In a potentially pivotal ruling, the Nevada Supreme Court has thwarted a campaign to subject the projected Las Vegas Strip baseball stadium to a democratic vote in the coming November elections. The Oakland Athletics’ proposed multi-billion-dollar sports facility seemed to be on shaky ground, but came out stronger after the court’s verdict.
The judgment came in a 5-2 decision that upheld the district court’s earlier verdict in favor of the proposed stadium over a counter-agenda presented by Schools Over Stadiums, a political action committee linked to the Nevada State Education Association’s teachers union.
The crux of this issue goes back to the passing of Senate Bill 1, or SB1, last June. The bill stipulates the assignment of $380 million in public bonds and tax credits with the purpose of absorbing a chunk of the colossal $1.5 billion estimations of the stadium’s construction costs.
The thrust of the opposition spearheaded by Schools Over Stadiums was a concerted attempt to reverse this legislation via a ballot measure. They challenged the compatibility of SB1 with the Nevada Constitution, citing five different areas of contention. Furthermore, they managed to collect the necessary number of signatures (102K) by the election deadline of June 26.
However, their efforts fell short according to the state’s highest court. The judgment ruled that the measure in question constituted a breach of the Nevada Constitution, also critiquing it for presenting a “legally inadequate description of effect.”
The slated location for the future baseball park covers a nine-acre area, soon to be the former grounds of the Tropicana casino-resort. The expected deadline for the finished stadium coincides with the opening of the 2028 major-league baseball season.
Despite their setback, Schools Over Stadiums remains resolute. They announced their intention to regroup in 2026, releasing a statement that reaffirmed their commitment to preventing Nevada tax dollars from sponsoring a stadium owned by a Californian billionaire. The group expressed disappointment in the courtroom loss, but vowed to reintroduce their petition and find success in 2026.
The statement pinpointed how Nevada currently languishes at 48th place in per-pupil funding with record-class sizes and the worst educator vacancy rates in the nation. Acknowledging that their battle is far from over, the statement ended with a solemn pledge never to lose focus on campaigning against Nevada’s misplaced priorities and to continue their fight to secure a premium quality education for every Nevada student.
