State of Nevada, Oakland A’s reach tentative agreement for bill to move team to Las Vegas

CARSON CITY, Nev. (KOLO) - The State of Nevada, Clark County officials, and the Oakland A’s have reached a tentative agreement to forward a bill to the state legislature that would bring the California Bay-Area team to Las Vegas.

“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,” said Governor Joe Lombardo. “Las Vegas is clearly a sports town, and Major League Baseball should be a part of it.”

The agreement is being drafted into legislation that will be introduced in the coming days.

“We’re very appreciative of the support from the State of Nevada and Clark County’s leadership,” said A’s President Dave Kaval. “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 part of the agreement, a Sports and Entertainment Improvement District will be created. It will house a 30,000-seat, publicly owned, retractable roof stadium located on the southeast corner of Las Vegas Blvd and Tropicana Ave.

It is estimated to cost $1.5 billion and create more than 14,000 construction jobs.

The public-private partnership includes public financing constituting less than 25% of the cost, which, according to Lombardo, makes it the third lowest public share of cost among MLB stadiums built in the 21st 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.”

“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.

“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.