Editorial: Brand-new stadium is a bad idea

Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2002 | 8:41 a.m.

When the Las Vegas City Council selected Southwest Sports Group to develop 61 acres of vacant land in the downtown area, at the time we noted in a July editorial that the company's selection was odd. City officials said they wanted that prime, undeveloped property to incorporate an academic medical campus, a residential development and a performing arts center. So it seemed unusual to hire a company that instead had made the building of a new 12,000-seat baseball park the focal point of its proposal to the city.

Still, officials said in July that Southwest Sports Group, which specializes in developing stadiums, would have to conform to the city's vision and forget about the ballpark. "If they're not interested in doing the project without baseball in it, then we'll go to our backup," Mayor Oscar Goodman pledged. Well, over time the city's stance has grown weaker than the rag arm of a washed-up pitcher. In September the City Council gave the developer a green light to explore whether a baseball team could succeed as part of the downtown redevelopment project. Even though the mayor reiterated his support for an academic medical campus during his State of the City speech on Monday, the Sun's Diana Sahagun reported Friday that the mayor has softened his opposition to a new downtown stadium after meeting with Southwest Sports Group executives, who told him a new ballpa rk would revitalize downtown. While the mayor continues to say that taxpayer money would not be used to build a minor-leagu! e stadium, Goodman says that if a developer wants to use his own funds to do so, he could not stop the project.

The developer could view the mayor's comments last week as just the opening it needs to make the stadium its centerpiece, but it makes absolutely no sense to build a new ballpark. In case city officials have forgotten, Las Vegas already has a great ballpark in place that is used by the Los Angeles Dodgers' Triple-A farm team. Cashman Field has one of the best minor-league facilities around; when the Oakland Coliseum's renovations weren't completed in time to start the 1996 baseball season, the Oakland A's played their first six games of the year at Cashman Field. Building another ballpark would be a waste, taking up space that could be better used to complement the original vision of the 61-acre development. Attendance wasn't strong at Cashman Field last year for the 51s' home games, and some may believe that a new ballpark would help. But we have a better solution: Field a winning team -- that will bring the fans back.