Leaving Las Vegas
A political standoff regarding their aging stadium could force the 51s out of Sin City.
By Marc David
LAS VEGAS - The future of baseball in Las Vegas has become a topic as hot as a seamy Strip show.
The local AAA team, the Las Vegas 51s of the Pacific Coast League, is facing a predicament revolving around their aging stadium, Cashman Field that may force them to relocate.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have vowed to end their affiliation with the 51s and are planning to leave the city when their player-development contract expires at the end of the 2004 season, unless new facilities are in place.
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman insists that his is a major-league city. He has no intentions of appropriating public money to improve Cashman Field; a facility that the Dodgers say is the worst in their system.
51s' president/general manager Don Logan won't go that far, but he agrees that the facilities are sub-par, to say the least.
"This facility, when it was built was fine," says Logan of Cashman Field, which was built in 1983. "It's deteriorated over the years to the point that it is an impediment to a lot of things. The Dodgers talk about it being poor for player development. The facility is completely inadequate from a player-development standpoint. With the investment being made in players today, that's an important aspect."
As the Pacific Coast League has continued its renovation program, closing old parks in Oklahoma City, Portland and Albuquerque, and replacing them with new venues, Cashman has become the one of the oldest parks in the PCL.
Bringing new fan revenue to PCL ballparks has been a major agenda for the league. Cities that struggled to achieve 3,000 to 4,000 a game have seen attendance jumps of double, or more, with the opening of a new venue.
"From our standpoint, the fans don't have the amenities," Logan said. "People like suites and they are very saleable. Our food and beverage amenities are also lacking. Our kitchen is as big as (my) office (which is very small). We make everything there and wheel it around to other parts of the ballpark."
"There are not enough restrooms.” Logan stated, continuing to run down the list of Cashman’s deficiencies. “Some of our seats, the further down the lines you go, it's tough to watch the game. The metal benches are uncomfortable. Other parks have amenities for kids, like interactive things. This place was great when it was built. But the expertise that exists today, didn't exist before."
If you mention to Logan the possibility of there being no baseball team in Las Vegas after 2004, he’ll say that is something that is not on his radar screen.
"That's not something I even consider," Logan said of the possibility of baseball going black in Las Vegas. "That drastic a move hasn't been contemplated by anyone. The issue at hand is what do we do to get a showcase facility. This is a showcase city where everyone wants to come. We have the finest hotels, the finest resorts and entertainers."
The City That Should be a Jewel in the Crown is Tarnished
Las Vegas should be a no-brainer.
One of the entertainment capitals of the world, baseball should be a cinch to work there. Except that it doesn’t.
The PCL had disappointing results hosting the AAA World Series in Vegas. PCL President Branch Rickey citied the difficulty of getting fans from the competing cities to the game, and the large number of other distractions (shows, gambling) that lure people away from the action.
The PCL office, which weighs in on plans for ballparks, would have to see a plan that increased the interest level in Las Vegas. Otherwise there are other communities where AAA baseball would be one of the few big shows in town, and would have the opportunity to bring in higher attendance numbers without competing with Siegfried & Roy.
An L.A. Ultimatum
The Dodgers do not share Logan’s optimism for baseball in Las Vegas. They have already put their cards on the table and are leaving no doubt about their plans beyond 2004.
"I'm afraid we might get caught in the middle of some kind of political crossfire in Vegas and we wind up being the ones who get shot," Bill Bavasi, Dodgers director of player development, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in July. "I know [that the 51s are] guaranteed an affiliate, but it won't be us -- I can promise you that -- if Cashman Field is still around come 2005."
If the Dodgers go back to Albuquerque, as rumor has it, the Florida Marlins would need a place to play. The Marlins are said to be checking out re-location in Tennessee. There are cities there that would meet the PCL’s criterion for building a quality franchise in that state.
Exploring the Options
Cashman is in a neighborhood that once was a short hop from the action on the Old Strip. As that area has aged, the low-income apartments near Cashman have also deteriorated.
A new ballpark can be part of a baseball renaissance for a neighborhood, as Memphis proved, but such renovation might not have much impact when countered by literally dozens of multimillion-dollar entertainment resorts less than six miles away.
The major players have very different takes on minor league baseball’s future in Las Vegas 51’s G.M. Logan's first choice is to get a facility close to the present Cashman Field.
The PCL would like to see a location more central to the newer part of the Las Vegas Strip, where more people stay and play.
Mayor Goodman has major league dreams. If it’s not an MLB team, he’s not interested in supporting it.
"The mayor doesn't want it and it's not going to happen," Logan acknowledged. "He's a powerful guy. Unfortunately (for us), downtown Las Vegas is right in the center. It's accessible to everyone."
The Henderson 51s?
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