Las Vegas – Most of the numbers couldn’t look better.
A city of 1.7 million people and climbing plays host to between 35 million and 40 million tourists per year. Rah-rah Mayor Oscar Goodman said he’s more optimistic than ever about Las Vegas landing a pro sports franchise.
“Our community is the fastest-growing in the country,” he said. “We have a person move in here every six minutes. We have a house go up every 20 minutes. We’re Manhattan-izing our city; loft apartments are going up. We have no unemployment here. We’re the natural place for the next team.”
But at least in the NBA’s case, there’s one number that could render all others moot – $543.2 million.
That’s the amount bet in Nevada in 2004 on basketball, according to the state’s Gaming Control Board. The board does not differentiate between wagering on college and pro hoops, but it’s fair to say casinos would leave millions on the table to help bring the NBA to the desert.
Commissioner David Stern has said repeatedly that betting on his sport in an NBA town is not a point of negotiation.
“He’s black and white on that issue,” said Gavin Maloof, co-owner of the Sacramento Kings and The Palms casino here with his brother Joe. “Casinos would have to take the NBA off the sports book. I don’t know if there’s an appetite for that right now.”
But Goodman, a defense attorney who represented high-profile organized crime clients before he entered politics, is persistent. He said he reads the sports pages every day, scanning for a potential pro franchise to move here. He’s got a 61-acre parcel of land in mind for an arena or domed baseball stadium in his city’s older downtown area and a plan to finance either without public money. Goodman has even consulted famed architect Frank Gehry about possible designs.
Goodman and some of his well-known constituents say they believe they have a city that would eagerly support a pro franchise and help foster a greater sense of community for a population with so many new arrivals.
“It’s a big-time city. It likes big-time events,” said former Nevada-Las Vegas basketball coach and local icon Jerry Tarkanian. Maloof added, “They have the best entertainment, the best food, the best restaurants, the best casinos. They want the best sports.”
Few complaints would arise from pro athletes or coaches, either.
“The vast majority of us love coming here,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “I think it has a professional air more than a college air.
“I’ve heard the concern of gambling. I respect that. But I think there’s ways to come up with a program that would be acceptable and you could monitor it well.”
The age-old worry about having a pro team in Las Vegas is the influence powerful bettors might have on the outcomes of games. But with Internet gambling booming nationwide, Las Vegas no longer holds a monopoly on where big-time bettors put their money.
And Vegas backers have always countered that the city’s casinos are more interested than anyone else in eliminating fraud, since they stand to lose the most if bettors don’t think games are on the level. As an act of faith in the casinos’ self-regulation, the state even lifted the ban on betting on UNLV and the University of Nevada.
“I would never go to casinos here and ask them to modify their gambling activity,” Goodman said. “We are the safest place to gamble in the world. I’m not going to be hypocritical and ask them to do things that shouldn’t be done.”
But unless league owners change his mind, Stern does not seem willing to budge, which means, according to Maloof, “It all depends on the casino owners. I don’t know how you’re going to get all of them to agree on one thing.”
Stern already convinced the Maloofs to get rid of basketball betting at The Palms, and that casino still has an ample sports book, plenty of NBA paraphernalia for sale in the gift shop and two new towers under construction.
Vinny Magliulo, director of the race and sports book for Wynn Las Vegas, the city’s ritziest new property, said sports wagers won’t make or break a casino.
Magliulo balanced that by saying the casinos recognize how sports could benefit Las Vegas. He and others point to the accord casino owners reached in agreeing to suspend betting on the 2007 All-Star Game if the NBA brings it here. That decision should come soon. The city’s power brokers are cautiously optimistic that they have the edge on Memphis, Tenn.
“It’s not the industry versus everybody else,” Magliulo said.
Then there is the issue of where a team would play. It could take up to five years from design and financing through construction of a new building. Goodman said he would not let other cities use him for leverage by putting up an arena without a guaranteed tenant.
“The city has to make the financial commitment,” Maloof argued. “It’s kind of a Catch-22, because a team won’t move there. Where are they going to play?”
Basketball is far from the only sport Goodman is considering. Major League Baseball considered Las Vegas before moving the Montreal Expos to Washington.
“Last year there was so much talk about baseball,” current UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. “But now with the NBA All-Star Game (a possibility), that’s kind of jumped it toward basketball.”
Maloof said he could see the NHL in Las Vegas, though a league spokesman called that unlikely anytime in the near future. And Goodman hopes to pitch the idea of holding “Monday Night Football” every week in Las Vegas, even though the NFL refused to even take advertising money from the city for the Super Bowl.
“He’s a great mayor, a great promoter of his city, but we don’t anticipate needing his help scheduling games,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.
As for the NBA, no teams are on the verge of leaving their current homes, though Orlando and the Maloofs’ Kings are among those battling their cities over new arenas. Goodman said he remains respectful of Stern’s wishes and hopes he can find a compromise.
Ever the salesman, he said, “Whatever sport would come here would be the world’s team, if marketed properly.”
Staff writer Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or athompson@denverpost.com.
