New efforts have arisen this week to stop the Oakland Athletics' attempt to move from Oakland to Las Vegas, with a possible new lawsuit as well as a special mailing campaign targeting MLB owners before they vote on the issue this week.
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New efforts have arisen this week to stop the Oakland Athletics' attempt to move from Oakland to Las Vegas, with a possible new lawsuit as well as a special mailing campaign targeting MLB owners before they vote on the issue this week.
KTNV-TV reported Tuesday that a political action committee in Nevada is planning to file a lawsuit because the group claims the bill violates parts of the state Constitution, and therefore the bill should be either partially or fully invalidated.
Officials with the Schools Over Stadiums group said Tuesday that they came to a decision to pursue a lawsuit after "looking deeper into conflicts between the language of Senate Bill 1 authorizing the stadium deal and the Constitution of the State of Nevada." Examples of the alleged violations include an affirmative vote of no fewer than two-thirds of elected members of each House, no money drawn from the treasury, all laws should be general throughout the state, debts should never exceed 2 percent of the assessed valuation of the State, and State shall never assume debts unless debts have been created to provide for the public defense.
Schools Over Stadiums was formed in June by Nevada teachers who are against using public funds for a new Las Vegas ballpark, if the Oakland A's get permission to move the team to the valley. In June, Gov. Joe Lombardo signed SB1 into law, which set aside up to $380 million in public funds for a new Major League Baseball ballpark.
In September, Schools Over Stadiums officials filed a referendum petition to repeal that funding. They claimed that during the 82nd Legislative Session, Nevada legislators "failed to hear a single bill to reduce Nevada's overcrowded classrooms". However, the group said it was being sued by Danny Thompson, former executive secretary-treasurer of the Nevada State AFL-CIO — which represents more than 150,000 union members from 120 unions statewide — and Thomas Morley, a former union officer and political consultant who previously lobbied to bring the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas.
In another effort against the team move, this week Devoted A's fans have put together packages for MLB owners meant to convince them to vote against allowing the relocation of the team from Oakland to Las Vegas.
The "Stay in Oakland" boxes include a green Athletics cap, a baseball card featuring the recipients' likeness, a colorful “Keep the Athletics in ... OAKLAND” postcard, a DVD created by “The Summer of Sell” group, a USB flash drive and a personal letter from Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and a photo of Thao in an A’s jersey. The Associated Press reported that the boxes were sent from Thao's office address.
“The box is everything that’s been done before in Oakland and why they should vote no,” lifelong A’s fan Stephen Lucero — an artist and firefighter in nearby Alameda who made the custom cards for each owner — told the AP.
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The fan group selected 15 owners to receive the box, including Boston Red Sox's John Henry, New York Yankees' Hal Steinbrenner, Los Angeles Angels' Arte Moreno, Texas Rangers' Ray Davis and the Seattle Mariners’ John Stanton were among recipients, the AP reported.
“This project has been a culmination of our collective works and we hope it shows the owners what we all know to be true,” Paul Bailey, one of the three owners of Last Dive Bar, said in a message to The AP. “The fans are not the problem.”
Last week, about 200 people were present at the Oakland City Council chambers for a standing-room-only meeting. They chanted “Stay in Oakland!” in another unified effort to keep the team from moving. The City Council unanimously passed a resolution that reaffirmed its support of the A’s staying in Oakland, the AP reported.
Other efforts to stop the A's move included a reverse boycott during a game June 13, when fans showed up at the Coliseum asking owner John Fisher to sell the team. Thousands wore green "SELL" T-shirts and chanted “Sell the team!” throughout a 2-1 victory against Tampa Bay. A season-best crowd of 27,759 was the largest for an A’s game on a Tuesday since the team drew 33,654 against the Dodgers on Aug. 7, 2018, according to the Associated Press report.
Pitcher Trevor May in a video message announcing his retirement urged Fisher to “Sell the team, dude. ... Sell it, man.”
The A’s reached a tentative agreement for a new stadium in Las Vegas in May, which caused outrage in Oakland. MLB owners are expected to vote on the proposed relocation Wednesday or Thursday during league meetings in Arlington, Texas.
