,” said Cannizzaro.
