New deal around corner for Las Vegas, Dodgers

Nick Christensen

Wednesday, May 12, 2004 | 9:17 a.m.

While the Las Vegas 51s have yet to secure a deal to replace Cashman Field, both the Triple-A team and its parent club, the Los Angeles Dodgers, seem to be moving toward extending their player development contract.

Las Vegas is in the fourth and final year of its deal with the Dodgers, after an 18-year affiliation with the San Diego Padres. That affiliation ended in 2000 when the Albuquerque Dukes moved to Portland, Ore. The Dukes had been affiliated with the Dodgers since 1972.

The 51s are 243-220 since the start of their player development deal in 2001. The team was 85-59 in 2002, the best season in franchise history, and 68-76 in 2001, the worst record under the player development contract so far. Under the Padres, the team's worst year was 1994 when the then-Las Vegas Stars went 56-87.

Las Vegas lost to New Orleans Tuesday night at Cashman Field, 8-6, before a crowd of 1,844.

Complicating the contract extension is the continued flux of the Dodgers' front office. Since the ownership change in February, Los Angeles general manager Dan Evans was replaced by Paul DePodesta, and DePodesta has yet to replace former farm director Bill Bavasi, who begame the Seattle Mariners' general manager.

51s general manager Don Logan says the flux is the key factor impeding progress in terms of Las Vegas' future.

"Obviously, I think we may as well try and get it done. They were just scrambling to try and get their house in order, but sooner is better as far as I'm concerned," he said. "We've worked hard to uphold our end of the bargain, this being our fourth season, and we're dealing with our third different management team."

Dodgers officials made no secret last season that they were displeased with the state of Cashman Field, saying the 51s' affiliation was in jeopardy as long as the team couldn't provide indoor batting cages and pitching tunnels, a weight room, and other facilities. The stadium's only batting cage is in a parking lot beyond left field, and a hallway underneath the stadium doubles as a weight room.

Talks to build a new Triple-A stadium were put on hold while various groups tried to move the Montreal Expos to Las Vegas. Before the involvement of the Expos, it was expected that the team would have an announcement regarding a new stadium by the start of this season.

Acting Dodgers field coordinator Terry Collins said he was unaware of any discussion regarding an extension with Las Vegas on the front-office end. He said that he thought player development in Las Vegas has not suffered. Collins added that discussion of the extension would be more the responsibility of acting minor league director Kim Ng, as well as DePodesta.

"It doesn't both me; the playing field itself is very good, nobody does a better job than Don Logan, the clubhouse manager is good, and as for the weather, it's hot everywhere, it's summer," Collins said, adding that it wasn't long ago that indoor cages and weight rooms were not the norm.

But with the Dodgers' statements last season seemingly mandating a new ballpark, and with multiple contracts expiring this season, some saw a complicated scenario in which Las Vegas could have ended up, ironically, as the Expos' top farm club.

Edmonton, which is Montreal's Triple-A affiliate, is moving to the Austin suburb of Round Rock, Texas, after this season. Under the scenario, Round Rock would become Houston's affiliate, New Orleans would switch from Houston to Florida, and the Dodgers would return to Albuquerque, leaving Las Vegas with the Expos.

Others speculated that the Dodgers might opt for Salt Lake City or Tucson, whose deals with Anaheim and Arizona expire at the end of this season.

But when Albuquerque re-upped with Florida in April, the first scenario was quashed. Tucson and Salt Lake announced extensions with their current parent clubs this month.

Logan said Albuquerque's surprise extension with the Marlins underscored the business importance of new facilities.

"I don't know if it's a sigh of relief, but I think what it told me was how important having a new ballpark is," he said. "It's something that stands out above all else as really important to a major league agreement."