MLB in Vegas

[Nate tha' Great]

This topic came up while I was boozing / watching the game with some friends tonight. I'm curious to get the opinion of some of the locals. Ignoring the small matter of whether or not it would actually happen, would an MLB team in Vegas be viable?

[Clarkmeister]

No.

[ThaSaltCracka]

I am not from Vegas, but I remeber an ESPN.com article saying that the Expos should move to LV and the admission to the game should be free, thus people would spend an absurd amount of money on food, beer, and souveniers.

It is only a matter of time before LV gets some sort of professional sports team that isn't soccer.

[Clarkmeister]

"It is only a matter of time before LV gets some sort of professional sports team that isn't soccer. "

Incorrect. It will never happen.

[mmbt0ne]

Why not?

[youtalkfunny]

[ QUOTE ]
Why not?

[/ QUOTE ]
Because unlike most big cities in America, Las Vegas is not surrounded by SUBURBS. You've got the city, and that's it, and that's not enough to support a team.

JMHO.

[Dynasty]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Why not?

[/ QUOTE ]
Because unlike most big cities in America, Las Vegas is not surrounded by SUBURBS. You've got the city, and that's it, and that's not enough to support a team.

JMHO.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think Clarkmeister is saying Las Vegas won't get a team because of the issues MLB/NFL/NBA/NHL would have with gambling. In the extremely prelimary discussions that MLB had about bring a team to Las Vegas, MLB wanted no betting on MLB games in Vegas casinos. Las Vegas can't give that up.

However, you may be right about the suburb issue. But, that's debateable. Las Vegas is able to support dozens of top entertainers in big shows. If tourists went to the games, Las Vegas could sell out the stadiums/arenas.

[Senor Choppy]

I think the fact that there are less than 500k people in Vegas is probably the larger issue, although image problems due to gambling certainly can't help.

It seems that the NFL could certainly do well there, given how easy it would be to sell out 16 games. I'd put my money on the NFL or NBA getting a team before MLB.

[MarkL444]

[ QUOTE ]
Because unlike most big cities in America, Las Vegas is not surrounded by SUBURBS. You've got the city, and that's it, and that's not enough to support a team.

[/ QUOTE ]

Anyone think a major sports team would be able to change that?

[Clarkmeister]

There are several problems.

1. Gambling. That's really the beginning and end of it right there. NV won't change (though it could afford to lose baseball, many casinos lose money on baseball), and the sports leagues certainly aren't going to relocate here with gambling legal. There is 0% chance of that.

2. It's like LA on steroids. There is too much other stuff to do with disposable income here. People simply aren't going to fill 81 MLB or 41 NBA/NHL home games. No way. Football could possibly sell out 8 home games (plus 2 preseason games), but I wouldn't count on it.

3. Everyone here is from somewhere else. It's not like there are people here jonesing for a team of their own, everyone has a team of their own. There's a sportsbar that "sponsors" every one of the NFL teams during the year in town (the Bears and Raiders each have 8 sponsor bars), where fans of those teams can go and root for their teams with other fans. It would take forever for an actual local following to be built. This is even more of a bandwagon town than LA. A team would, like the Vancouver Grizzlies, flounder long before it became competitive, and they simply won't support a loser here.

4. Our minor league teams don't draw well at all.

Population isn't really an issue, Indianapolis doesn't have suburbs either. Indy is bigger than Vegas, but the gap is closing fast. The town in theory is big enough to support a single pro franchise, but the myriad of alternatives, the cost of sporting events relative to those alternatives, the transplanted base and most of all, the gambling all make the chances of a pro franchise moving here next to zero.

[WEASEL45]

David Stern said there's no way an NBA team would be in Vegas

[nolanfan34]

Given all of your solid arguments, weighed against the intellegence of the MLB execs, I'd say that means the chance of Vegas getting a team is about 100%. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Dynasty]

Out hopes are pretty much gone for the forseeable future. The Expos got their deal done in Washington D.C. And, the Marlins recently got a stadium deal in Florida.

Story (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1984097)

It could have been fun to have an NL team to root for.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

[ QUOTE ]
If tourists went to the games

[/ QUOTE ]
I cannot imagine a scenario under which I would go to Vegas and then blow an afternoon on a baseball game while I was there and I can't imagine any significant number of other people doing it either. Okay, I can imagine one scenario, but it's not very likely, and that is if I were on some sort of 'I'm going to go to every stadium in the league this summer' tour.

[judgesmails]

I think it will happen, but I do not think the franchise (MLB) will be successful. The TV and radio markets are too small to produce enough revenue for a baseball team. This is the most important revenue stream for a MLB franchise and reason the Yankees can outspend everyone.

Attendance would be adequate. There are a lot of medium-sized companies out here - and combined with the casinos they could supply an adequate season ticket base. The minor league teams out here actually draw well. I am going to a Wrangler game tonight (ECHL) and they expect a sellout. The Arena football league team sells a fair number of tickets, but I am told actual attendance is not really close to announced attendance. The AAA 51s attendance is decent.

If the city of Las Vegas builds a stadium, I predict the Marlins will move here.

[DesertCat]

One other concern is that many locals work in the evenings, much higher percentage than in other cities

[Dynasty]

[ QUOTE ]
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If tourists went to the games

[/ QUOTE ]
I cannot imagine a scenario under which I would go to Vegas and then blow an afternoon on a baseball game while I was there and I can't imagine any significant number of other people doing it either.

[/ QUOTE ]

Do you think people come to Vegas and gamble 12+ hours a day? Tourists spend lots of time in non-gambling activities. That's why we've got all those shows here.

[SinCityGuy]

It will never happen.

Why?

Legal sports betting.

Much of the population has relocated from somewhere else, and have allegiances to other teams.

A large number of locals tend to be the "fair-weather" type fans (i.e. UNLV), and they are easily distracted and unsupportive of losing teams.

[SinCityGuy]

[ QUOTE ]
However, you may be right about the suburb issue.

[/ QUOTE ]

He's dead wrong about the suburb issue.

Metropolitan Clark County contains almost 1,000 square miles and the population is approaching the 2 million mark.

[plaster8]

I was really hoping the Expos would end up in Vegas so I'd have an excuse to go more often.

I thought LV might have had a shot at it because of the tourism -- I figured the team's opponents might draw fans from around the country. Say a couple of Chicago fans have always wanted to go to Vegas -- they book their trip when the Cubs are in town. It's extra incentive.

But that's probably not enough of a boost to get past the problems Clark posted. (That post, incidentally, made me very happy the Expos didn't go to Vegas, because it sounds like it wouldn't have worked -- and the last thing the Expos need is another situation like they had in Montreal.)