John Fisher’s hope for a Las Vegas move is now in the hands of lawmakers.
Could there be some clarity soon in John Fisher’s attempt to move his Major League Baseball Oakland Athletics business to Las Vegas? In the past month, Fisher has introduced two potential Las Vegas sites where a ballpark might be built. But getting a ballpark site might be the easiest part of the equation in getting Fisher’s franchise to Las Vegas. It seems that The Gap owner, Fisher, needs public money to make the shift happen. Fisher’s first Las Vegas site would have needed Las Vegas and Nevada taxpayers to pony up $500 million to help fund the venue. The newest potential site on the Tropicana grounds would cost taxpayers only $395 million. The Nevada legislature seems ready to move quickly to make sure there is taxpayers money put into Fisher’s stadium.
Nevada State Senator Scott Hammond said a stadium proposal is ready to go and it will be considered by the legislative body. Hammond said, “the stadium itself is going to be an incredible stadium. I’ve seen some likely renderings of it, and it’s going to be spectacular. If you’re sitting right behind home plate, you’ll be looking at the Strip. If you’re in the outfield, you’ll be looking at what will be probably the new Tropicana that they’ll build, and then whatever is behind that as well.” The proposed package raises $395 million by creating a special tax district and then redirecting the revenue into bonds. A Major League Baseball or a Las Vegas Athletics’ team store will be on the side of the stadium will sell MLB merchandise. Time is of the essence because the state legislative session ends in June. The lawmakers will not return until 2025. There could be a special session called if a deal between Fisher and the state cannot be reached by June.
Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com
