LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The chairman of the Clark County Stadium Advisory Board said Thursday that he is in Carson City waiting with – and for – lawmakers to introduce a bill outlining how the state and county plan to pay for the Oakland A’s new stadium.
The A’s and Bally’s, the owner of the Tropicana, announced that they are planning to take over the site of the Tropicana Hotel on Las Vegas Boulevard., a process that could take several years. The legislation is not expected to be introduced for at least another few days.
Chairman Steve Hill said the board will have a lot to do with the legal documents and agreements surrounding the stadium once it’s built, as it did when the Raiders moved to Las Vegas.
“The Stadium Authority would have similar oversight over that stadium as it does with Allegiant Stadium,” Hill said at the meeting. “So it would be the Stadium Authority’s responsibility to negotiate development agreements and leases.”
Hill and all but two other members of the board appeared remotely.
A Clark County resident mentioned the A’s in the public comment section of the meeting’s agenda, almost as soon as the meeting began.
Dale Warren, who lives in Las Vegas, thinks a baseball stadium next to Allegiant Stadium – and on the Strip in general – is unnecessary.
“I’m asking that the Stadium Authority here get some kind of handle on what’s going on,” Warren said.
Warren also pointed out that the proposed 31,000-seat stadium would be the smallest in Major League Baseball. Currently the A’s play in a 50,000-plus-seat stadium.
The A’s have underperformed this season, especially since the announcement of their move to Las Vegas. They are 2-8 in their last ten games, are drawing historically a low number of fans to each game, and have the worse record in all of Major League Baseball.
