Columnist Steve Carp: City's pro sports future on the table

Steve Carp is a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter. Reach him at 259-4087 or e-mail him at [email protected]

Whether or not you care about the future of professional sports in this town, mark Tuesday on your calendar and pay close attention to what happens in New York.

It will likely be decided that day whether or not Las Vegas becomes major league or if it has to settle for the title of "Boxing Capital of the World."

Mayor Oscar Goodman and billionaire John Moores will lead a small delegation to the Big Apple to huddle with NBA commissioner David Stern and NHL head Gary Bettman. Essentially, Goodman will be asking for their blessing to proceed with the ambitious plans to bring a team to Las Vegas and build a state-of-the-art arena downtown to house the team(s).

A few months ago, Mirage Resorts Inc., chairman Steve Wynn met with Stern and essentially asked the same question. Stern told Wynn that he was free to canvass the NBA owners and see if anyone wanted to sell.

Was that an endorsement that the NBA would give its OK to a franchise here? It seemed a bit ambiguous, which is why Goodman is headed to Fifth Avenue. He wants something etched in stone that says, in effect, "If you find someone who wants to sell, and you have solid ownership and a building that meets NBA standards, we won't stand in your way."

Will Goodman get that kind of answer from Stern on Tuesday? He might if Moores is the mayor's money man. The owner of the San Diego Padres tried to buy the Houston Rockets a few years ago, but was snubbed. He would like very much to be a member of the "NBA Family."

The fact that Moores isn't in the gaming business certainly advances Las Vegas' cause. While there's no denying that the casino industry is the town's lifeblood, it's likely from the NBA's standpoint that it can't be the driving force behind bringing a team here.

Wynn could have bought a team years ago for much less. But he probably would have faced a lot of opposition. He can still be part of it as a minority owner, which is what he said was his intention a few months ago at the press conference he hosted, to show the results of a poll regarding interest in bringing pro sports to town.

The Maloof family, which owns the Sacramento Kings as well as the Fiesta Hotel-Casino, also owns a Coors distributorship in Albuquerque. From the NBA's point of view, that is the ownership's main revenue source, not the Fiesta, so the NBA believes it does not have a team run by predominant gaming interests.

As for the NHL, gambling is not an issue. After all, the Canadian government runs a sports lottery featuring NHL games. What the league is desperately seeking are healthy, vibrant markets where the sport can succeed.

Only six teams made money last year and a lot of franchises are struggling. It might very well be easier for Goodman to return from New York with assurances of a hockey team coming here than a basketball team. But that doesn't mean it'll happen. As the Mirage study showed, the interest in hockey isn't as great as in basketball. And support for the NHL on a regular basis may be iffy.

The guess here is that Goodman leaves New York with a definitive yes from the NHL provided he can produce an arena and a likely OK from the NBA if he can guarantee Moores' backing, while resolving the issue of gambling on NBA games to Stern's satisfaction.

If that's true, it will be a truly historic day for Las Vegas sports fans. If nothing else, give the mayor credit for trying to make us feel "big league."

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