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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
A Nevada state teachers union PAC plans to try and stop the Athletics baseball stadium from being built on the Strip by asking a judge to grant an injunction halting the state law that designated $380 million in government assistance to build the venue.
Lawyers for the political action committee called, “Strong Public Schools Nevada,” intend to file for the injunction in two to three weeks to stop SB1, arguing there are state constitutional problems with the stadium subsidy law that was approved by the Nevada Legislature in June and signed by Gov. Joe Lombardo. Strong Public Schools Nevada is a PAC of the Nevada State Education Association.
Other plaintiffs in the request for the injunction besides the PAC will be teacher Vicki Kreidel and education leader/former Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani. The injunction suit will be filed in First Judicial District Court of Nevada in Carson City.
The injunction request is based on five state constitutional violations in SB1 — allegations contained in a lawsuit filed by Strong Public Schools Nevada on Monday. The motion for the injunction is part of the lawsuit filed four days ago.
The lawsuit requesting injunctive relief will be the newest hurdle for the Athletics, which have not shared any baseball stadium drawings with the Las Vegas public or even disclosed whether the stadium roof will be fixed or retractable.
Earlier this week, the PAC and education leaders filed a constitutional challenge to Senate Bill 1, arguing the bill violates five sections of the Nevada state constitution and, therefore, should be invalidated. Violations include not having a two-thirds majority vote to approve SB1 and two references to “impermissible public debt,” the PAC’s challenge argued.
Last year, a sister state education PAC called, “Schools Over Stadiums,” filed a referendum petition with the state to stage a Nevada-wide public vote on the controversial stadium subsidy bill. The bill’s $380 million aid for the Athletics includes $120 million in bonds from Clark County. But in November, a judge tossed out the schools group’s petition request after Athletics supporters filed a lawsuit against the referendum petition.
In response, Schools Over Stadiums appealed the District Courts decision. On Jan. 24, Schools Over Stadiums filed its reply brief to the Supreme Court of Nevada. “We are now waiting for either a decision on the merits or an order setting oral argument,” Schools Over Stadiums spokesperson Alexander Marks said Thursday.
The A’s want to build a 33,000-seat, $1.5 billion stadium on nine acres at the Tropicana hotel site at Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. Bally’s, which owns the circa 1957 Tropicana, has informed workers the hotel plans to close April 2 and the A’s want to start demolishing all buildings on the overall 35-acre site in late 2024. The A’s want to start construction in 2025.
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LVSportsBiz.com met ABC7 sports reporter Casey Pratt at the Tropicana site for this report: