A’s ballpark plan to get ‘informational hearing’ in Assembly
CARSON CITY — The Nevada Assembly is set to hold an “informational hearing” Tuesday morning on a $380 million public funding package for a proposed Las Vegas baseball stadium to house the Oakland A’s.
The hearing was posted on the Assembly’s Tuesday agenda after lawmakers quickly gaveled in and adjourned Monday evening.
The news came before the Senate, which held a brief session in the morning, came back into session just after 8:30 p.m. and adjourned for the day without holding a hearing.
The scheduling of a hearing in the Assembly before the Senate has voted on the measure suggests proponents believe they will reach the 11-vote threshold necessary to pass Senate Bill 1 out of the upper house, and to deal with questions from Assembly members while senators continue to debate the proposal.
Lawmakers adjourned on Thursday for the weekend, following a contentious Wednesday hearing in which senators sharply questioned proponents of the A’s stadium. At least one lobbyist for the stadium idea said before that hearing that the team did not have enough votes to pass the proposal. Two senators voiced support for the proposal, however.
Over the weekend, Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager sent out a 23-tweet thread on Twitter that said Gov. Joe Lombardo initially did not mention that he intended to call a special session for the A’s proposal, that Democratic leaders urged the governor to wait to call a special session for the A’s and that — unlike in past such sessions — there was no general consensus in the Legislature in support of the A’s proposal.
Nevertheless, Yeager wrote, “we will be back on Monday to continue this process and thoughtfully consider whether #SB1 is in the best interest of Nevada. We realize there are strong opinions on this topic but we, as legislators, are just trying to do the right thing here, despite all the noise.”
Contact Steve Sebelius at SSebelius@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253. Follow @SteveSebelius on Twitter. Contact Taylor R. Avery at TAvery@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tavery98 on Twitter.
