Logan unfair scapegoat for 51s’ problems

"In my opinion, Don Logan is the heart and soul of Las Vegas baseball." -- Derek Stevens, October 2007

It's hard for people to take a breath when Don Logan is involved, when about as popular and respected a sports figure in Las Vegas the past three decades seemingly is being pushed out the door from the minor league baseball franchise he has run for most of 27 years.

It's hard to see beyond an institution getting what some believe is a serious shaft.

But there is a bigger picture.

There always is.

The news last week that Drew Dondero was replacing Logan as president of the 51s shocked most locally, and the additional tidbit that Dondero has been the team's "person of ultimate authority" since 2008 was even more surprising.

Few, if any, locally had heard of Dondero.

He might as well have been Dr. Drew.

We know more now.

This is about ownership -- the Stevens Baseball Group -- believing it's not getting the most return on its investment, about a family that purchased the team in 2007 for a reported $18 million and believes there are ways not being utilized to make money in a brutal economic climate and a city that for years consistently has pledged its lukewarm support for the team.

Derek Stevens owns the Golden Gate and a percentage of Riviera Holdings, a significant gaming presence that does not allow him by Major League Baseball edict a daily say-so around the 51s. He is supposed to stay away from baseball dealings.

Enter Dondero, a man with little to no baseball experience who has spent the past 20 years working for the Stevens family nuts and bolts business in Detroit, who now is in charge of trying to create those revenue streams that ownership thinks are out there and not being discovered.

Yeah. Good luck with that.

Nothing against Dondero. He's filling a role. He's doing a job. He says the move into a full-time position now is more about timing than anything, but it's more than that.

Stevens and Logan no longer are on the same page. Not in the same book, for that matter.

Nothing against Stevens. It's his team. His money. He has every right to say who is in charge of what, every right to promote and demote as he sees fit, every right to make a move that in a few years could prove highly intelligent or ridiculously foolish.

But if a belief truly exists that by removing Logan from the business side of baseball for a new face who suddenly might discover fresh and innovate ways to put more butts in Cashman Field seats, those making the decisions for the 51s exist in a perpetual state of Fantasyland.

Warren Buffett would struggle making money with the 51s.

This isn't about whether Logan is being treated unfairly, though you would think those running the 51s should tread carefully on how they present the new changes or they will likely feel the wrath of loyal sponsors pulling their financial support as a sign of respect for their longtime friend.

This is about what it is always about, what many refuse to admit. People here choose to spend their money in ways other than on minor league baseball, and Cashman Field outgrew its use long ago. No amount of new umbrellas or misters or promotions will change the fact the 51s never have drawn more than 388,000 in any season.

It's not a defeatist attitude or excuse. It's reality.

This isn't Memphis or Oklahoma City. You can't fly around the country to minor league games as Dondero said he has and incorporate ideas that work other places and expect them to here. Las Vegas is a different animal.

Don. Drew. Derek. Whoever. Doesn't matter.

You can spend discretionary income here on things you can't elsewhere.

Want more fans to attend 51s games?

Then shoot off fireworks every night and sell beer for $1 every game and not just on Thursdays. Short of a new facility, everything to increase attendance has been tried.

The 51s have a small, loyal, niche-base of fans who obviously don't pay for tickets with the expectation of seeing a good team, given one hasn't been out there for some time.

The summer weather isn't changing. It's hot as hell. Neither is the fact Cashman Field is a dump by any professional standards.

Don Logan isn't the reason for small revenue streams since Stevens bought the franchise.

People wanting to be inside when spending their money is. The facility is. The economy is. The change from an affiliation with the Dodgers to the Blue Jays is.

Logan still is the team's general manager. Maybe he is gone by season's end. Maybe he isn't. Maybe as a minority owner he is bought out with a fat check. He'll be fine. This might be the best thing to happen to him.

The 51s? Not so sure. Promote and demote who you want. The ceiling for revenue will remain consistently average for minor league baseball here.

It is what it is.

One thing it's not is Don Logan's fault.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618.