Oakland A’s get involved in lawsuit over new stadium
(KRON) — In June of 2023, the Nevada legislature passed SB-1, a bill earmarking $380 million in public money to help pay for the A’s new baseball stadium in Las Vegas.
In February of 2024, the Nevada Teachers Union filed a lawsuit against the governor, the treasurer and the state of Nevada, suggesting the way SB-1 was written violates the Nevada state constitution.
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“The issue we’re having is the vote tally was not a two-thirds majority for revenue piece that this funding mechanism that they structured under this bill. It assumes debts from the county without that revenue piece involved, the law itself doesn’t mention certain populations in the county, and the language is just very sloppily written when it comes to assuming the debts,” Alexander Marks from the Nevada State Education Association told KRON4.
Since the initial filing, the legislature and the Las Vegas stadium authority have also been named in the suit. While A’s owner, John Fisher, is the one to benefit from the public funds in SB-1, the A’s are not named in the lawsuit.
This week, however, the A’s filed a motion with the court to intervene in the case, saying “the Athletics and affiliates have a substantial interest in SB1 and will be affected if SB1 is found unconstitutional….Without intervention, the Athletics’ ability to protect its interests will be impaired,” the complaint said.
“Strong public schools will be opposing their intervention. We think their interests are well represented by the other defendants, many of whom were basically unregistered lobbyists for them during session. So those folks want this stadium just as much as they do,” Marks said.
A separate filing by A’s president, Dave Kaval, confirms that financing and a development agreement for the new stadium have not been finalized, but the process is underway. It’s unclear when the court will rule on the A’s participation in the lawsuit.
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