Thursday, June 10, 1999 | 10:40 a.m.
Steve Carp is a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-4087.
One of life's great joys is seeing your baby grow up.
Don Logan's baby has grown up nicely into quite a strapping phenomenon. And every March, we get to see it flex its muscles.
But all babies need fuel, and Logan's baby is no exception. In this case, the fuel is money and without it, the baby we have come to know as Big League Weekend will die prematurely.
Last month, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority came out with a hit list of projects that were being cut off for lack of funding. The LVCVA was obligated to provide funds to the Clark County School District and without getting into the details of that deal, it meant other special event projects would lose their support.
Big League Weekend, which has provided locals and tourists alike with an opportunity to watch major league baseball at Cashman Field since the late 1980s, was one of those financial casualties. The LVCVA opted to pull the plug on its $500,000 investment.
A dismayed Logan has been trying to find a way to resurrect the funding. Tuesday, he sat through the 2 1/2-hour LVCVA board meeting and never made it to the microphone as battles with the Venetian and the Desert Inn Homeowners Association took center stage.
It was a frustrating afternoon for the Stars' longtime general manager. But Logan said it wasn't so frustrating that he is throwing in the towel. He'd prefer to channel his anger into something more positive -- like getting a compromise deal worked out with the LVCVA.
"This isn't a bad event," he said of Big League Weekend, which this year attracted 40,000-plus to Cashman to watch the likes of Ken Griffey Jr. and Sammy Sosa. "It passes every test and they (the LVCVA) want it to work."
Even though March is still a long way away, now is the time to make sure Big League Weekend doesn't die. Logan spends the majority of his summers negotiating with various ballclubs, trying to put the best deal together.
There are a couple of options available. One is for the LVCVA to find an alternate funding source and replace the half-million bucks. Another is for the LVCVA to come up with part of the money, have Mandalay Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Stars, pony up a little more cash, and find a private concern to complete the trifecta. A third, and more remote, option would be to have one of the mega-resorts step in and play Sir Gallahad and write the check.
The most likely scenario? Door No. 2, where a cooperative effort keeps Big League Weekend afloat. Perhaps the LVCVA does a little creative bookkeeping and the new board deems the project important enough to endorse. Mandalay forks over a few more bucks and one of the Strip hotels gets involved to a lesser degree than initially proposed as the title sponsor of the event.
But this child can't be allowed to die. It's too important to our sporting heritage. The residents of Clark County are asked to support the Stars from April until September and for the most part, they do. Big League Weekend is our reward for that support. Even though we pay extra for the privilege of seeing the Cubs and the White Sox and the Brewers, we do it because we know the alternative's much more expensive.
And some of us do it holding out hope that some day, our grandchildren will be able to take their kids to a major league baseball game in July in Las Vegas. Supporting Big League Weekend sends a message to baseball that Las Vegas does care about the national pastime.
Let the child continue to thrive.
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