Report: Nevada Lawmakers Not Willing to Contribute $395M A's Are Seeking for Stadium

The ongoing saga of the Oakland Athletics' potential move to Las Vegas has hit another road block over the amount of money the state is willing to contribute to fund a new ballpark.

Per Tabitha Mueller and Howard Stutz of the Nevada Independent, Nevada lawmakers are currently willing to offer up to $195 million in transferable tax credits to the A's for stadium construction. The Athletics are seeking $395 million.

"The amount the state will offer depends on how much money Clark County will offer in the form of county-issued bonds paid by taxes generated on the ballpark site," Mueller and Stutz wrote. "Sources added that lawmakers are discussing between $150 million and $195 million in transferable tax credits, but nothing is set in stone until the county details are finalized."

The A's entered into a binding agreement with Bally's Corporation and Gaming and Leisure Properties on May 15 to build a new ballpark on a portion of the Tropicana Las Vegas property.

"We are excited about the potential to bring Major League Baseball to this iconic location," A's president Dave Kaval said of the agreement. "We are thrilled to work alongside Bally's and GLPI, and look forward to finalizing plans to bring the Athletics to Southern Nevada."

Per the agreement, the Athletics will receive approximately nine acres to build a stadium that seats around 30,000 fans.

In April, Kaval told Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal the new stadium is expected to cost $1.5 billion with the hope of opening for the start of the 2027 season.

Mueller and Stutz noted Nevada's 120-day legislative session ends on June 5, at which point an agreement for any public money for the stadium project would need to be approved by both the Assembly and Senate.

There is a potential workaround where a special legislature session can be called, either by Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo or a two-thirds majority of lawmakers.

The A's were initially seeking $500 million in public funding from the state when they entered into a binding agreement with Red Rock Resorts Inc. for a new stadium at the site of Wild Wild West casino that closed in 2022.

Their public funding request was dropped to $395 million when they were given the Tropicana Las Vegas site for free by Bally's Corporation and Gaming and Leisure Properties.

The Athletics' current stadium lease in Oakland expires after the 2024 season. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters the club could share a stadium with the Triple-A team in Las Vegas for 2025 and 2026 until its new ballpark is ready.

Of course, all of those future plans are contingent on the A's actually finalizing a plan with Nevada lawmakers to build a stadium.