Mayor set to pitch LV to NBA, NHL chiefs

Steve Carp

Monday, Sept. 27, 1999 | 11:56 a.m.

NEW YORK -- He may not be practicing law at the moment, but Oscar Goodman will feel like he's back in court as he spends Tuesday going to bat for his latest client -- the city of Las Vegas.

The mayor finds himself trying to convince two separate juries of one -- National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern and National Hockey League chief Gary Bettman -- that his client is worthy of membership in the professional sports leagues.

At 10 a.m. Tuesday Goodman meets with Bettman. At noon he heads over to the NBA's headquarters to talk to Stern. He'll return to Las Vegas later that day and hopes he will have with him a definitive answer on whether the city would be accepted as an NBA or NHL member down the line.

Goodman has acknowledged these meetings as key to the future of the proposed downtown arena project.

"Everybody realizes that until the NBA agrees to come, we don't have anything," he said last month.

An ad hoc 29-member committee co-chaired by the mayor and County Commission Chairman Bruce Woodbury is exploring the feasibility of the arena and a downtown performing arts center. These meetings, committee members have said, are a key first step.

"I'll be ready," Goodman said. "There are two questions -- one, whether the leagues have a problem with an arena being built here (in Las Vegas) and two, the leagues' position on gambling. I don't know if they have a major problem with the sports books.

"From my perspective, gambling shouldn't be a stumbling block. Las Vegas is unblemished as far as gambling is concerned. It's a regulated and controlled industry.

"I'm prepared to make a meaningful presentation."

Neither Stern nor Bettman would comment on the meeting. Both said through their spokesmen that they had been asked to meet with the mayor and they were honoring the request.

"He has met with a number of mayors over the years," NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre said of Stern. "He said he got a call from the mayor and was asked if he could meet with the commissioner and he said, 'Sure.' "

NHL spokesman Frank Brown said Bettman was "looking forward to meeting with the mayor."

Goodman is not coming alone. He will be accompanied by several local officials, including Woodbury, City Councilman Gary Reese, City Manager Virginia Valentine and County Manager Dale Askew.

"This is one of the most important things that we could ever do for downtown Las Vegas," said Reese, whose ward encompasses the area proposed for an arena, "It's so important that we can get the OK not just for the arena, but so that people can bet on the teams."

Even with all that support, Goodman's most important colleague on this trip is John Moores.

The 55-year-old billionaire who owns the San Diego Padres may ultimately be the key to whether or not Las Vegas gets the green light. Moores has the financial wherewithal to buy a team as well as contribute significantly to an arena project.

Moores has already checked into the viability of building an arena downtown, and he has had experience in trying to purchase an NBA team. A few years ago, he was one of two groups bidding to buy the Houston Rockets but lost out. Word is he'd very much like to get into pro basketball and has talked to people in several cities, including Anaheim, Calif., Toronto, Vancouver and St. Louis.

Vancouver and St. Louis may not be viable sites for Moores since last week, when the the NBA's Vancouver Grizzlies were sold for $200 million to Bill and Nancy Laurie, who own the NHL St. Louis Blues and the Kiel Center.

Now Moores is talking to Las Vegas officials and providing some hospitality on this trip.

Goodman, who flies into New York tonight aboard Moores' private jet, said he has been impressed with his initial dealings with the sports businessman.

"He's a regular guy, a guy who calls you 'Bud,' " Goodman said. "He's a good guy, and if he's interested, he'd be a good person to have on your side.

"He has had his real estate people look at the UP (Union Pacific) site, and I don't think he'd be going to these lengths if he wasn't seriously interested."

But Moores isn't the only person Goodman has been talking to. In preparation for these meetings the mayor has talked to other people who have dealt with Stern and Bettman. He picked the brain of Mirage Resorts Inc. Chairman Steve Wynn, who met with Stern last winter, and Los Angeles Lakers Vice President Jerry West.

"Steve told me the commissioners will both be very receptive," Goodman said. "Jerry West told me that basketball and the NHL are our best bets and that David Stern will listen to what we have to say."

Goodman will use Las Vegas' growth as a key selling point.

"Las Vegas is the fastest growing city in the United States," he said, "not only in terms of major league population but in potential to bring hundreds of thousands of visitors.

"I can see Las Vegas being the 'World's Team.' We'll attract fans from everywhere. Think back to the day when UNLV was flying high and you'd go back East and see kids wearing UNLV caps and shirts. That same potential is here with pro sports."

Should Las Vegas make the cut, it would likely have to lure a struggling franchise from another city. Expansion plans are on hold in the NBA, and the NHL is already in the middle of an expansion phase, adding a team in Atlanta this year, one in Columbus, Ohio, next year and one in St. Paul, Minn., the year after.

"I'm told the only way this will work is with a team relocating," Goodman said.

But first things first. He must convince the commissioners of the two leagues that Las Vegas is worthy of membership.

"I want to come back with a yes or a no," he said. "I don't want to tread water or (have it) on the back burner for years to come."