Rogich: Gambling a roadblock to major leagues

Sito Negron

Monday, Jan. 19, 2004 | 9:24 a.m.

A major league baseball franchise in the Las Vegas Valley is possible from a market standpoint, but it will be difficult to overcome the perceived stigma of gambling, said Sig Rogich, who is supporting the effort.

"I'm a baseball-aholic, so any opportunity to bring major league baseball here is something I'd like to see happen," said Rogich, a political consultant who has advised presidents.

"This town is of an age now that it could become a major league city." But, he said, the gambling issues -- particularly now, as Pete Rose admits he bet on baseball and tries to get into the Hall of Fame -- present a stiff challenge.

"I don't know how to answer that," Rogich said. "I do think they must be serious about us to some degree or they wouldn't have taken it this far."

An article on the Major League Baseball website last Thursday noted that league officials have visited Las Vegas twice, along with visits to other cities, as they try to find a home for the Montreal Expos by 2005.

Also Thursday, a Caesars Entertainment spokesman confirmed that the company has discussed with MLB officials the idea of moving a franchise to the valley, on empty land behind Paris Las Vegas, a resort owned by Caesars Entertainment.

"I'd highlight these are very preliminary discussions and there's not much more to report than that," company spokesman Robert Stewart said Thursday, declining to elaborate. Rogich said his work on the proposal involved setting up the initial meetings with MLB representatives, offering "support within the framework of community leadership."

Las Vegas would be one of the league's smallest markets, but Rogich said the valley offers multiple assets, and it's only a matter of time before major league sports locate here.

"It's almost impossible to ignore a community of 2 million, and, growing at the rate we are, we will be probably 3 million in 10 years, with an excess of 50 million tourists a year," Rogich said.

The Las Vegas Valley has an estimated 1.6 million according to the state's latest figures, and is the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the country. It lures an estimated 34 million visitors a year.

"We're not the biggest television market by any stretch, but I think there's too many positive factors here for them to ignore," Rogich said.

In addition to the population base and the tourism trade, he said, Las Vegas is a natural hub for rivalries with teams in Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, "all areas of easy travel."

Rogich said while details remain to be worked out on issues such as financing and logistics like traffic, one thing already is known -- "We have to build a stadium with an indoor component. We won't have a lot of enthusiastic baseball fans (outdoors) in July and august."

Last year the three main candidates for the Expos were Washington, D.C., northern Virginia and Portland, Ore. But, the Major League Baseball website notes, "None of the groups concluded site selection or put together financing for a new ballpark, (the league's) top criteria for relocating the team."

Other cities being visited by the Major League Baseball committee include are San Antonio; Hampton Roads, Va.; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Mexico City; and Monterrey, Mexico.