One or ABC? Teachers union wants to cut public funding for Las Vegas athletics
The union representing Nevada teachers wants to block the Oakland Athletics from receiving $380 million in public funds that the state's Legislature and governor have already approved to build a planned new stadium in Las Vegas.
The Nevada State Education Association (NSEA), which advocates that public funds should be used to support local education, filed documents with the Nevada Secretary of State on Wednesday requesting the creation of a political action committee (PAC) called Schools Over Stadiums.
"We are considering all measures to prevent public funds from being used to subsidize billionaire stadiums," NSEA spokesman Alexander Marks told L.A. on Thursday.
These avenues include litigation and/or ballot measures.
Marks said his organization is angry that the stadium is being portrayed as a financial benefit to Nevadans, even though the state has more than 3,000 job openings for teachers and educators.
"Our priorities are wrong," Marks told The Times.
The website Scholaroo.com ranks Nevada 48th out of 50 states, ahead of only Louisiana and Arizona, based on the 2023 Public Education Survey of Student Success, Student Safety and School Quality.
Put on your rally hat
While the Oakland Athletics aren't particularly hard to beat this season -- they're last in the division with a 21-61 record -- they're still a long way from the team's plans to open a stadium in Las Vegas in 2028 Go, block.
The Nevada Legislature agreed to the bill earlier this month, and Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) signed the bill, SB1. The bill includes $380 million in public funds for what the Athletics and owner John Fisher estimate is a $1.5 billion new stadium. Major League Baseball's owners are expected to approve the A's relocation from Oakland, the league's first move since 2005, in what is seen as the final step in the process.
Because they support schools but not stadiums, Nevadans appear to have been opposed to overt funding of the Athletics' stadium. In an online poll posted with SB1 on the Nevada Legislature's website, 87% of voters said they opposed the bill. While voters who participated in the poll couldn't explain why, the general consensus was that Nevadans would prefer a baseball team to the Oakland Athletics.
The planned timeline for stadium construction also favors the new political action committee. The stadium will be located on the site of the Las Vegas Tropicana Hotel, which first had to be imploded. Since the process won't begin for another two years, NSEA still has some time to build support for its cause.
To get the bill on the ballot, School Stadium must collect nearly 150,000 signatures, with each of the four petition districts requiring 35,000 valid signatures.
It's unclear what the Athletes Association would do if the PAC succeeds in taking on public financing for the stadium. Steve Hill, chairman of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, testified before the Nevada Legislature that he believed the Athletics would have to lose money if they didn't get public funding, possibly from Portland or Salt Lake City. Will move to another city.
The chances of staying in Auckland are slim.
Read also:
- Games Industry Research: Carbon Emissions of Top Video Games
- U.S. cities with the most Swifties per capita
- Blackjack Casino Advantage: How to Beat the Odds
- Football 101: What is relegation in football?
Source: www.casino.org
