Locos ignore Vegas’ track record

Ready or not, here come the Las Vegas Locomotives.

The United Football League team's nickname pays tribute to Las Vegas' roots as a railroad town, by the way, not its track record of numerous failed professional sports ventures that have been run out of town on a rail.

Las Vegas, led by former Buffalo Bills quarterback J.P. Losman, will host the California Redwoods at 6 p.m. today at Sam Boyd Stadium in the opener of the four-team UFL's inaugural, six-week season.

As of Wednesday, 6,200 tickets had been sold, but league officials hope attendance will be from 15,000 to 20,000 for the debut.

Locomotives coach Jim Fassel wants to showcase Losman's talent and experience and play the sort of exciting, wide-open offense that Fassel oversaw when he coached John Elway at Stanford.

"I'm very impressed with our guys," Fassel said. "We've got a lot of people with (NFL) experience, and they've shown me a lot."

The team is due back in Las Vegas today after spending the past month at training camp in Casa Grande, Ariz.

The Locomotives and Redwoods will fly back to Phoenix immediately after the game, and the Locos won't return to Las Vegas until Wednesday, when they play Orlando in their only other home game at Sam Boyd Stadium. Their Nov. 20 game with New York will be played in Los Angeles.

UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue said the league is trying to limit costs, and having the teams live and train in two central locations (New York and Orlando are based in Florida) saves money, even though it has made it difficult for the teams to establish roots in their communities.

"It's hurt us in our marketing, no question," he said. "But we felt for the first year this was the best way to go. The priority is putting the teams together and put the best possible product on the field. It's a sacrifice we had to make."

The teams next season will live and train in the cities where they play, Huyghue said, and market themselves through community-outreach and grass-roots promotions.

The UFL didn't crank up its marketing efforts until a couple of weeks ago. It struck a deal with Station Casinos to give away tickets to Locomotives games to anyone making a $20 sports bet.

Tickets for tonight's game can be purchased for $7, and the most expensive seats cost $42.

Huyghue said he thinks the quality of play will be high and will win over fans.

"I'd say on each roster, there are 10 to 15 guys who stand out," he said. "I don't think it's a big gap between the best players and the guys at the other end, but we won't know until we begin play.

"But in looking at the four rosters, we believe the quality of the product is as good or better than we expected."

The league's four coaches -- Fassel, California's Dennis Green, New York's Ted Cottrell and Orlando's Jim Haslett -- have NFL head coaching experience. The 29-member officiating staff, which includes a woman (head linesperson Terri Valenti), is sprinkled with NFL experience, something Huyghue said was essential.

"We wanted good officiating to complement the quality of the coaching and the play on the field," he said.

Despite having solid long-term financial backing, a national cable TV deal with Versus, quality coaching and some name players, the UFL faces a battle for survival.

That's especially true in Las Vegas, where the history of failed pro franchises includes the Canadian Football League's Posse, the XFL's Outlaws and the Arena Football League's Sting and Gladiators.

"We're committed to Las Vegas for the long haul," Huyghue said. "We're already working on a business plan for 2010, and Las Vegas is going to be part of it."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.