Fan challenged

Steve Guiremand

Friday, June 8, 2001 | 10:51 a.m.

This was supposed to be the year baseball fans flocked back to Cashman Field.

The Las Vegas triple-A franchise ended its hot-and-cold 18-year affiliation with the San Diego Padres and entered into what figured to be a promising four-year deal with the storied Los Angeles Dodgers. That figured to attract the attention of the large group of transplanted Angelenos in Southern Nevada who grew up watching Sandy Koufax and listening to Vin Scully while munching down their Dodger Dogs.

The team, which is 90 percent-owned by Los Angeles-based Mandalay Sports Entertainment (the Las Vegas Review-Journal bought a 10 percent stake in the team last year) also dumped its rather bland Stars nickname, gambling that the community and especially young kids would embrace the switch to the moniker "51s." That is a reference to Area 51, the top secret military base north of Las Vegas which allegedly specializes in tracking UFOs.

The team also went out and signed a number of talented six-year free agents who had played in the big leagues such as catcher Brian Johnson, infielders Shawn Gilbert, Jeff Branson and Andy Stankiewicz and outfielders Jeff Barry and Bruce Aven. And several new seating areas near the field were installed along with a swimming pool that still hasn't received its proper health permits so it can actually be used.

Let's see. Veteran talent. A spiffy new alien logo. The Dodgers. Can't miss, right?

Wrong.

Today's 7:10 p.m. game against the Iowa Cubs marks the halfway mark of the 51s' 72-game home schedule for the 2001 season. And despite all the changes, the average per-game attendance of 4,346, despite being grossly exaggerated at times, is actually behind the 2000 average of 4,477 per game.

How can that be?

Some would blame a backlash by baseball traditionalists to the off-the-wall nickname change. Others blame high ticket and concession prices. Some might point to a poorly conceived advertising campaign that seems to rely more on sophomoric humor on its radio spots and is contrasted by dull, rambling newsprint ads that are easy to overlook on a normal sports page.

Whatever the reason, Las Vegas baseball fans don't appear to be exactly embracing the changes by their minor league team.

To try and find out some answers why, the Sun sat down for a question-and-answer session recently with 51s president and general manager Don Logan, who has been a part of the franchise since its second year in town in 1984.

Q: Before the season we talked with (director of corporate marketing) Amy Venuto and she was predicting there could be as many as 30 sellouts this year and said there was strong demand for tickets. Yet, attendance actually is down a little bit this year and there hasn't been even one sellout. What do you think has been the problem?

LOGAN: On that side of things, I couldn't be happier. Number one, we have more people working right now in the front office of this club selling tickets and sponsorships and selling baseball in this community as we ever have. We have four times as many people out doing it. We've sold more tickets to this point than we have since probably 1993. We've done more sponsorship revenue than we ever have before. It's been phenomenal.

One of the tough things is ... we can sell the tickets to them but you can't make people go. You can see that at a UNLV football game. I have four season tickets there and I went to two games. I turned into the very problem that I sit here and scratch my head about. What you see that we're trying to do is focus on the entertainment aspect on the field between innings to really make it more of a festive atmosphere. More money has been dedicated to that than ever before to really create an atmosphere out here that is fun and makes people want to come back and talk about. And I think that takes time to grow.

Q: Looking back, do you think the nickname change from the Stars to the 51s has been good or bad?

A: The name is different. The whole idea, though, goes back to trying to create the atmosphere and the opportunities to do a lot more things. I think the mascot we have is doing a great job. The people love him and he works his butt off. He's been a positive.

The biggest problem with the name is that it's just different. People, when it comes to baseball, are traditionalists. I think any change ... we could have called it the Las Vegas Dodgers ... and just as many people would have been upset with that.

Q: Really? You think so?

A: I just think ... it's a unique name. It's out there. But there's more people who have talked about it since we've done it than ever before. If you break it out from that prospective, then it's been a good move. Like Charlie Finley said, just make sure you spell my name right.

Q: But do you think it's possible by switching to such a unique nickname that maybe you didn't really capitalize on the fact the Dodgers are now in town?

A: I think that (pointing to the 51s' new blue uniform tops) is something. Anybody who is a baseball fan can see we replicated the Dodger stuff.

Q: How about the cap (which features the head of an alien)?

A: That hat has been very successful. In April it was the top selling hat in minor league baseball. That ... it's working.

You know, the Dodgers ... I think you have to have your own identity. People know who we're affiliated with.

