MLB commissioner Rob Manfred may have to re-attach the countless heads he blew up following an interview with reporters this week.
Manfred addressed the question of having a team in Las Vegas. Considering baseball’s historic fight against gambling, many were surprised to hear he would be open to having a team in sin city — a first for a baseball commish.
“Las Vegas could be a viable market for us,” Manfred said during his Cactus League news conference in Phoenix. “… I don’t think that the presence of legalized gambling in Las Vegas should necessarily disqualify that market as a potential major league city.”
The notion really shouldn’t be all that shocking considering the NHL will begin their first season in Las Vegas with the Golden Knights later this year and the Oakland Raiders have filed to re-locate there as well. But even if MLB wants a team in Vegas, there will be countless hoops (and votes) to jump through.
Still, it’s fun to imagine what the most realistic options would be for a new team in the city that truly doesn’t sleep.
Below are the most “viable” ways things could shake out within the next few years.
Josh Helmuth is the editor of Crave Sports.
Photo: Getty
Las Vegas MLB Teams
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Tampa Bay Rays
Not only were the Rays dead last in attendance last season, averaging just 15,878 a game, but Tropicana Field has been the butt of every stadium joke in baseball since the team moved in during the late 90s. An on-going battle to build a new stadium in downtown Tampa (The Trop is across the bridge in St. Pete) have continued to hit road blocks for several years. Many believe the Rays will be the 2K version of the Expos -- possibly sooner rather than later. If they can't get a new stadium, Vegas may look bright and shiny.
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Miami Marlins
Only three teams had worse attendance than Miami last year. Although they just built a brand new $600 million stadium in 2012, it was funded with taxpayer dollars. Considering the Marlins have been one of the worst teams in baseball since, fans are ticked; they'd rather go to South Beach than watch Giancarlo Stanton pull his groin again -- and who wouldn't! Let's also not forget the Marlins possibly have the worst owner in all of sports. A move wouldn't be shocking.
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Arizona Diamondbacks
Sure, the D'Backs were 21st in attendance last year, so fan support isn't exploding. But like several other teams on this list, they're in want of a new stadium -- which is RIDICULOUS because Chase Field was built in 1996. The team has even sued the county in an attempt to eradicate a clause from their stadium lease to allow them to move somewhere else. If they're successful, could it be right up the road to Vegas? Crazier things have happened.
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Oakland Athletics
The A's were next to last in attendance last year and very well may have the worst stadium in all of sports. The upper-deck has been closed off for years. There have been multiple sewage issues. The Coliseum isn't falling apart. It has fallen apart. Hell, the Raiders -- who share the stadium -- are desperate to leave as well. The A's have already tried to re-locate to San Jose, until the Giants blocked the talks, citing they 'own' the territory. They currently have plans to try to go "all-in" on building a new stadium in Oakland. But we all know how often such plans fall through. Could the A's move to Vegas with the Raiders?
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A new expansion team
Could MLB have 31 teams like the NHL is attempting later this year? Sure. But an expansion baseball team playing 81 home games in Vegas would still be a roll of the dice. Although the bigger question would be regarding what to name them: the 51s (already a minor league team there), Bones, Outlaws, Flamingos, Rat Pack, Dealers, Gamblers, Atomics, Aces, Stealth, Boomers, Strippers -- all real names that have been tossed around in the past.
