The Nevada Senate passed a $380 million bill on Tuesday to help fund the construction of a new stadium for the Athletics on the Las Vegas Strip.
Two amendments were added to the bill on Tuesday morning, leading to a 13-8 vote that supported the use of public tax dollars to build a new home for the Athletics, who are contemplating a move from Oakland to Las Vegas.
Senate Bill 1 — the formal name of the bill — will now be sent to the Nevada Assembly, where it must be approved by a majority vote. Gov. Joe Lombardo would then have to sign the bill into law, a move that should come without hesitation.
Athletics ownership would have to come up with the rest of the money for the $1.5 billion project, and major league owners would need to approve it. The league’s other 29 owners are expected to do so unanimously.
Although the bill passed, the Athletics are not guaranteed to join the NHL’s Golden Knights and the NFL’s Raiders in Las Vegas. However, Tuesday’s decision is a huge step in that direction.
Many fans in Oakland are against the move and trying to get Athletics owner John Fisher to sell the team rather than relocate it. A “reverse boycott” was scheduled for Tuesday, when fans planned to sell out Oakland Coliseum to show that it isn’t the team or the fanbase that is the problem, but the ownership.
The Athletics’ new stadium would contain 30,000 seats and sit on a nine-acre plot at the site of the Tropicana Hotel.
–Field Level Media
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