A Carson City judge has rejected the language of a proposed ballot referendum petition that would have repealed public funding for a new Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium in Las Vegas, saying the language was “legally deficient” and at points “confusing.”

The nearly hour-and-a-half hearing Monday in the 1st District Court in Carson City — where all legal challenges to statewide ballot questions are filed — was the first hearing in a lawsuit that challenged the ballot initiative filed by the teacher union-led political action committee (PAC) “Schools Over Stadiums.” The PAC is seeking to qualify a ballot question asking voters to approve or reject $380 million in public financing for a proposed $1.5 billion, 33,000-seat stadium on the Strip that would become home to the relocated Oakland A’s.