A Nevada judge has dismissed a legal challenge that was attempting to overturn a law that approved $380M in public funding, per reporting from Tabitha Mueller and Howard Stutz of The Nevada Independent.
Back in February, it was reported that a political action committee backed by the Nevada State Education Association’s Strong Public Schools had filed suit against the state of Nevada and Gov. Joe Lombardo.
The suit was attempting to stop the stadium funding on the grounds that the law didn’t comply with the state constitution. One of their claims was that the proposal needed to be voted on by a two-thirds majority as opposed to a simple majority, as is the state’s constitutional requirement for bills creating or increasing public revenue.
Carson City District Court Judge Kristin Luis didn’t weigh in on those accusations. Rather, she dismissed the suit today on the grounds that the plaintiffs lacked standing and didn’t meet the standard of a “public importance exemption,” meaning that she therefore couldn’t make a “determination on the merit of the claims.”
The A’s are planning to build a new stadium on the Las Vegas strip, a project that has a price tag of roughly $1.5 billion, with the $380M government funding being a notable chunk of that. Reporting from Mick Akers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal in July indicating that the club is planning to make up the difference through various means. That includes $300M in debt refinancing and $850M in equity from the family of team owner John Fisher. Fisher’s parents Doris and Don Fisher founded The Gap, the clothing chain. In December of 2020, Forbes estimated the family’s net worth at $8.9 billion.
The Las Vegas stadium isn’t expected to be ready until the 2028 season, but the club’s lease at the Coliseum in Oakland runs out after 2024. The A’s are planning to play in Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park for the next three years, sharing it with the Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the Giants. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle published a story wherein multiple people expressed their concerns about the Sacramento plan. The various fears include the artificial turf, the hitter-friendly nature of the park and the general logistics.