Current:Home > FinanceTeachers’ union-backed group suing to stop tax money for A’s stadium plan in Las Vegas-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Teachers’ union-backed group suing to stop tax money for A’s stadium plan in Las Vegas
View Date:2024-12-23 22:40:15
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A teachers’ union political group has filed a second legal effort seeking to block Nevada from spending taxpayer funds to build a baseball stadium on the current site of the Tropicana resort on the Las Vegas Strip for the relocated Oakland Athletics.
Strong Public Schools Nevada, a political action committee backed by the Nevada State Education Association, filed a lawsuit Monday in state court in Carson City challenging the allocation of up to $380 million in public funding approved last June by the Democratic-led state Legislature and signed by the Republican governor.
“Every dollar we spend building stadiums is a dollar we aren’t using for public education,” the association said in a statement provided Tuesday by spokesperson Alexander Marks. “Public money should not go to a billionaire for a stadium while Nevada ranks 48th in the nation with the largest class sizes and highest educator vacancy rates in the country.”
The $1.5 billion 30,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof is planned near the homes of the NFL’s Vegas Raiders, who relocated in 2020 from Oakland to Las Vegas, and the NHL’s Golden Knights, who won the Stanley Cup last season in their sixth year.
The fight over the use of public funds in Las Vegas comes amid debate in other cities and states over the costs and benefits of taxpayer support for sports venues. Nevada state lawmakers in 2016 granted $750 million in public assistance toward the Raiders’ nearly $2 billion Allegiant Stadium. T-Mobile Arena, home to the Golden Knights, opened with no public assistance.
Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, who lost a bid to have the baseball stadium located within city boundaries, said in a sports podcast recorded Monday with Front Office Sports that she thought a move by the Athletics “does not make sense,” and the team would be better off staying in Oakland. The Tropicana hotel site is outside city limits in Clark County.
“I want to be clear that I am excited about the prospect of Major League Baseball in Las Vegas,” Goodman said Tuesday in a statement released by her City Hall office. “It very well may be that the Las Vegas A’s will become a reality that we will welcome to our city.”
The union also backs a referendum petition drive it is pursuing under the name Schools over Stadiums to fix what it called “misguided priorities” in the Athletics stadium funding plan.
That effort was rejected in November by a state court judge who heard arguments that the wording was too broad, confusing and misleading to be placed on the statewide ballot. An appeal by the union is pending before the state Supreme Court.
Also in November, MLB owners unanimously approved the A’s move to Las Vegas.
Last month, hotel owner Bally’s Corp. said the Tropicana will close on April 2, just short of its 67th anniversary, to begin preparations for demolition.
The new lawsuit names the state, Gov. Joe Lombardo and Treasurer Zach Conine as defendants, and alleges violations of several state constitutional provisions including one requiring tax questions to be passed by a two-thirds majority of state legislators.
Lombardo aide Elizabeth Ray and spokespeople for state Attorney General Aaron Ford did not respond to messages seeking comment about the court filing.
Plaintiffs in the case also include teachers’ union President Vicki Kreidel and former Clark County commissioner and Democratic candidate for governor Chris Giunchigliani. Giunchigliani once headed the teachers’ union.
veryGood! (924)
Related
- 'Squid Game' creator lost '8 or 9' teeth making Season 1, explains Season 2 twist
- Shonda Rhimes Teases the Future of Grey’s Anatomy
- Trump ally Steve Bannon subpoenaed by grand jury in special counsel's Jan. 6 investigation
- Property Rights Outcry Stops Billion-Dollar Pipeline Project in Georgia
- Pete Alonso's best free agent fits: Will Mets bring back Polar Bear?
- Trump ally Steve Bannon subpoenaed by grand jury in special counsel's Jan. 6 investigation
- Get $200 Worth of Peter Thomas Roth Anti-Aging Skincare for Just $38
- Can a Climate Conscious Diet Include Meat or Dairy?
- Lululemon, Disney partner for 34-piece collection and campaign: 'A dream collaboration'
- Monkeypox cases in the U.S. are way down — can the virus be eliminated?
Ranking
- Golden Bachelorette: Joan Vassos Gets Engaged During Season Finale
- Why did he suspect a COVID surge was coming? He followed the digital breadcrumbs
- Many Man-Made Earthquakes in Western Canada Can Now Be Linked to Fracking
- Schools are closed and games are postponed. Here's what's affected by the wildfire smoke – and when they may resume
- Mega Millions winning numbers for November 12 drawing: Jackpot rises to $361 million
- In close races, Republicans attack Democrats over fentanyl and the overdose crisis
- Julián Castro on Climate Change: Where the Candidate Stands
- What Is Nitrous Oxide and Why Is It a Climate Threat?
Recommendation
-
Louisiana man kills himself and his 1-year-old daughter after a pursuit
-
Why did he suspect a COVID surge was coming? He followed the digital breadcrumbs
-
Unfounded fears about rainbow fentanyl become the latest Halloween boogeyman
-
Children's hospitals grapple with a nationwide surge in RSV infections
-
Georgia State University is planning a $107M remake of downtown Atlanta
-
Children's hospitals grapple with a nationwide surge in RSV infections
-
Cities Maintain Green Momentum, Despite Shrinking Budgets, Shifting Priorities
-
Kids Challenge Alaska’s Climate Paradox: The State Promotes Oil as Global Warming Wreaks Havoc