Editorial: Las Vegas explores fielding sports team

Thursday, Sept. 30, 1999 | 10:17 a.m.

Political, business and civic leaders hope Las Vegas may soon have a major-league sports franchise. But meetings this local group -- which included San Diego Padres owner John Moores -- had Tuesday in New York with NBA and NHL commissioners resulted in a mixed bag. No doors were closed to preclude a team, but both commissioners reiterated their opposition to Las Vegas getting a franchise if sports betting is kept legal (although the NHL's objections aren't as strong as the NBA's).

One of the biggest obstacles ultimately, though, may be the financing of a sports stadium. Using public funds would be a mistake, but so far there haven't been detailed proposals about building a stadium with private money. Still, Tuesday's meetings were positive and should result in a further exploration of what it will take to field a big-league team here, a possibility that remains a long shot but no longer is a pipe dream.

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