Monday, May. 29, 2023
Does Gov. Joe Lombardo’s biggest donor own land next to a proposed A’s baseball stadium?
Nevada billionaire Robert Bigelow, owner of the extended-stay chain Budget Suites of America, owns land close to the A's proposed Tropicana stadium site, but not directly adjacent to it.
Last month, the A’s voided an agreement to buy land for a stadium at Tropicana Avenue and Dean Martin Drive on the former Wild West casino site. This site would have been directly opposite Bigelow’s properties on Polaris Avenue.
The A's then reached a tentative agreement to build their new ballpark on the southeast corner of the current Tropicana Las Vegas property, about a mile away from the approximately 8.5 acres Bigelow owns.Lombardo’s office has negotiated a bill that would provide up to $380 million in public financing for the ballpark. State lawmakers must introduce and pass the bill before Lombardo signs it into law.
Bigelow donated about $25 million to causes supporting Gov. Joe Lombardo’s 2022 campaign.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- The Nevada Independent A’s pivot to new site for Vegas baseball stadium, lowering public funding request
- Bally's Bally's, GLPI And The Oakland Athletics Reach Transformational Agreement Enabling State-of-the-Art Ballpark On The Las Vegas Strip
- Las Vegas Sun Las Vegas billionaire in big leagues bankrolling GOP campaigns
- Google Drive GIS Data: Budget Suites Properties Tropicana Ave and Polaris Ave
About fact briefs
Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
See all fact briefs
The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information and increase civic engagement. We are supported by corporate donations, memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships and foundation grants. We disclose all our members and donors. Donors have no influence over our content, ever. The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as one of The Nevada Independent's managing directors and its Editor.
Learn MoreLatest Fact Briefs
Does preschool increase the likelihood that a child will attend college?
Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025
Was a large percentage of votes received after Election Day in Nevada in 2024?
Monday, Feb. 3, 2025
Did Nevada lag most of the nation in job growth in 2024?
Monday, Jan. 27, 2025