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Before A’s there were the Expos: ‘04 push put LV on MLB map

Updated June 5, 2021 - 1:53 pm

The A’s interest in Las Vegas isn’t the first time the city has been mentioned as the home of an MLB team. The city made a strong push in 2004 to get the Montreal Expos.

Steve Stone, who is most closely associated with Chicago, having pitched and served as a broadcaster for both of that city’s major league teams, was part of a potential ownership group looking to buy the Montreal Expos, who were at the time under MLB control.

That effort failed. The Expos wound up going to Washington and becoming the Nationals. But that hasn’t dimmed his enthusiasm for putting an MLB franchise here.

“I think the time has come to put a professional baseball team in Las Vegas,” said Stone, who owns five restaurants in Las Vegas and has been following the news about the Athletics’ renewed interest in moving here.

Stone has seen the passion of Las Vegas sports fans by attending several Golden Knights games, and he knows the Triple-A Aviators have been a big success since moving to Las Vegas Ballpark in 2019.

Stone said he has actively explored bringing an MLB team to the valley for 20 years, including an attempt in 2001 to bring the Athletics here, and will continue to seek a franchise if the A’s opt not to move to Las Vegas.

“Whether it’s the Oakland Athletics, some other team or expansion, I think that Las Vegas is ready to go,” Stone said. “They have shown a passion for sports.”

Trying to lure the Expos

When Stone began his pursuit of the Expos in 2004, UNLV men’s basketball was the dominant sport in Las Vegas. But there was a yearning by many in the valley to attract a team from one of the four major leagues.

Working against Las Vegas was the presence of legalized sports betting, which was frowned upon by league commissioners, and whether the city had a big enough population base, at 1.6 million, to support an MLB team.

The potential ownership group, Centerfield Management Group, which also included longtime baseball executive Mike Shapiro, Chicago businessman Lou Weisbach and three investors, emphasized Las Vegas’ strengths in its bid to MLB.

Because none lived in Las Vegas, they contacted Mark E. Brown, who ran Brown & Partners Advertising. Brown arranged for the members of the ownership group to meet with the city’s key political and economic leaders.

“They had a lot of experience,” said Brown, now CEO of Miracle Flights. “They knew what they were doing. They had some money. They were knowledgeable but also a little bit naive when it came to Las Vegas.

“It was a credibility-building exercise. Some of the people were a little lukewarm to them. But once they realized these were real-deal players, we started to generate some excitement. I think it opened people’s eyes that, ‘Wait a second, we might be in play here.’”

Then-Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman remembers his meeting with the group as being brief. He didn’t form much of an initial opinion of the potential bid and soon got a call from MLB Commissioner Bud Selig asking that he not meet with any members “without his permission.”

Making the pitch

Centerfield’s proposal was for a $400 million, 40,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof to be built by Caesars Entertainment in parking lots near the Bally’s and Paris hotels.

Brown said the group had strong connections with the baseball selection committee, and the feedback they received was that if the money came through, so would the franchise.

Most of money would come from the private sector, but the group planned to approach the state Legislature for public funds, but it was between sessions. Brown said then-Gov. Kenny Guinn thought Centerfield was not far enough along in the process to warrant calling a special session.

“We were running out of time,” Brown said.

For assistance navigating the economics of building a stadium, Centerfield enlisted Jeremy Aguero at Applied Analysis. Aguero was a key figure in hammering out the details that got $2 billion Allegiant Stadium built, with $750 million in public money coming after approval in a special legislative session.

“Could they find an appropriate spot to build a suitable facility, and how would they take advantage of that?” Aguero said of the effort to lure the Expos.

Las Vegas had plenty of competition.

Washington was considered the leading candidate from the start. Bids also were submitted by Northern Virginia in the D.C. suburbs, Portland (Oregon), Norfolk (Virginia) and Monterrey (Mexico).

Las Vegas had strong political allies, with Sen. Harry Reid, Sen. John Ensign, Rep. Shelley Berkley and Rep. Jon Porter sending a letter to Selig expressing support for the city’s effort.

The letter read, in part, “We appreciate that Major League Baseball and the players’ association have indicated their desire to identify a location that is economically stable, will be a competitive environment for a team, and has an enthusiastic fan base. Should Las Vegas become the official home of the Expos, we are confident that our community will provide these qualities and more.”

Helping pave the way

Brown said Las Vegas had strong support among baseball owners. But the lack of a commitment to publicly finance the stadium helped crush the city’s chances.

Whether Las Vegas was truly prepared for a team then and whether pro sports leagues were ready for the city is an open question.

The city has grown considerably since then. The number of visitors has grown from 36 million to 42 million annually. Pro leagues also have greatly softened their stances on legalized sports betting, which is occurring in many more states, and have even formed partnerships with gaming companies.

There is debate about whether 2004 was a turning point in how Las Vegas was viewed as a pro sports city. Aguero said the general growth of sports, such as the UFC establishing a home base here and the Pac-12 Conference playing championships here, helped lead Las Vegas to its current place as an attractive venue for pro sports.

Maybe Las Vegas still gets the Golden Knights and Raiders, even without the effort to lure the Expos. But that effort was the most serious one yet to secure a franchise.

“I think the town wasn’t sure if we were ready literally for the big leagues,” Brown said. “I think these guys showed them that, ‘Yes, you are.’”

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.

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