51s to renew push for new stadium

Dan Kulin

Thursday, May 13, 2004 | 9:34 a.m.

When, or if, Las Vegas is eliminated from consideration for the Montreal Expos, the Las Vegas 51s will renew the club's push for a new minor league baseball stadium, 51s President and General Manager Don Logan said.

Talk of the Expos moving to Las Vegas has stalled efforts for a new stadium for the triple-A 51s, though not eliminated the plans altogether. Although some might question the building of a new ballpark for the 51s when a major league team may move here sooner rather than later, Logan said a new 51s ballpark would be built with expansion in mind -- the "phase one" of a major league park.

Logan has pushed for a new minor league stadium to replace Cashman Field, which lacks weight and video rooms and indoor batting cages. He said Las Vegas risked losing the team as the 51s parent-team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, would start looking elsewhere if plans for a new stadium didn't develop.

Late last year the 51s had apparently narrowed their search for a new stadium site to a 111-acre triangular property north of the Galleria at Sunset mall in Henderson.

Logan said that while he still talks with the representative of the owners of that Henderson property, all discussions of building a new ballpark there have been on hold for months.The delay hasn't caused problems between the 51s and Dodgers, he said.

"They understand. They're part of the industry," Logan said.

Logan said if a private group brought the Expos to Las Vegas, the group would have to compensate Logan's group for giving up the Las Vegas territory. Logan estimated the payment would be $15 million to $20 million.

Logan said once Las Vegas is officially out of consideration for the Expos, the 51s owners would have to soon show progress toward getting a new stadium, which he said would also fit in with hopes to someday bring a major league franchise here.

"From a stadium standpoint we would build the first phase of a major league stadium," Logan said.