Nevada lawmakers will not move forward during the regular legislative session on a bill aimed at bringing the Oakland A’s to Las Vegas through public financing of up to $380 million to help fund the construction of a new baseball stadium.

But with backing from Gov. Joe Lombardo, lawmakers could still reconsider a public funding package for the A’s proposed $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat ballpark project on the Las Vegas Strip. Doing so would require Lombardo to call on lawmakers to reconvene for a special legislative session, for which the governor dictates the agenda, though neither Lombardo’s office nor legislative leadership have confirmed a special session would happen as of late Monday.

A spokesperson for the governor’s office declined to comment on whether the governor plans to convene a special session for the A’s stadium bill.

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.

The stadium proposal was formally introduced in the Legislature in mid-May. The team hired a cadre of lobbyists in February to drum up support for their stadium proposal, and in mid-April, made an initial announcement that the team had reached a “binding agreement” with Red Rock Resorts to purchase land from the company to house the stadium.

The team later pivoted to a new site on the Las Vegas Strip at the location of the Tropicana resort, which is set to be demolished.

Under SB509, brought on behalf of Lombardo’s office, the public financing would be capped at $380 million, including up to $180 million in transferable tax credits from the state and a $25 million credit from Clark County aimed at addressing infrastructure costs. Clark County would issue bonds to make up the remaining public funds, estimated to be $120 million. 

Sports economists have heavily criticized the package, pointing to research that shows publicly funded stadiums are not worth the costs to taxpayers. Proponents of the measure have countered, however, that Las Vegas is different because of its tourism-driven economy.

As part of the project proposed under SB509, Clark County commissioners would be required to — at the request of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority — establish a tax entertainment district, within which all tax revenues generated by the stadium, including sales and payroll taxes, would be used to pay back the public funds.

The bill had also stipulated that the ballpark property, owned by the Stadium Authority, would also be exempt from property taxes, though the bill’s provisions are not site-specific. The bill is also not specific to any Major League Baseball team, meaning an expansion team or even another relocating team could take advantage of the terms of the public financing if passed into law.

Updated on 6/6/2023 at 1:02 a.m. to reflect that the bill did not pass out of the Legislature.