League president agrees a new ballpark would be good for Las Vegas

Thursday, March 29, 2007 | 7:18 a.m.

Branch B. Rickey is inextricably linked to baseball history. His grandfather Wesley Branch Rickey helped break Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947 when - as president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers - he signed Jackie Robinson to a big-league contract.

The elder Rickey, who is enshrined in the Hall of Fame, also drafted and signed Roberto Clemente, baseball's first Latin superstar, and is credited with establishing the minor league "farm system" in use today.

Although Rickey never tires of talking about his grandfather, he is more focused on the future than he is the past in his role as president of the Pacific Coast League.

Rickey shared his thoughts on a variety of subjects this week while in Las Vegas to, in part, lobby Mayor Oscar Goodman for a new stadium for the Las Vegas 51s.

On the need to replace the 25-year-old Cashman Field, where the 51s play

New facilities are such an important factor to the modern American lifestyle. You don't find people going out and buying TV sets that are last year's model or TV sets that are a generation behind in technology. The same is true of people when they want to take their families out to an entertainment venue, which is why minor league baseball, if it's going to compete with the other venues that are around, is going to have to have those same kind of facilities.

Can we play baseball here (at Cashman Field)? We can play baseball here, but can the franchise survive? That's the question.

On the cost of building a new ballpark for the 51s

When you read of a new major league facility that's going up, you're reading about $450 million and $480 million and $520 million. When we talk about a new Triple-A stadium, we're talking double digits - and we're not even talking in the upper half, we're talking about $30 million to $40 million for the top-line minor league facility. In my estimation, this is a very, very affordable thing.

On Goodman's desire to build a new sports arena in an attempt to lure major league sports

Eventually, Las Vegas is very likely to have major league sports, but in the interim, I hope Triple-A baseball will be played in a venue that will do justice for all those people in Las Vegas who are looking for other recreation.

Given the unlikelihood of Major League Baseball coming to Las Vegas, I think the answer for Las Vegas is to build a stadium in conjunction with a commercial development.

On Las Vegas as a Triple-A baseball market

We ... believe that this can be the most spectacular Triple-A market in baseball, and with the right facility, it will be. It is certainly a proven market for Triple-A baseball. The Las Vegas team has been a successful member of the PCL while other (professional) teams have come and gone from the marketplace.