An effort to block construction of a new baseball stadium in Las Vegas for the Oakland A’s met its end Monday as the Nevada Supreme Court held that a referendum on the proposal cannot go to voters.
The ruling means that the financing mechanism set by the Silver State’s legislature for the project will take effect and construction may proceed.
“Because the petition violates the constitution’s full-text requirement and the description of effect does not comply with statutory requirements, we conclude the district court properly enjoined SOS from circulating the petition and the Secretary of State from placing the petition on the general election ballot,” wrote chief justice Elissa F. Kadish for the majority of the court.
One of the court’s seven justices dissented in part and concurred in part in the decision, while another dissented.
The proposed referendum would have given voters a chance to reject S.B. 1, the Southern Nevada Tourism Innovation Act, which allows $380 million of public money for the new facility. Most of that public funding will come from transferable tax credits and county bonds. A new special district in the area around the stadium is expected to generate enough tax revenue to pay back the bonds.
Under the 2023 statute Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, will contribute $25 million in credit for infrastructure costs. The A’s would not be obligated to pay property taxes on the stadium site,
Expected to be started in 2025, the 30,000-seat ballpark’s total cost is likely to reach $1.5 billion. The stadium will be built along the Las Vegas strip, on a site formerly occupied by the Tropicana resort hotel. It will be located near Allegiant Stadium, home of the National Football League’s Raiders, and T-Mobile Arena, used by the National Hockey League’s Knights.
The A’s are still playing in Oakland, but the team’s move to Las Vegas has been approved by Major League Baseball owners. The team plans to open the new stadium in 2028.
Schools Over Stadiums, the organization pushing for the referendum, said it will try again.
“Schools Over Stadiums remains committed to stopping Nevada tax dollars from paying for a stadium for a California billionaire, and we are disappointed Nevada voters will not have their say in 2024,” the group said in a press release. “With this guidance, Schools Over Stadiums plans to refile our petition next year and win in 2026. Nevada voters deserve the opportunity to decide where their money goes.”
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