MLB team to Vegas?

[Blue387]

I was reading Amazin' Avenue when there was a blurb on the bottom of a post which mentioned that Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman mentioned something about an AL team setting up in Vegas with a baseball stadium in the works.

http://www.fox5vegas.com/sports/24689609/detail.html

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, during his weekly news conference on Thursday, said discussions about building a major league baseball stadium were “very serious.”
“I’m not going to tell you that it’s imminent,” Goodman said to reporters gathered at Las Vegas City Hall.
The mayor, who has seen a professional sports franchise as his legacy, hinted that the discussions were in the early stages and he would assurances that a team would move to Las Vegas if a stadium is built.
But which team?
“I have been advised we are designated an American League city,” he said.
Goodman confirmed that any stadium would have to be domed and would have a 45,000 seat capacity.

Additional coverage:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/aug/19/mayor-american-league-baseball-team-looking-las-ve/

http://espn.go.com/blog/sportscenter/post/_/id/74774/will-mlb-roll-the-dice-with-a-team-in-las-vegas

[micsmith]

Well, if an AL team is relocated, the A's would probably be the frontrunners, though I would rather see the AL expand to 16 teams with one in Portland and one in Vegas - stick em both in the AL west and move the Rangers to the Central where they belong (makes so much more sense for them to be in the Central because of game times, flights, etc.)

I know a lot of people complain about MLB + Vegas = gambling nightmare. But, seems like the AAA club has done alright there - no Pete Rose-esque incidents or Black Sox scandals there. Plus Vegas is growing fast and tickets could be part of tourist and corporate packages.

Portland is the biggest metro area and biggest media market in the U.S. without a team. And it is growing pretty fast too. You would have to have a domed stadium there too because of the rain.

[jnakamura]

Well, if an AL team is relocated, the A's would probably be the frontrunners, though I would rather see the AL expand to 16 teams with one in Portland and one in Vegas...

...Portland is the biggest metro area and biggest media market in the U.S. without a team. And it is growing pretty fast too. You would have to have a domed stadium there too because of the rain.

Portland? Ain't happening. No stadium. No money or location to build even a minor league stadium to keep the Beavers. No passion for baseball. No public interest. The economy here sucks. No neighborhoods here want a stadium near them. Traffic is bad and a stadium anywhere in the metro area would be a mess....and on and on...

[GiambiJuice]

Well, if an AL team is relocated, the A's would probably be the frontrunners, though I would rather see the AL expand to 16 teams with one in Portland and one in Vegas - stick em both in the AL west and move the Rangers to the Central where they belong (makes so much more sense for them to be in the Central because of game times, flights, etc.)

I know a lot of people complain about MLB + Vegas = gambling nightmare. But, seems like the AAA club has done alright there - no Pete Rose-esque incidents or Black Sox scandals there. Plus Vegas is growing fast and tickets could be part of tourist and corporate packages.

Portland is the biggest metro area and biggest media market in the U.S. without a team. And it is growing pretty fast too. You would have to have a domed stadium there too because of the rain.

Vegas is growing? LOL.

Vegas has been in a crash for the last 2-3 years. They were possibly hit harder than any other city in the USA by the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Vegas is shrinking my friend.

[Captain Cold Nose]

Mayor Goodman has always seemed to have a bit of pie in the sky promoter in him. Until someone connected to MLB says something, I'm not going to take his comments seriously.

[doctor_gogol]

move the Rangers to the Central where they belong (makes so much more sense for them to be in the Central because of game times, flights, etc.)

Please, no! The Tigers have enough problems!

[UnderPressure]

Well, if an AL team is relocated, the A's would probably be the frontrunners, though I would rather see the AL expand to 16 teams with one in Portland and one in Vegas - stick em both in the AL west and move the Rangers to the Central where they belong (makes so much more sense for them to be in the Central because of game times, flights, etc.)

I know a lot of people complain about MLB + Vegas = gambling nightmare. But, seems like the AAA club has done alright there - no Pete Rose-esque incidents or Black Sox scandals there. Plus Vegas is growing fast and tickets could be part of tourist and corporate packages.

Portland is the biggest metro area and biggest media market in the U.S. without a team. And it is growing pretty fast too. You would have to have a domed stadium there too because of the rain.

It's not fair to the Dallas sports fans that two of their major sports teams (Rangers and Stars) are in divisions that belong to Pacific time zone teams.

It's also funny that the Cowboys are in the NFC "East." Basically, the Mavs are the only team in a division that geographically makes sense.

BTW, can someone move my initial post in this thread to the Wright vs. Cano thread? I had no idea I was posting in the wrong thread.

[Imgran]

Vancouver > Vegas or Portland.

Just sayin'. MLB has been ignoring the Western Canadian oil boom cities for a bit too long. Calgary, Edmondton, and Vancouver are all better candidates for a new team than most of the mid-sized cities that get mentioned in the endless litany of potential franchise startups, and especially the Alberta duo are still thriving on the high price of oil so there's a lot of money there right now.

