Thursday, April 29, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Beyond Expos, major league relocation unlikely

Group faces obstacles in trying to bring team to Vegas

By MARK ANDERSON
REVIEW-JOURNAL

If not the Expos, how about the Las Vegas Twins -- or Marlins, Devil Rays or Athletics?

Minnesota, Florida, Tampa Bay and Oakland lack ideal stadium situations and are seeking new homes. But these clubs probably will end up in new parks in their respective areas.

"We haven't moved a franchise in 33 years," Major League Baseball spokesman Rich Levin said. "It's not something we do without great and considerable thought put into it."

The last franchise to do so was the Washington Senators, who became the Texas Rangers in 1971.

The Montreal Expos, owned by the other 29 major league teams, will be the next team to relocate. Commissioner Bud Selig has set a July 13 deadline for naming their new home.

According to a report, two or three finalists will be announced May 15 at a meeting in New York. But Levin said no date for naming finalists has been established.

Las Vegas has openly courted major league relocation. But a baseball source has said the Expos will not be coming here, and reports indicate the Washington area is the leading candidate.

Even if Las Vegas landed the Expos, building a stadium could present a problem. The potential owners reportedly are having trouble securing public financing.

Also, if relocated to Las Vegas, where would the team play while waiting for a stadium to be built?

"These are the kinds of questions (supporters) won't answer," Las Vegas 51s president Don Logan said. "It's stupid to play here (Cashman Field), and there's no way."

Nevertheless, Centerfield Management Group -- a liaison between Las Vegas' potential owners and Major League Baseball -- is so focused on bringing the Expos here, it refuses to talk about other teams that might move, said Mike Shapiro, a consultant for the group.

"I don't even want to think about what-ifs," Shapiro said.

Las Vegas is being taken seriously as a major league contender, Levin said. Shapiro has heard similar sentiments.

"Baseball with us has been consistently very serious in looking at Las Vegas as a major league market, and they've been really serious looking at it as a major league market for the Expos," Shapiro said. "I think they've been very honest and forthright."

Logan said he thinks Las Vegas will become a big league city but would be better off waiting for its population to swell beyond the current 1.6 million before it gets a team.

"If we continue to grow, absolutely, we deserve and should have major league sports," Logan said. "I don't think the time is now."

In case the time is right for another club, here are the scenarios:

• MARLINS -- Fresh off their World Series title, the Florida Marlins hope to leave Pro Player Stadium, originally designed to accommodate the Miami Dolphins. The Marlins hope to move to a site near the Orange Bowl.

The proposed stadium would cost $325 million, but the funding is about $30 million short. Club president David Samson went to Tallahassee, Fla., on Wednesday to try to receive state funds. Miami-Dade commissioners have said they would use $73 million in taxes to contribute to the project, and the Marlins have agreed to pay $137 million.

Even with a late-season attendance surge last year, the Marlins still were 28th out of 30 teams in attendance, averaging 16,290, or 45 percent of capacity.

• TWINS -- The Minnesota Twins also play in a building intended for football, and it has shown in their attendance. Despite winning their division last season, they were 20th, with an average attendance of 24,024 -- 49 percent of the Metrodome's capacity.

On Tuesday, plans to construct a $500 million new stadium hit a snag when Rep. Ron Abrams, chairman of the state's House Taxes Committee, said he was concerned about how taxes would be recovered.

There also was concern among Minnesota lawmakers about not specifying a site ahead of time, and Abrams said he wanted assurances the Twins and Vikings would pay one-third of the cost beforehand. The $1.1 billion bill includes a $600 million stadium for the Vikings.

• ATHLETICS -- Oakland's Coliseum is another venue designed more for football. The Athletics won their division last year but were 17th in attendance, averaging 27,365 -- 63 percent capacity.

Across the bay, the division champion San Francisco Giants ranked third with a 40,307 average, 97 percent capacity. The Giants play in SBC Park, considered by some to be baseball's best.

San Francisco's park is more than just a stadium. It includes restaurants, shops and residential buildings.

"A stadium needs to be the centerpiece of a bigger part of development," Logan said.

The A's hope to stay in the Bay area but could move south to San Jose.

"It's popular to say that we want to keep the A's, but a new stadium won't be as affordable," Oakland city councilwoman Nancy Nadel told the Oakland Tribune.

• DEVIL RAYS -- There has not been much talk recently about the Devil Rays looking to leave the Tampa Bay area, but Tropicana Field is considered one of baseball's most dismal sites.

The dome lacks the ambience of the newer parks, and at 13,070, the Devil Rays were second to last in attendance, filling 29 percent of capacity. The Expos were the worst at 12,662.

Leaving might not be so easy, though. The lease runs through 2027, though it wouldn't be the first to be broken.