Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Goodman tries to repair LV’s relationship with NFL

A top NFL official and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman appear to be working to thaw the frosty relationship that has developed between the city and the league in recent years.

Goodman is openly working to bring a Major League Baseball team to Las Vegas, meeting with top officials from teams and the commissioner's office last week. The mayor has also said he would welcome an NBA or NFL franchise here.

In the recent back-and-forth correspondence between NFL Executive Vice President Jeffrey Pash and Goodman, both men say they would be better served by a collegial and respectful dialogue.

"I've put our past differences behind us. There's peace in the valley," Goodman said this morning.

The mayor said he is trying to help smooth relations between the NFL and gaming industry.

But he said whether his dialogue with NFL leaders will lead to an NFL franchise in Las Vegas is "so speculative it's not even worth a comment."

Goodman said the major-league sport most likely to move to Las Vegas at this time is baseball "without a doubt."

The NBA has said it does not want to be in a market that has sports betting. Goodman added that the chances of bringing an NBA team to Las Vegas would greatly increase if sports betting is legalized in Atlantic City, because then an existing team, the New Jersey Nets, would be in a state that has sports betting.

New Jersey officials have been discussing legalizing sports betting in Atlantic City.

In recent years, Las Vegas and NFL officials have butted heads over casino Super Bowl parties and Las Vegas.

Claiming copyright infringement earlier this year, the NFL forced some casinos to cancel their plans for Super Bowl parties where fans would have to pay to see the 2004 game on their oversized or multiple screens.

A year earlier, the league blocked Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority ads from appearing during the 2003 Super Bowl, saying the ads promoted gambling. The ban continued last year.

Goodman was an outspoken critic of the NFL's actions, and at one point called the league hypocritical because an NFL affiliated Web site teaches people about sports betting.

But in his Nov. 16 letter to Pash, Goodman took a reconciliatory tone.

"In the past I have been vocally critical of the NFL's attitude towards our Super Bowl events," Goodman wrote to Pash. "By this letter, I would hope that you will accept my offer that we now be more collegial with one another ...

"My dream is to have an NFL franchise make its home here in order for us to be the 'Major League' venue that I envision. May this cause a dialogue to be commenced towards our mutual best interests."

Pash, in a Dec. 6 response to Goodman, wrote: "I recognize that we likely have differing views on sports gambling. But I believe that your interests and ours will be well served if we are able to discuss our positions in a respectful and professional way. We trust that the foundation for that kind of communication has been set and we look forward to having constructive dialogue going forward."

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