If Dodgers move, LV is just one possibility

Steve Guiremand

Tuesday, March 16, 1999 | 10:49 a.m.

The Dodgers and Las Vegas.

This would seem like the perfect site for spring training for baseball's version of Big Blue. Angelinos could hop in their car and drive to a spring training game in just four hours. Better yet, they could catch one of many cheap flights that leave the Southland every day for Glitter Gulch.

And although the Dodgers have explored the possibility of moving their spring training headquarters from Vero Beach, Fla., to the Cactus League, it remains to be seen how serious they are about making the move.

Las Vegas Stars general manager Don Logan said he has spoken to the Dodgers "three or four times" about the possibility of moving their spring training activities to Las Vegas.

"They're kind of in the exploratory stage right now," Logan said. "They have a lot of new people involved that are pretty new to baseball.

"The problem with the Dodgers now is that Fox's tentacles are varied and very long," Logan continued. "There's some interest, but they're also exploring other options, like moving to Arizona and staying in Vero Beach.

"I don't want to be used as leverage to get a better deal somewhere else. Until they actually have shown a keen interest, I think you could say we're just in an exploratory kind of stage."

Logan said it's also not an issue of just getting the Dodgers to hold spring training in Las Vegas.

"You'd want to have multiple teams here," he said. "There would be just too much cost involved for just one team to train here and then have to travel to Arizona for games all the time."

And then there is the matter of building a first-class spring training complex. Logan and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority have tried unsuccessfully to get a four-team training complex approved in Henderson.

"I think it would have to be a mix of public and private funds," Logan said. "But from a Las Vegas standpoint, if someone like Fox shows strong interest in making a move here, you've got to try and make it work."