Wednesday, July 13, 2005 | 10:22 a.m.
Major League Baseball's annual winter meetings -- sessions at which off-season trades are considered and a draft is conducted -- will occur in Las Vegas in 2008.
A press conference is scheduled Thursday to provide details on the four days of meetings slated for Dec. 7-10, 2008. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said the meetings are expected to draw 4,000 people and provide a non-gaming economic impact of $5.8 million to the community.
Thursday's press conference will include comments from Pat O'Connor, vice president of administration and chief operating officer of Minor League Baseball; Don Logan, president and general manager of the Las Vegas 51s minor league team; Rossi Ralenkotter, president and chief executive of the LVCVA; and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, who chairs the LVCVA board of directors.
The announcement came on the same day that the LVCVA formally submitted its bid to host the 2007 National Basketball Association All-Star Game.
It won't be the first time that the meetings were held in a city without a major league baseball team. But getting the meetings here is a result of 21 years of lobbying by the authority and by the Triple-A 51s.
Logan said that the then-Las Vegas Stars began coordinating an effort with the LVCVA to host the meetings the day he began working for the team in 1984.
"I think it's a good thing for Vegas, it's good for baseball to come here," Logan said. "We're the convention capital of the United States and it just makes sense."
He said the biggest problem was fitting Las Vegas in when many cities are on a regular cycle to host the meetings. But overcoming the stigma of being Las Vegas was also a factor, and Logan credited Ralenkotter as being a key force in bringing the event to Las Vegas.
"Getting baseball to accept Vegas is always challenging, and we got it," Logan said.
Major League Baseball's winter meetings, which include a trade show, aren't open to the public.
The Rule 5 draft, a procedure that prevents Major League teams from stockpiling big-league talent in the minor leagues, is conducted during the winter meetings, but most fans anticipate the gathering as a time when team owners discuss trades that could alter a team's roster.
Las Vegas Wranglers president Billy Johnson, who was the general manager of an independent baseball team in New Hampshire before taking over the Double-A hockey team, said the excitement of the dealing at the meetings is what makes the event special.
"It's really fun to be around because a lot of big news comes out of it," he said. "It's the hot stove capital of the country. If you're into star sightings, the drama literally unfolds at the major league level.
"At the minor league level... it's a great chance for everybody to get back together to compare notes as an industry and say what are we doing right, what are we doing wrong and what do we need to do better."
Johnson said he continues to attend the winter meetings even though he's not involved in baseball anymore, because it's a good chance to get together with former colleagues.
"From a front-office perspective here, it'll be great to get my staff to meet some people I came up with, let them network, meet people, shake hands and help out a few careers," he said.
Other non-MLB cities that have hosted the meetings include Louisville, New Orleans, Orlando and Nashville. Last year's meeting was conducted in Anaheim, Calif. Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, an advocate for attracting a major-league sports franchise to the city, made a splash at the Anaheim winter meetings by bringing along showgirls.
His efforts got the attention of baseball executives who were considering where to move the old Montreal Expos franchise. Ultimately, the league chose Washington D.C. for the team, now known as the Washington Nationals.
Last year wasn't the first time Las Vegas has flirted with big-league baseball.
Every year, the LVCVA plays host to Big League Weekend -- a short series of Cactus League spring training games played at Cashman Field in March or April.
The Oakland A's started their 1996 season with six games at Cashman because renovations at their home park, the Oakland Coliseum, weren't completed on time.
And, between 1993 and 1997, the LVCVA considered developing a spring training complex on 220 acres in Henderson and invited four Major League teams to consider making Southern Nevada their spring home. Ultimately, the LVCVA board determined that it wouldn't be worth the $60 million investment.com.
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