Tuesday, April 28, 1998 | 10:46 a.m.
It was reported last week that Phoenix tourism boosters are upset because the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has purchased space on a rotating sign promoting Las Vegas in the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball stadium. According to the Arizona Republic, the president of Phoenix's tourism bureau, David Radcliffe, cringes every time a television camera shows the scoreboard placing Las Vegas in the regional and national spotlight.
"I understand the business aspects of this deal, but I'm a little disappointed to see a competitive destination end up with such a prime location in the ballpark," Radcliffe said of the sign, which the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is paying $459,000 for one year. What Radcliffe conveniently fails to mention is that the Diamondbacks have launched an aggressive marketing campaign in Las Vegas to get baseball fans here interested in the team, including luring Las Vegas fans to visit Phoenix and watch the team's home games.
"There's always been a connection between Las Vegas and Phoenix," Diamondbacks vice president of sales Blake Edwards told SUN reporter Spencer Patterson a month ago. "It's a one-hour flight, a five-hour drive. It seems like across the board, we have a relationship with the city."
Unlike their big-league baseball team, Phoenix's bush-league tourism officials are looking for a one-way relationship. For a "big league" sports town to display such insecurity is surprising. But maybe deep down, Phoenix tourism officials know that even with their major-league sports teams, they're afraid more people will discover that Phoenix can't match the overall tourism excitement that Las Vegas offers.
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