With spring training underway, the Oakland Athletics appear no closer to relocating to Las Vegas than they were in the offseason. Owner John Fisher has yet to secure his part of the stadium financing, and several deadlines to release ballpark renderings have been missed. Odds are the A’s will ultimately move to Las Vegas, but this process has hardly been smooth.
The relocation is about to receive official opposition from the Nevada State Education Association, which represents teachers and educators throughout the state. NSEA is preparing to file an injunction to stop $380 million in public funds from being distributed to the A’s on the grounds that it is unconstitutional. From Front Office Sports:
“When it looks like there may be action coming at the Stadium Authority, we will likely at that point file our motion for an injunction,” Chris Daly, NSEA deputy executive director of government relations, tells Front Office Sports, explaining that “the injunction would be us asking the court to physically stop the project from moving forward.”
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“We’re not relying on John Fisher’s ineptitude to kill this deal,” says Daly, speaking at the fan-produced Oakland A’s Fans Fest on Saturday. “It doesn’t hurt. When we finally kill the Tropicana stadium deal, it will be a combination of these Oakland A’s fans, our efforts at Schools Over Stadiums and Strong Public Schools, and John Fisher’s ineptitude.”
To be clear, the “Tropicana stadium deal” refers to the deal to build a new A’s ballpark on the site of the Tropicana hotel along the Las Vegas Strip. The plans call for the Tropicana will be demolished and replaced with a new hotel in addition to the new stadium.
The $380 million in public funds were approved last June, though the “Schools over Stadiums” political-action group continues to press for a public referendum on the use of tax dollars to fund the project. Such projects tend to do poorly when put to a public vote, and the A’s relocation to Las Vegas is not especially popular among locals.
NSEA’s lawsuit will require 102,362 signatures by June 26 to force a referendum on the November ballot to overturn the $380 million in public funds for the A’s. The group is currently negotiating signature collection efforts with the court.
The Athletics had baseball’s worst record at 50-112 last season. Their lease at RingCentral Coliseum expires after the 2024 season and it is unclear where the team will play from 2025-27. The new Las Vegas stadium is expected to open in 2028.
