Columnist Dean Juipe: Stars lost their luster in the ‘90s

Dean Juipe

Monday, May 1, 2000 | 10:02 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or 259-4084.

There was a time when the Las Vegas Stars were covered closely by the local media and their games really seemed to mean something to sports fans in the community.

The city's two newspapers would frequently double staff the Stars' home games and reporters were so well in tune with not only the team but the Pacific Coast League that a weekend notes column was a popular offering.

To use a word that's a bit colloquial, Las Vegas was smitten with the Stars. Attendance was good and the team routinely was a threat to win the league championship.

But history has a way of sounding dated and the Stars' heyday has long since come and gone. In terms of widespread popularity, the team made an immediate impact on Las Vegas when it moved here in 1983 and the honeymoon lasted throughout the 1980s.

The Stars had five winning seasons during that seven-year stretch and their overall record for the decade was a respectable 516-474. The fact that a nice collection of colorful players passed through the team en route to the parent San Diego Padres only added to the franchise's visibility.

As if by fate, the 1990s were not nearly so kind to the Stars and their fan base began to dwindle in spite of the area's population growth. For the 10 years between 1990 and 1999 the Stars had only two winning seasons and their overall record for that decade was an unflattering 638-787.

The bloom was off the rose.

Last year's version of the Stars went 67-75 and it marked a third consecutive losing season. If not for the fact the club offers a multitude of promotions and does a fairly good job within the community when it comes to hustling tickets, interest in the team undoubtedly would have reached an all-time low.

The current season opened with the assumption it would be the last for the Stars and the Padres as an item. The working agreement between the parties expires in September and, short of a league championship, the Padres' days of operating a team in Las Vegas were calculated to be over.

The split may still be unavoidable and perhaps it's best that each side goes its own way. Yet for those comfortable with the San Diego front office and the Padres' way of conducting business, the Stars' quick start from the gate this season offers reason for encouragement.

It also gives Las Vegas baseball fans the opportunity to see a team that might actually win more games than it loses, which hasn't happened around here since 1996.

Sunday, under pleasant conditions, the crowd count at Cashman wasn't great -- it was clearly fewer than the announced 3,068 -- and the Stars lost 8-7 to the Calgary Cannons to snap what had been a four-game winning streak, yet those in the stands were relaxed and spirited. The weather, the venue and the stadium staff did their best to cooperate and the many families on hand seemed appreciative.

But when it comes right down to it, Las Vegas demands a winning team -- and an interesting one -- to assure decent crowds on a regular basis. The Stars, who are 13-8 and have today off before opening another four-game homestand Tuesday, might be good enough to preserve the Las Vegas-San Diego union.

But it will take a championship to do it.