A potential referendum petition could derail the Las Vegas stadium deal for team A.
On Wednesday, a petition was submitted in Nevada to challenge the $380 million in public funds already approved by the state legislature to help finance a $1.5 billion baseball stadium for the Oakland A's on the Las Vegas Strip.
The petition intends to hold a vote on the issue during the November 2024 elections. This initiative was filed by "Schools Over Stadiums," a political action committee (PAC) established by the Nevada State Education Association in June for the sole purpose of halting the deal.
The petition aims to make the state's $180 million contribution to the $380 million in public funding subject to a vote in the next statewide election. The $200 million promised by Clark County is not being disputed.
If the petition succeeds and the referendum passes, the A's will have to find an alternative funding source or pay for the stadium themselves. The stadium is slated to be constructed on nine acres of land that was cleared after the demolition of the Tropicana casino hotel.
Calling Foul
"Schools Over Stadiums has relentlessly pursued every possible way to prevent the use of public funds to support a billionaire's stadium. This has always included putting the question to the Nevada voters who were essentially excluded from the process," said Dawn Etcheverry, a music teacher and president of NSEA and Schools Over Stadiums, in a press release.
According to a 2023 public education survey conducted by scholaroo.com, Nevada ranked as the fourth-worst state in the United States when it comes to student success, student safety, and school quality. The website placed Nevada just ahead of Louisiana and Arizona.
"The priorities of Nevada are misguided," Etcheverry remarked.
Although the A's haven't had much luck on the field this season and are firmly entrenched in last place with 42 wins and 97 losses, preventing their planned relocation to Las Vegas by 2028 appears to be an uphill battle.
What's Coming Next
To get the petition on the ballot, Schools Over Stadiums needs to collect at least 102,362 verified signatures - more than 25,590 from each of Nevada's four congressional districts. Even if this occurs, the petition's language may face legal challenges.
At a recent meeting of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, CEO Steve Hill voiced his opposition to the efforts to scuttle the stadium, citing the thousands of jobs and numerous billions in future tourism that the proposed stadium could generate.
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