Athletics Las Vegas stadium bill hearing hijacked by Golden Knights game
Nevada lawmakers shockingly watch Knights game during A's hearing originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
As Nevada legislators heard the Athletics' official pitch for a new Las Vegas ballpark for the first and only time Monday night, for a moment, their attention was focused on another sport entirely.
"Before we go any further, Golden Knights, 2-0, up," Sen. Marilyn Dondero Loop announced mid-hearing to the joint session of Nevada senators and assembly members.
In response, those in attendance corrected Dondero Loop that the score between the Las Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars in fact was 3-0. It appears everyone in the state capital had their eyes at least partially glued to the Stanley Cup playoff game, which the Golden Knights eventually won 6-0.
"You see what happens?" Dondero Loo asked the room, which had erupted in laughter. "It's all good. We're up. That's the story. But we were listening to you, Mr. Aguero."
RELATED: Forst admits worry for A's players amid Vegas 'distraction'
A voice can be heard in the background saying, "No one's paying attention." Before the conversation came to a halt for the NHL score update, Jeremy Aguero, founder of Las Vegas-based Applied Analysis and an A's consultant, was presenting the stadium construction timeline to lawmakers.
The legislation in question -- Nevada Senate Bill 509 -- would provide up to $380 million in public funding for the proposed $1.5 billion Las Vegas ballpark, if approved.
But lawmakers watching the Golden Knights game during an important milestone for the new stadium could mean one of two things: They either really love their hometown hockey team, or they're not very serious about the A's bill.
