What are the chances of Las Vegas having a MLB team and/or a NBA team?

Question

I live in Las Vegas and know that the fan base can be pretty big here. And just because we have legal gambling shouldn't exclude us having a team ourselves.

Answer 1

The image of Vegas as the gambling capital will block MLB from going there.  It is kind of hypocritical in that they will associate with places that have legalized gambling, but in Vegas the connection is two strong.

In post retirement days MLB excluded two of its all time greats from being associated with the game simply because they had a PR contract and did some ads and appearances for a LEGAL casino.  I think the players were, and I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays.  It's not baseball without those guys.

Answer 2

NBA is an Option, The MLB Not likely because of the Dodgers Triple A Team The Las Vegas 51's Still There, Looks at Oklahoma City and Memphis They got Minor League Baseball They also have NBA Teams as well, I see why it can't work for Las Vegas.  

Answer 3

Two!!

Slim and none.

Any future MLB expansion should be aimed at Asia.

The Japanese for one,

And the Taiwanese are crazy about MLB.

Is this the Jet age or not?

Answer 4

slim

Answer 5

They will one day but I keep hearing that the NHL is going to be the first one to move there with an expansion team.  Jerry Bruckheimer has plans to do it as there is a new building that gets opened in 2010.

Answer 6

Our minor league baseball isn't very popular.  Basketball might be an option because its played indoors.  I don't think there's any teams that want to come here right now.  We don't watch enough tv...

Answer 7

not great

Answer 8

Chances of an MLB team are slim. I don't foresee MLB expanding anytime soon, and if any teams move, there are bigger cities available.

The legalized gambling thing isn't what prevents a team from going in, its the competition for entertainment. Most people have a limited amount of money to spend on entertainment. Professional sports teams compete against other forms of entertainment to get that money. In most cities, professional sports don't have to compete with casinos and all the other entertainment options that are available in Las Vegas.

However, I think LV has a chance of getting an NBA team someday. If you look around, it doesn't take as big of a city to support an NBA team. Maybe because there are only 12 guys per roster to pay, and with 3 or 4 of them making league minimum, that's only 8-9 multi-million dollar salaries to pay. (in terms of players, there's still the coaching staff and administration of course) This means a team doesn't have to sell as many tickets or as many souvenirs to make a profit.