Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Long shot ready to run again

Rob Miech

Lou Weisbach became hooked on the potential of Las Vegas upon his first visit more than 30 years ago, and his many business deals here have included projects with international casino owner and executive Steve Wynn.

One of Weisbachs most enduring Las Vegas memories stems from on Aug. 16, 1977, when he watched Ann-Margret sing at the Hilton hours after close friend Elvis Presley had died in Memphis.

"I remember her crying," Weisbach said, "how emotionally spent she was."

As the catalyst in an attempt to lure the first of the four major sports to Las Vegas, his latest Vegas-related venture, Weisbach said he isnt about to weep about reports that the Montreal Expos are about to be relocated to Washington, D.C.

Multiple sources, including the Washington Post, have indicated that the shifting of the troubled franchise to the nations capital will kick into high gear today when Major League Baseballs executive council meets in Milwaukee.

A formal announcement is expected as early as next week, slapping a denouement on the nearly 18 months that Las Vegas, via Weisbachs initiative, has been embroiled in MLBs relocation drama.

Until that official announcement, however, Weisbach will not heed rumors or speculation, no matter the source.

"You can never assess these things," Weisbach said from his office in Niles, Ill. "They can often change on a dime. The team could go there, but it might not go there. During our process, many times, things looked locked in one direction or another, only to be turned totally in another position the next morning.

"I wouldnt assess anything ... there are still all kinds of issues out there."

Which include:

Weisbach entered Las Vegas into the Expos derby soon after receiving Mayor Oscar Goodmans blessing to pursue the project during a meeting inside Goodmans City Hall office on April 10, 2003.

Goodman confirmed Wednesday that MLB will announce the Expos move to Washington

within the next few days but that baseball views Las Vegas as a rising candidate for a team.

"We have moved Las Vegas - in the eyes of people in Las Vegas, and around the country and world - from a long shot to getting a major league sport to a favorite," Weisbach said. "And that was really the process we began that day."

Jack Summer, a mutual friend of both Goodman and Weisbach who then served on a downtown development group, arranged that first meeting in April 2003. Summer could not be reached for comment.

In a Washington Post article last month, Goodman, a Democrat, said Weisbach, an influential Democratic fund-raiser who once hosted a lavish party for President Bill Clinton, "was a very impressive looking fellow."

" ... very well-dressed," Goodman said, "certainly monied."

Weisbach, who made his fortune in promotional products and only donates to the Democratic party on a national scale, compared Goodmans aura to that of venerable Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daly, who served from 1955 until his death in 1976.

"I was struck by his directness, his can-do attitude and desire to get things done for the city," Weisbach said of Goodman. "We talked about a range of issues, from health care and education, not just major league sports. I thought that was impressive.

"He gave me a mandate, in effect, to represent him, not necessarily to get baseball but major league sports to Las Vegas. He gave me a letter to that effect, and that started the process."

Weisbach and Scott Heiman, who own and operate Teamscape LLC, spoke with officials from professional baseball, basketball, football and hockey. Major League Baseball, Weisbach said, became an obvious target.

"It became clear," Weisbach said, "that baseball was the greatest near-term opportunity."

Weisbach then persuaded Cubs broadcaster Steve Stone, a former pitcher with many baseball connections, to join Teamscape, and Stone contacted MLB commissioner Bud Selig, who directed Stone to Corey Busch, Seligs special relocation envoy.

Busch recommended that Weisbach hire Mike Shapiro, a consultant who, with Eric Blatt, runs Centerfield Management Group in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Shapiro, a former general counsel for the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves, and Busch are close friends, from when Shapiro worked in the administration of former California Gov. Jerry Brown and Busch served as San Francisco Mayor George Moscones press secretary.

Weisbach then attracted Robert Blumenfeld, a Manhattan-based financier with whom Weisbach has had a long professional relationship, to the project.

Bob Scanlan, a prominent commercial real estate figure based in Portland, Ore., and Peter M. Hoffman, a Merrill Lynch executive in New York, are also key figures in the entity that became Las Vegas Sports and Entertainment (LVSE) LLC.

LVSE undertook assembling a potential group of investors who would privately finance the construction of a $420 million, 40,000-seat, retractable-roof stadium on 15 acres behind Ballys and Paris Las Vegas.

For months, Scanlan and Hoffman have declined interview requests, and Blumenfeld agreed to speak with the Sun only once, to briefly highlight the "tremendous" team hes been working with on the stadium project.

Sources have indicated that that roster includes international financial players but have declined repeated requests to identify them.

LVSE hired renowned stadium architect HOK Sport, of Kansas City, Mo., to produce preliminary designs and conduct site studies, and Phoenix-based Perini Building Co., which has three offices in Las Vegas, was among several construction companies contacted to possibly build the versatile arena.

Teamscape, and Weisbach, focused on putting together a potential ownership group to buy the Expos. Randy Vataha, of Boston-based Game Plan LLC, signed on to that effort in February.

Selig and relocation committee members have said they would first choose a city with a viable stadium plan, emphasizing a desire for heavy public financing, before selecting an ownership group.

This week, as a final decision has appeared imminent, Shapiro, as he has done frequently during delicate times in the process, has declined comment to avoid misinterpretation or the appearance of lobbying through the press.

Baseballs 29 other owners bought the Expos before the 2002 season, and a decision on the teams fate has been delayed numerous times.

"I wouldnt call it a fiasco," Weisbach said. "Major League Baseball has its own constituencies. They have to do things their own way, and they have a lot of masters they have to answer to. Theyve taken this long because they want to get it right.

"Its probably easy for MLB to put the team in a place where theres a stadium and not to put it in a lame-duck community for a time. But I remain convinced that Las Vegas will get a baseball team."

Shapiro and Weisbach have both said that the relocation of the Expos elsewhere would not result in the dissolution of LVSE or its efforts to land a major league franchise for Las Vegas.

Goodman said the Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics are likely future relocation candidates.

"Now its not an issue of whether, but when? Theres all kinds of interest. There are people, in Major League Baseball in particular, who would like to move their team to Las Vegas.

"This will move forward until its successful. Its just a matter of time. Whether its the Montreal Expos, or another team, is irrelevant to me. At some point, its going to happen."

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