Q: Who had the final say on the name change? Is that something Mandalay dictated or was it someone here who did it?

A: It was a group decision made by the staff here. It wasn't any one person. They're the ones who have got to go out and create and sell it.

Q: Was the idea to try and attract young kids to buy baseball caps? You know, looking back you had very similiar attendance years back in 1983-84-85 that you have now. Yet the area has almost quadrupled since then. What's holding things back when it comes to minor league baseball in Las Vegas?

A: There's a number of things. The first thing you have is that there is a honeymoon period in any situation. 1983-84-85 were great years. In terms of gross revenue, we've done more money in each of the last 10 years than we did in any of those first three years. Gross revenue. Obviously the cost of doing business has gone up dramatically.

I don't think anybody would dispute the fact that this is the most competitive market in the world for the entertainment dollar. The focus of most of that money is to draw tourists. What, 39 million people visited Las Vegas last year? ... Just driving down the street here is (free) entertainment. That's a challenge nobody else has to go against.

Another big change is the proliferation of local-based casinos. When the club moved here in 1983, there were slot machines in the grocery stores. There may have been Palace Station. Sam's Town was here. But there has been a big proliferation of casinos in recent years that cater to locals. They have better food than we do here. You get your $10 worth of quarters and you get a free beer or a soft drink. And you have that allure of maybe winning a jackpot. Out here you get to watch professional baseball.

Q: While on the topic of prices, do you think the average family of four in this town can really afford to come to more than a game or two a year? You buy a ticket, a hot dog, a soft drink and an ice cream for four people, toss in parking, and you're looking at around $60 to watch a triple-A game.

A: When you compare it to other triple-A clubs, we're in the middle of the pack on pricing for everything. That's by design. Tickets are probably below the median and food and beverages are right in the middle. Take your families to the movies. We're less expensive. And this is something the whole family can do.

Q: Are you surprised at the backlash the team has received recently? It seems like every week there is another batch of letters to the editor critical of the team and its operation.

A: I've been disappointed in that. Again, I think change brought some contempt from some people. People latch on to something and carry on about it much longer in my mind than is necessary. This wasn't something that wasn't thoughtfully done. We sat in a room in L.A. and decided that we wanted to make some big changes here. We knew that we probably were going to ruffle some feathers.

Q: Last year was the first year you were going to lose money until the Las Vegas Review-Journal bought a stake in the team. Do you expect to turn a profit this season?

A: The situation is this year we won't know because we're putting out a lot more money out to make this a better experience. We have a lot more people employed but we're generating a lot more money. I think that it will work itself out at the end of the year. Right now we're pretty much on track budget-wise.

Q; I've got to ask you, whose idea was it for those goofy radio and newspaper ads?

A: Again, that's part of the whole new marketing plan.

Q: What do you see for the future of minor league baseball in Las Vegas?

A: (Cashman Field) is a great place. It was a beautiful ballpark in 1983 but I think its the 24th of 25th oldest park in triple-A baseball. It hasn't had any major refurbishment done. We don't have all the amenities. Our job would be made easier if you had all the amenities of a new ballpark.

One of the problems you have here in trying to get people to come back more often is that this is not an efficient place from a food and beverage standpoint, from a restroom standpoint. You're very limited in what you can do here because of the physical plant and that's both from a baseball standpoint and a food and beverage standpoint.

Q: So you're advocating that a new stadium be built in Las Vegas?

A: I think that's something you've got to be concerned with to keep up in today's world and also from an entertainment standpoint.

Q: What do you think the chances are of that happening?

A: It's in the early stages now.

Q: Mandalay has a lot of money. Why don't they just build one?

A: Mandalay is willing to participate but I think the ballclub is a community treasure. Nobody goes out and builds their own stadium. That's a decision I think is at the beginning stages right now of saying, 'Here's a concept. Here's what we think we need.' We did it in Dayton and it's been very successful there.

Q: Where do you think would be a logical spot, downtown or out in a growing community like Green Valley or Summerlin?

A: The (new) parks that I've seen are all in the downtown areas. They've had a much more positive effect on the areas around them. They become the beacon for that area. In Sacramento, it started bringing people back to Old Town on 72 nights of the year. When I was there recently I talked to people who said it was the best thing that ever happened down there. That's the kind of thing it could do here, too.

Q: Have you talked to Mayor Goodman about it?

A: We've talked about it. That's something that is being worked on. But when and if its happens still remains to be seen.

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