Trouble On The Strip: Nevada Lawmakers Did Not Move Forward With The Oakland A’s Relocation Deal Last Night As Owner John Fisher Continues To Seek $380M In Public Funding For His $1.5B Stadium

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While it's been assumed for a little now that the Oakland A's move to Vegas was all but a done deal, as Lee Corso would say, "not so fast!" Last night Nevada legislation did not move forward with a deal that would involve up to $380M in public funding for the construction of the $1.5B stadium. 

(Nevada Independent) The stadium bill’s failure to advance in the final hours of the 2023 legislative session, which ended at midnight, comes after Lombardo and other state and local leaders announced last month a tentative agreement on public financing for the proposed ballpark. But Democratic legislative leaders were noncommittal at the time, saying the measure would have to be thoroughly vetted before moving forward.

Despite not landing a deal Monday, approval of public financing terms during a special session would not guarantee the team’s move to Las Vegas. Major League Baseball owners would still need to approve the relocation, and the A’s would need to prove they have secure financing in place to fund the rest of the proposed $1.5 billion development.

For a little background here, Nevada's state legislature holds their sessions from February to June every other year. Must be nice! Last night as the clock struck midnight the deadline was reached. As a person who is very stupid, out of the know, and so removed from politics it's frightening, it seems kinda wild they meet that infrequently to decide important shit. Now just because the deadline is up doesn't mean this can't and won't happen. A special session can still be called where everyone comes back and votes. This very thing happened for Allegiant Stadium when that was up for approval. So while their session window is pretty small, it's still very possible to get shit done outside of that. 

That all being said, there's something fishy going on around here, right? It feels like the A's rushed this deal for approval, but don't actually know what they're doing. John Fisher assumed everyone would bend the knee for him, hand him hundreds of millions of dollars, and they told him to eat shit? Hard to believe! Keep in mind Fisher is the same owner who went into a binding agreement with Red Rocks for the actual location on the stadium only to turn around and get one done with the Tropicana a few weeks later. The guy is just a scumbag through and through. None of this appears to have been well thought out. 

While you have to imagine this scumbag finds his money and gets this passed, wouldn't it be amazing if this shit all fell apart? Fisher has to go back to Oakland with his tail fucked between his legs with the only option being to sell and get out of this altogether? Still seems far-fetched given how many moves have been made for Vegas, but the fact that they're stuck right now seems significant.