Wouldn't half mind seeing a team back in Montreal either. There's a reason that franchise folded, but it wasn't the town's inability to financially sustain a baseball team.

The division structure is set up to be ideal for a 36 team league. I think expansion may be in the wind if the economy picks up again at all, especially as both of the last expansion teams have proven viable at this point.

[ian2813]

Vancouver > Vegas or Portland.

Just sayin'. MLB has been ignoring the Western Canadian oil boom cities for a bit too long. Calgary, Edmondton, and Vancouver are all better candidates for a new team than most of the mid-sized cities that get mentioned in the endless litany of potential franchise startups, and especially the Alberta duo are still thriving on the high price of oil so there's a lot of money there right now.

If they put a team in one of the Alberta cities it'd be a hitter's paradise. Edmonton and Calgary are both over 2,000 feet above sea level.

[micsmith]

According to Forbes.com and the www.census.gov, the Las Vegas metro area is one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country. They are including Henderson, Paradise, Spring Valley, East Las Vegas, and other cities as part of the metro area. I think over the past twenty years, the Vegas area has more than doubled. And every year it is at or near the top in metro growth.

I am not sure about just teh city of Las Vegas (as opposed to its metro area), but population certainly does not look to be a problem here. Over the past ten years it has grown more than any of the other top 50 metro areas in the nation, along with Austin and Raleigh-Durham.

That does not necessarily mean it is a great place to put an MLB team, but the census data shows that Vegas is one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country - a strong selling point for a potential franchise.

[Imgran]

If they put a team in one of the Alberta cities it'd be a hitter's paradise. Edmonton and Calgary are both over 2,000 feet above sea level.

Denver already plowed that ground. if it becomes an issue we can handle it. I'd be more concerned about early winters and late winters that far north TBH.

[downstairs]

Charlotte is, by far, the best idea. There are 3 mid-level TV markets very close to Charlotte. And the city is growing.

[milladrive]

The Oakland A's did not approve the city's ballpark proposal. The city's fine with it but the organization isn't.

https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/baseball/oakland-as-not-ok-with-ballpark-plan-approved-by-city-council-2403361/amp/

[abolishthedh]

Charlotte is, by far, the best idea. There are 3 mid-level TV markets very close to Charlotte. And the city is growing.

I agree, with my brother living in NC I know something about the region. North Carolina residents don't seem to agree, though. Strange.... there is no team between DC and Atlanta. NC is a growing state, in fact the tri-state group of Southern VA, NC and Northern SC would include a huge population are not served at all by MLB now. The minor leagues of the region include Winston-Salem (with a terrific minor league park), Greensboro, the famed Durham Bulls, Asheville, Carolina Mudcats, and Charlotte Knights. I think there are independent minor league teams in High Point, NC and Burlington, NC. With all those franchises, and maybe more, that might explain the absence of any hunger for the majors in the region. If any of those teams lost a franchise, that would be a small problem, I suppose. Still, the owners have been callous in any appreciation of the minors lately.

Vegas?........ Puhhh-leaze. We have enough domed stadiums. There is a severe drought and on-going water shortage in the region. People are leaving the Southwest because of the cost of real estate, water shortage, ridiculous heat, and who knows what else. Golf has a bad image developing for its drain on the water supply in the area. Investors haven't a clue on this stuff.

[milladrive]

I agree, with my brother living in NC I know something about the region. North Carolina residents don't seem to agree, though. Strange.... there is no team between DC and Atlanta. NC is a growing state, in fact the tri-state group of Southern VA, NC and Northern SC would include a huge population are not served at all by MLB now. The minor leagues of the region include Winston-Salem (with a terrific minor league park), Greensboro, the famed Durham Bulls, Asheville, Carolina Mudcats, and Charlotte Knights. I think there are independent minor league teams in High Point, NC and Burlington, NC. With all those franchises, and maybe more, that might explain the absence of any hunger for the majors in the region. If any of those teams lost a franchise, that would be a small problem, I suppose. Still, the owners have been callous in any appreciation of the minors lately.

Vegas?........ Puhhh-leaze. We have enough domed stadiums. There is a severe drought and on-going water shortage in the region. People are leaving the Southwest because of the cost of real estate, water shortage, ridiculous heat, and who knows what else. Golf has a bad image developing for its drain on the water supply in the area. Investors haven't a clue on this stuff.

To paraphrase, I disagree. With my self living in LV, I know something about the region. And it's clear you don't.

No one is leaving here because of the cost of real estate. Quite the opposite. They're coming in droves. The expensive Southwest you're thinking of is southern California, not southern Nevada.

And neither the heat nor the water is a deterrent to moving here. The water's not nearly as big a problem as is advertised, and the heat is dry. I spent over 50 years in NY, and I'll take 105°F here over 85°F in the East every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

I probably should've started a fresh thread on this. I'll not say Charlotte's a bad option. It's not. But the A's aren't eyeballing it. The question is whether the A's stay in Oakland or move to Las Vegas.