Athletics' Las Vegas Stadium Bill Stalls in Nevada Legislature amid Potential Move

The Oakland Athletics encountered a setback in their plans to relocate to Las Vegas and use public funds to help build a new stadium.

The Nevada Independent's Tabitha Mueller, Sean Golonka and Jacob Solis reported Monday that the bill outlining how the stadium would be funded failed to get on the regular legislative session for Nevada's Legislature.

The report noted Gov. Joe Lombardo could call a special legislative session for lawmakers to discuss the proposal. However, Mueller followed up Tuesday to report Nevada Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager doesn't believe the A's would be included in the special session:

The A's initially announced in April that they signed a binding agreement with Red Rock Resorts to purchase 49 acres where the new stadium would sit. The team changed plans in May, revealing it struck a deal with Bally's Corporation to build a 30,000-seat venue where the Tropicana presently sits.

The stadium bill, SB509, was introduced to the Nevada Legislature on May 26. Under the terms of the proposal, a 30,000-seat retractable roof stadium would be built at a total cost of $1.5 billion.

The Nevada Independent detailed the public funding portion of the cost:

"Under SB509, brought on behalf of Lombardo's office, the public financing would be capped at $380 million, including up to $180 million in transferable tax credits from the state and a $25 million credit from Clark County aimed at addressing infrastructure costs. Clark County would issue bonds to make up the remaining public funds, estimated to be $120 million."

There are numerous examples pointing to how publicly funding sports stadiums is often a bad deal for municipalities.

In the case of the Athletics' proposal, critics zeroed in on what they contend are overly optimistic estimates for the impact a new stadium would have and what kind of revenue it could generate.

Jeremy Aguero, a consultant working with the team, told the Los Angeles Times' Bill Shaikin a new A's stadium would create 5,400 jobs in "team and stadium operations." Shaikin noted the Athletics employ roughly 200 full-time employees.

Aguero also projected 30 percent of fans attending games would be tourists, and 16 percent "would not have to come to Las Vegas if not for the opportunity to see a major league game." Considering how many other entertainment options Vegas offers, some have questioned how much the presence of an MLB team would actually boost tourism to the city.

The A's are currently averaging an MLB-worst 8,675 fans, and this year's team could be one of the worst in baseball history. Scorching the earth in Oakland to accelerate an exit could have a domino effect on the Athletics' drawing power in a new city.

For now, the door isn't totally closed on a relocation to Las Vegas. But the A's might have to go back to the drawing board.