Athletics' relocation plan takes huge steps forward with latest developments

The A’s relocation plan took a couple of steps forward this week. On Monday, the Nevada Supreme Court upheld a November 2023 lower court ruling that stopped a petition to put public funding for the stadium up for a vote this year, via Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.

A Nevada teachers union had sought a referendum during this November’s elections on the $380M earmarked by the county and state for construction of the Vegas stadium. (Voters in Kansas City rejected a public funding measure for the Royals and Chiefs in a referendum process in April.) The court agreed with arguments by a coalition which included the A’s that the language of the proposed petition was misleading and did not abide by state law. That takes the possibility of a 2024 referendum off the table.

A political action committee backed by the union filed a separate lawsuit in an attempt to challenge the funding in February, arguing that the law didn’t meet the procedural requirements of the state constitution. The A’s were not named as a defendant — the suit was against the state and its governor, Joe Lombardo — but the team filed a motion last month attempting to intervene in the proceedings. There’s no current indication that suit poses a serious threat to the relocation plan.

On the heels of their legal victory, the A’s presented their non-relocation agreement to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority on Thursday afternoon, Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. That’s one of a handful of documents that the Stadium Authority needs to approve before construction on the facility will officially begin. The Authority has already signed off on a community benefits agreement. They’re now evaluating the lease and non-relocation agreements.

The final, most important, of the group is the development agreement detailing how the A’s plan to meet their commitments (projected north of $1.1 billion) for construction costs. Shaikin reported last month the A’s are seeking $500M in private funding, potentially offering minority ownership shares of the franchise to incentivize investment. Akers writes that the team plans to submit the development agreement for review at some point this summer.