Columnist Dean Juipe: IBL liaison sets Jan. 1 deadline

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, Dec. 22, 1998 | 9:33 a.m.

Everyone looks to Jan. 1 for different reasons.

For NBA commissioner David Stern, it's his newly imposed deadline for initiating serious talks with the league's locked-out players if not resolving the dispute completely.

For Doug Sanderson, it's his informal do-or-die date for determining whether Las Vegas has the desire to support a franchise in the newly created International Basketball League.

Remember the IBL?

Back in August when the league held a press conference at the Thomas & Mack Center, it announced that Las Vegas would be one of eight cities in a new venture that plans to open its first season in November 1999. Since then, an additional two cities have been granted teams yet the situation here remains uncertain.

However informal his role, Sanderson appears to be the league's liaison between it and any curious, local investors. He's the president and CEO of Sega Gaming.

"We're trying to make a decision by the first," he said. "We have two groups interested, although we might pull both of them together."

If neither group is willing to make at least a two-year commitment to the project, the IBL will either drop Las Vegas from its roster or run the franchise itself.

Give Sanderson this much credit: He saw the unfavorable reviews that followed the IBL's August announcement, and he knows how difficult it is for this city to get behind any minor-league project.

"I've been very expressive about it: We know it's a long shot," he admitted. "Anyone considering getting involved in this has to have some skepticism. I know I do because I've seen how many other franchises in this city have come and gone, and I know there have been more failures than successes.

"But Las Vegas keeps growing and if people are willing to risk some money, I say let's give it a shot."

He described the interested parties as "including a number of well-known people" within the community. What they're weighing: Can Las Vegas average 4,000 fans for what would be 32 home games in a league a notch below the Continental Basketball Association and about a dozen notches below the National Basketball Association?

As almost everyone in the media said in August, it's a daunting task.

Plus, the IBL isn't the only potential newcomer looking to tackle this fickle market. Roller Hockey International, which once had the Flash playing at the T&M, claims it will return here in 1999 with a new team that would play in a smaller venue. Add in suitors such as Roller Derby, the Professional Indoor Football League and one of those very minor Western Hockey leagues and Las Vegas may be in for another round of unsolicited sports saturation.

Similar efforts in the past have bombed out, as Las Vegas has turned its back on the Flash, the (football) Posse and the (soccer) Dustdevils just this decade. Add in the (hockey) Thunder's seemingly inevitable departure from the city following its current season and Las Vegas' reputation as a graveyard for minor-league teams remains secure.

Each of those failures is a lump of coal in the Christmas stockings of Sanderson and his cohorts. They can, however, disregard the obvious and dig a little deeper.