Sacramento’s best shot at keeping the Oakland Athletics for the long haul may be a determined teachers’ union in Nevada.
Fed up with the Nevada Legislature allocating $380 million to a proposed Las Vegas baseball stadium for the A’s, the Nevada State Education Association is suing to stop Nevada from using public money to build a fancy home for the A’s. They are also planning a 2026 initiative that could put the $380 million to a public vote before a public that seems to side with the teachers.
“This is a risky project,” said Alexander Marks, spokesman for the Nevada State Education Association.
These challenges could delay or derail the planned relocation of the Athletics from Oakland to Las Vegas with West Sacramento as a temporary landing spot for at least three baseball seasons beginning in 2025. If the Nevada teachers succeed by prevailing in court or at the polls and all that Nevada taxpayer money can’t be used for a Las Vegas baseball stadium, West Sacramento and Kings owner Vivek Ranadive would find themselves playing hosts to a big league team with nowhere to go.
If that dream becomes a reality, Sacramento will undoubtedly have to thank the school teachers of Nevada.
A never-ending battle
The Silver State ranks near the bottom of the country on per-pupil student spending and Nevada teachers are in a never-ending battle with its Legislature to make education a higher political priority. Any time the legislature spends public money for private gain, teachers try to block it.
“Our slogan,” said Marks, “is public money, public schools.”
The teachers lost a battle last year when a divided Nevada Legislature approved a financing package to help build a stadium at the old Tropicana Hotel site near the Harry Reid International Airport. Lawmakers provided $180 million in transferable tax credits for the project and directed Clark County, home of Las Vegas, to issue $120 million in bonds. The same government authority that now operates the football stadium for the Las Vegas Raiders would oversee the construction and operation of the $1.5 billion baseball stadium.
The Athletics recently unveiled renderings of the planned 33,000-seat stadium, which the team describes as a “spherical armadillo.” If the teachers have their way, the stadium will get no further than the drawing board.
The education association has already filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Legislature’s action. It was also gathering signatures to challenge portions of the legislation for a ballot measure this fall. But the Nevada Supreme Court recently nullified the petition drive, saying its description to voters was inaccurate.
Marks says his association will now begin gathering signatures for a 2026 initiative campaign that could threaten the public financing for an A’s stadium.
The teachers plan to focus the measure on the $120 million Clark County plans to borrow to help finance the stadium.
Such a playing field appears to be to the teachers’ advantage. A recent poll by Emerson College found only 32 percent of Nevada voters supporting public financing for the stadium and 52 percent opposed.
“It’s actually closer for somebody in Reno to drive to Oakland to go to an A’s game than it is if they drove down to Vegas,” Marks said.
A’s deal in the balance
Clark County intends to pay off the $120 million in bonds with revenues generated by the stadium. But that requires an actual stadium, a team and fans to pay the debt. If voters reject this public financing, “then the whole deal probably falls apart,” Marks said.
The decision by A’s owner John Fisher to relocate to West Sacramento appears to be sending a signal to Nevada. “It kind of showed us he’s not coming to Vegas unless we give the money first,” Marks said. Fisher may be in for a long wait.
Las Vegas is known for its residencies and famous acts that settle into town for a series of performances. The Sacramento region will get its first-ever residency act when the Oakland Athletics show up to play baseball in the current home of the Sacramento River Cats. Maybe the A’s residency lasts three years, or maybe it lasts longer. The announcement of this residency in April caused an outpouring of civic exuberance. Mayor Darrell Steinberg said it was “the stuff of dreams.”
Our public giddiness comes despite pesky facts, such as how A’s owner John Fisher wants this Sacramento residency to be temporary, and that there is neither a plan nor financing to build a Major League stadium here.
Nothing, however, can stop a baseball fan from dreaming. It is the only escape from the suffering.
A collapse of the stadium plan in Las Vegas guarantees nothing. But Sacramento baseball fans would still be indebted to Nevada teachers for raising some serious hell in Vegas. The A’s may get schooled by these teachers at the ballot box in Nevada and who knows what happens after that. Sacramento should love nothing more than to throw these teachers, and a permanent Major League baseball team for our region, a parade.
Tom Philp is a columnist for the Sacramento Bee. ©2024 The Sacramento Bee. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.